i am sassa

I get a lot of recommendations of women to paint. I love when I’ve never heard of the person, and I super love when people describe them in such a way that I’m immediately sold. I thought I’d let everyone in on that by sharing the words of Kim White, who recommended this Badass Woman to me just this morning. Thank you, Kim!

Sassa, I wanted to introduce you to Anuradha Bhagwati. She's a former US Marine Corps Captain who was the first female executive officer to command the marine corps school of infantry. She graduated from Yale then joined the US Marine Corps to escape a harsh upbringing by two parents both Ivy League professors. Their expectations for her were brutal--she internalized expectations into self-loathing and went to the USMC to prove to herself she was worthy. While in the military she encountered and witnessed unrelenting misogyny and eventually she left the USMC started an advocacy group and testified in the Senate to bring attention to rape culture in the USMC. She also helped launch and support a lawsuit against the Department of Defense brought by 4 women. The lawsuit challenged the DOD's policy of no women in combat units. That policy was overturned, which is why women can now serve in USMC infantry units--even in the Navy Seals. In my opinion, she is the ultimate badass because she confronted the patriarchy head on in its most tangible and revered form. As a veteran who understands the pressure women are under in uniform, in a male-dominated institution like the USMC, I cannot comprehend her courage. She is demanding better from an institution that demands loyalty right or wrong. She's calling out her commanders and her brothers-in-arms--and she took it all the way to the very top and won. I assigned her book Unbecoming to my graduate students in social work, and they were blown away by her advocacy and utter refusal to back down.