If it’s the Year of the Woman, I can’t wait.

2010: the Year of the Woman. I’ve heard it repeated for months now. But political pundits have been using the phrase “year of the woman” since at least the early ‘70s, when Shirley Chisholm, Gloria Steinem and others convened the first National Women’s Political Caucus. Commentators also called 1992 the Year of the Woman, after several of them—including Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer—were elected to the U.S. Senate. My favorite quote from that year comes from Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, still the country’s most senior female senator. “Calling 1992 the Year of the Woman makes it sound like the Year of the Caribou or the Year of the Asparagus,” Mikulski said. “We’re not a fad, a fancy, or a year.”

So true. This year in politics, the Tea Party seems to be a fad no one can ignore. Some pundits are calling 2010 “the Year of the Conservative Woman.” With mid-term elections looming, we decided to interview local female Tea Partiers to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out Asheville Tea Partiers are, as you might have guessed, a little different than other Tea Party groups—in some ways more socially progressive and less militant than factions elsewhere in the country. Check out our story on page 46 and tell us what you think.

The rest of this issue is nothing if not a stylish good time. I’m so proud of the work Stewart O’Shields and his crew did for our Moogfest-themed “rock ‘n roll couture” photo shoot (page 42). Then there’s Ladylike (see page 14), a provocative show coming up at Asheville’s Satellite Gallery in October that features past cover girls Brooke Priddy and Nicole McConville, along with several of our Creative Type subjects and current contributors.

And, look out VERVE readers—here comes Susan Reinhardt. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome the humorist and author to our lineup of contributors. She’s a longtime Asheville Citizen-Times columnist and author of, among other funny books, Not Tonight Honey, Wait ‘Til I’m a Size 6. Look for her first relationship advice column in our November issue. 

Jess McCuan
jess@vervemag.com