Visibility is not protection. Inclusion is not power. And America's democracy has always been wilder and more limited. 

Democracy is progressive. For women, however, it has been conditional from the outset. Pop culture has contributed to the image of the “democratic woman.” Jane Fonda's workout videos presented strength as an aesthetic discipline, not as political action. Her earlier activism, her protests against war and injustice, were replaced by an image that sold conformity to women. Princess Di was admired for her grace. Punished for her self-promotion. Visible but unprotected, feminine, not free. 

That was no accident. 

America was never tame. It was founded on rebellion, violence, and exclusion. Its democracy survived the assassinations of Lincoln, Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. Their messages—justice, peace, equality—were ignored. 

Conformity Jane and Calamity Di are more than media figures. They were warning signs. Democracy creates space for diversity and does not share power—a staging. Women are allowed to play along, but only in the roles assigned to them.