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You are here: Home / Politics / Two Women in an Elevator

Two Women in an Elevator

October 4th, 2018 by Sallie Bingham in Politics Leave a Comment

Two Women in an Elevator

@mgallagher822 and @AnaMariaArchil2

I only heard them mentioned once at first, on NPR. They were nameless then, but their effect may be enormous.

On the afternoon of the testimony that riveted all of us last week, two women were in a Capitol elevator when Senator Jeff Flake stepped in. He’s just announced that he would vote for Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

One of them screamed at him that by supporting Kavanaugh, he was ignoring the pain and the emotional damage she had suffered because of a sexual assault.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” she screamed.

Women have been taught not to scream lest we be discounted as "hysterical"... and so the strength of our voices, and of our fury, has been denigrated and eliminated from public discourse.

Yes, screamed.

All women have been taught not to scream lest we be discounted as “hysterical.” And so the strength of our voices, and of our fury, has been denigrated and eliminated from public discourse. You may be forgiven for screaming at your two year old but not at a U.S. Senator.

A few hours later, Flake reversed his position. Now he will wait to see the FBI report before deciding whether to support Kavanaugh. His vote may be the one needed to change what seemed to be a pre-determined outcome.

Of course there may be other deciding factors, but one thing is sure: two brave women in an elevator may have altered history.

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A long and fruitful career as a writer began in 1960 with the publication of Sallie Bingham's novel, After Such Knowledge. This was followed by 15 collections of short stories in addition to novels, memoirs and plays, as well as the 2020 biography The Silver Swan: In Search of Doris Duke.

Her latest book, Taken by the Shawnee, is a work of historical fiction published by Turtle Point Press in June of 2024. Her previous memoir, Little Brother, was published by Sarabande Books in 2022. Her short story, "What I Learned From Fat Annie" won the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize in 2023 and the story "How Daddy Lost His Ear," from her forthcoming short story collection How Daddy Lost His Ear and Other Stories (September 23, 2025), received second prize in the 2023 Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition.

She is an active and involved feminist, working for women’s empowerment, who founded the Kentucky Foundation for Women, which gives grants to Kentucky artists and writers who are feminists, The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University, and the Women’s Project and Productions in New York City. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sallie's complete biography is available here.

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Watch Sallie

Taken By The Shawnee

Taken By The Shawnee

July 6th, 2025
Sallie Bingham introduces and reads from her latest work, Taken by the Shawnee.
Visiting Linda Stein

Visiting Linda Stein

March 3rd, 2025
Back on October 28th, 2008, I visited artist Linda Stein's studio in New York City and tried on a few of her handmade suits of armor.

Listen To Sallie

Rebecca Reynolds & Salie Bingham at SOMOS

Rebecca Reynolds & Salie Bingham at SOMOS

November 8th, 2024
This event was recorded November 1, 2024 in Taos, NM at SOMOS Salon & Bookshop by KCEI Radio, Red River/Taos and broadcast on November 8, 2024.
Taken by the Shawnee Reading

Taken by the Shawnee Reading

September 1st, 2024
This reading took place at The Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe, New Mexico in August of 2024.

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salliebingham avatar Sallie Bingham @salliebingham ·
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Recently, I was reflecting with my good friend John on the fruits of the past five years. I’m so very grateful for all my readers who keep me and my books alive! https://buff.ly/NgnRjO3 #DorisDuke #TheSilverSwan #Treason #LittleBrother #TakenByTheShawnee #HowDaddyLostHisEar

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It's important not to be ploughed under by the chaos and intemperance in #WashingtonDC. We don't live in that swamp, and we don't need to allow our hopes and dreams to be drowned out by the noise. "Reasons to Hope": https://buff.ly/Z8lH33D

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Sallie Bingham's latest is a captivating account of ancestor's ordeal
Pasatiempo, The Santa Fe New Mexican

“I felt she was with me” during the process of writing the book, Bingham says. “I felt I wasn’t writing anything that would have seemed to her false or unreal.”

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