How to Triumph Like a Girl

The majority of Ada Limón’s work has been published in the midst of third wave feminism, a period from the start of the 90s to the mid-teens. The third wave focused on issues not emphasized in the feminist movement’s second wave of the 70s and 80s such as workplace harassment, rape culture, and the lack of women in positions of power. It organized around an increasingly fragmented array of elements, approaches, and ideologies. Intersectionality became a major focus as the understanding grew that “women’s issues” existed within a vast, worldwide tapestry of national, ethnic, socio-economic, and gender difference considerations. The growth of the internet, and the increasing number of people who had come to maturity with it, was a key to the spreading knowledge across and between these communities as well as a major tool of political organization.

“How to Triumph Like a Girl” was published in 2013 at the start of Barack Obama’s second presidential term; the US had not yet elevated a woman to the highest office, although 2007 saw Nancy Pelosi become the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives. Women continued to battle for greater equality and recognition in a variety of fields. In 2013 women made up only 18% of Congress, 10% of state governors and 4.2% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Without adequate representation in positions of power, women still made on average 84% of what their male counterparts earned in similar positions, a gradual closing of the wage gap measured at 60% in 1970.

The circumstances of “lady horses” form an eerie parallel to human feminist issues. The Kentucky Derby, which inspired Limón’s poem was emblematic of this dichotomy. The most famous race in the nation was a race between mostly male horses. The female races, The Kentucky Oaks, take place a week earlier than the Derby; it has roughly 60% of its attendance, offers half of the winnings, and is considered a local, not national, event. Whereas only three fillies, as they are called, have ever won the Derby, top female horses command gradually increasing cost and attention within the sport.

This dichotomy was not limited to horse races. Female athletes in other sports, such as soccer, were campaigning for more funding and more media coverage so that they would have equal representation and equal resources of their male counterparts. The zeitgeist was not limited to sports alone. Leaders of feminist movements were also bringing attention to the fact that women were still being paid 70% of what men made in the workplace, while also having additional burdens of raising children and paying for childcare. Though women had made significant progress in their fight for equality, the battles they faced were far from over.

These historical differences surrounding women and femininity in sports—and throughout many aspects of society—is ultimately reflected in both the nature of the poem and its title, which addresses these unspoken questions “how does one succeed as a girl?” and “why is there a distinction in the first place?”