Remembering one of society's great change agents, who passed this week: Helen Gurley Brown

As a gay man, I am unapologetic feminist, who understands that my tribe won't be completely equal and free until women and others are.  In this country, white heterosexual men have been reluctant to yield their power and privileges to women, gays, and people of color. Why would they, it has been a good gig for several hundred years.

Helen Gurley Brown challenged and changed this order, promising women that they could have it all -- the career, the man, the family, and a great sex life.  And more or less, the younger women of today are doing just that - many are outperforming men in college, career, and on nearly measure of social stability. If you watch the early seasons of Mad Men, you can appreciate the radicalness of Ms. Brown's message back in the 1960s.

RIP, Helen, you deserve it.

(And white hetero men now have to work harder and compete more, which, in the long-term, is a good thing for them, women, and the rest of society. I smile when I hear young hetero guys talk about staying in shape today because their girlfriends and wives demand it. Their beloved "invisible hand" of the marketplace now applies to them, too.)