The stars of ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ and ‘The Flash,’ Caity Lotz and Candice Patton help save the world on a weekly basis on the small screen. Off screen, however, the actors are focused on an entirely different kind of fight, combating the idea that women should see one another as competition.
In a recent interview, Lotz said:
“Society has pinned women against each other. There’s always this feeling of there’s only one seat at the table and if you want it, you better tear that other girl down. But if we want to reach equality, we have to lift each other up.”
In hopes to do just that, Lotz and Patton founded Shethority, a space where women can come together and talk online. The idea came to fruition during the filming of the 2016 ‘Arrowverse’ crossover event, which brought together characters from ‘Arrow,’ ‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ ‘The Flash,’ and ‘Supergirl.’ Lotz explained:
“It’s usually one or two women on each show and all the sudden there were five or six of us and we started really talking. We want it to be a safe space for female-identifying humans.”
‘Legends of Tomorrow’ star and Shethority member Maisie Richardson-Sellers said of the space:
“People can come here, share their stories and be heard.”
Less than a year later, Shethority now has more than 120,000 followers, and the creators think it is important for the time we are in. Patton spoke about the experience, saying:
“There’s been this movement of female empowerment and women standing up and asking for what they deserve and demanding respect and equality. Shethority came around the time of the #MeToo and all of these other movements, and I think it has to do with where we are in our society.”
Women can use the Shetority pages to talk about everything from gun violence to body image. ‘Arrow’ star and Shethority member Emily Bett Rickards said:
“There is no substitute for the authenticity of actually talking to one another. Any question you have, most likely someone else is having as well. You’re continually learning about yourself and the people around you.”
Patton added:
“We found that the more women speak to each other and speak truthfully, we have way more in common than we have differences.”
The girls aren’t stopping there! On Monday, Lotz and Patton, along with Shethority COO Lynn Sounakhene, launched the Shethority website, where members can talk about their experiences in more detail by writing articles or creating longer videos. The site also features a tab where people can buy merchandise through Represent, with the majority of the proceeds going to an organization that highlights female empowerment, with the organization changing every few months. Patton explained:
“We need very little money to keep Shethority afloat, so we thought to use the rest of it and give to causes that speak to us and what we’re trying to do.”
There are more ideas from Shethority coming down the pipe: a block party, convention, book club, etc. No matter how the women decide to come together, the message of Shethority will remain the same. Richardson-Sellers summed it up best, saying:
“So often we smother our own lights, and we allow society to smother our lights. Part of Shethority is just giving people permission to shine.”
