No One Can Claim Her: Dolly Parton

Send us Fan MailWas Dolly Parton a feminist? A liberal? A conservative?Or was she simply Dolly?We love putting people into boxes. We decide what someone believes, which side they're on, and whether they're one of “us” or one of “them.”But Dolly Parton spent a lifetime making that almost impossible.She championed women without necessarily embracing the feminist label. She supported the LGBTQ+ community. She put books into the hands of millions of children. She built an extraordinary business empire, held onto her independence, talked about her faith, protected her private life, and somehow managed to stand for things without constantly telling the rest of us what we should believe.But that's only part of why I wanted to talk about her.Because there's another question I've been thinking about:Why can losing someone we've never met hurt so much?In this episode of Sassy Chanelle, we're talking about the Dolly behind the rhinestones. Jolene. 9 to 5. I Will Always Love You. Hard Candy Christmas. Her business instincts, women's empowerment, politics, the Imagination Library, the labels people tried to give her, and her determination to remain exactly who she was.I'm also talking about my own memories of Dolly: how Hard Candy Christmas connects me to my mom and childhood Christmases, what I Will Always Love You once meant during a breakup, and why a trip I already had planned to see Dolly's story on Broadway now means something entirely different.Maybe that's what was so unusual about Dolly Parton.People with completely different beliefs could look at her and see something they recognized.But none of us get to claim her.And maybe that's exactly why all of us could love her.Anyway, that's just my perspective.🎙️ SASSY CHANELLE WITH CHRISTI CHANELLENew episodes every Wednesday 🎧 Podcast: Midnight Central Time 📺 YouTube: 10:00 AM Central TimeFind me: TikTok: @ChristiChanelle Instagram: @ChristiChanelle YouTube: Sassy Chanelle Substack: Sassy Chanelle Bluesky: Sassy ChanelleSupport the showWatch the episodes on YOUTUBE: Sassy Politicshttps://www.youtube.com/@SassypoliticsWebsitehttps://christichanelle.com/TikTok- ChristiChanellehttps://www.tiktok.com/@christichanelle?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pcFacebook - Sassy Politicshttps://www.facebook.com/SassyPoliticsInstagram- ChristiChanellehttps://www.instagram.com/christichanelle/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet