Morning Armor.

I woke up thinking about this publication: an article about women in circus to be published in alignment with International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. As I’m prone to do, pre-coffee and shuffling to the kitchen in my slippers, I started brainstorming. Immediately, my guard was up. My history and biases brought me quickly to the defense: women are underrepresented! underpaid! not respected! second-class! Instances of injustice make my jaw set and my skin tingle – a sensation of armor emerging from the inside out. The coffee and I brewed together. I also knew I had to ground the article in something concrete, so I started a mental tally of all the women in circus I knew who held powerful positions. My mind immediately flooded with an impressively diverse list of researchers, historians, programmers, agents, creators, venue owners, company directors, studio owners, website founders, festival organizers, and figureheads. I though...