When it comes to feminism, all of us have our own idea of how it may be defined. Some say that anyone supportive of equality is a feminist. Some adhere to a strictly canonical history when it comes to the timeline of feminist “waves.” Others may have a more loose notion of the general profile of what a feminist might look like, act like, and how that person has been educated or even how relevant their core values are today. When it comes to this issue of “relevance,” it may be worth a refresher course – one informed by a primary source rather than a subjective feeling.

Seven years ago, I moved to New York. Around that time I got wind that the Brooklyn Museum of Art was working on the permanent installation of Judy Chicago’s seminal work, “The Dinner Party”. Consisting of handmade place settings for influential women throughout history, and many more names inscribed on floor tiles. You might say that Judy was the first woman to publicly display that women belonged “at the table,” (as Sheryl Sandberg asserted in her Ted Talk, and subsequent book, “Lean In”.)

“The Dinner Table” is now on permanent view in Brooklyn, and serves as a primary source object that can teach an audience about feminist thinking. The museum provided an audio guide with a few words from the artist, herself, while the physical artwork is intended to, “teach women’s history through art.” Originally crafted in the 1970s, and now permanently housed in the Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art, (a wing of the museum dedicated to such works,) the artwork is protected, intentionally/ostensibly,  from erasure. 

However, if an individual is not prone to research feminist theory, or women’s history… have we ghettoized our own story by enshrining the work in it’s own special gallery? I’d also question if card-carrying feminists value this work enough to promote it to others and study it, themselves. Moreover, do we promote the work of contemporary young female artists and writers?

I am asking these questions to myself, and I am headed out to the museum for an over due visit, in order to probe my own thinking. I’d like to refresh my understanding and empathy by viewing and hearing the stories of women that came before me. Though I have seen the work before – as humans, we easily forget.

If you have not seen this work in person, please visit if you can. If it is unreasonable for you to travel to the gallery, I urge you to take note of women’s stories in your life – the ones who raised you, whose literature you read, whose performances inspired you, and probe your own memory for those you may have forgotten. That is the real accomplishment of Judy’s work. It is to make sure these women are acknowledged and remembered. That is what feminism is about. Not being passed over, but being a part of the story, equal, included, and having something to bring to the table, not to just sit there.

Detail of Judy’s Dinner Table, Emily Dickenson.

The 39 women with places at the table are:

(with 999 more women included in the “heritage floor”)