‘We will continue to rise’: Powerful women, from Padme to Elastagirl, remind us that pain is not without purpose

There’s nothing like a good quote to bring you out of a funk and right now, just under half the population is five seconds away from breakdown at any given moment. In the wake of a MAGA landslide, the worst the Far-Right has to offer has been gleefully aggressing women and people of color across the internet and through the halls of schools.

While we perhaps shouldn’t have hoped to live in more interesting times, we can take solace in knowing that a myriad of people across the world have felt this sensation before. In a supercut of powerful quotes from feminists across media, one Tiktoker managed to make the edit to explain the sensations of helplessness being felt by Kamala Harris’ supporters.

the two-minute-long video, compiled by the aptly named Wonderwoman_q, immediately hit home with viewers. The days after the election have been an emotional rollercoaster as we work through the stages of grief and come to terms with a future that doesn’t look very bright for a woman’s right to choose. It’s been a speed run through the stages of grief, but the stunning tribute found an inspirational quote for nearly every emotion.

Many of the quotes come from media set during times of archaic medieval-esque periods. Others from empowering characters for young girls like Disney’s Princess Jasmine or Elastigirl. From Padme Amidala lamenting the downfall of Democracy to The Scarlet Witch’s frustration over double standards, they all hit so close to home. And best of all – or worst, if you’re tired from crying all the time – it’s set to a beautiful but somber cover of Barbie’s penultimate anthem “What Was I Made For.”

The song, written and performed by Billie Eilish, became an anthem for women and girls after the film’s release. After hearing it for the first time in the car, Eilish said it was much closer to her heart than she expected. Hearing it felt like “if you woke up and someone had taken a photo of you sleeping,” she said of the experience. The song has taken on a personality all of its own and relates to girlhood in a way that few things can.

The fact that these clips ring so true paints a telling picture of why women are frightened right now. Politics has failed to align with the needs of so many people, but this outcome has reminded women of how far we’ve come – yet we still, somehow, have so far to go. Women got the right to own property in 1900. The right to vote in 1920. Could make medical decisions for her own body in 1973 and could open a bank account the following year.

The Republican platform has been open about its plans for that pivotal 1973 decision, and those same far-right boys that are harassing women with “your body, our choice” are “joking” about women losing their right to vote.  The reason these clips resonate so loudly is that they parallel a history we should be moving away from, not a future we are running towards.