Meghan Markle Says She Can Feel the ‘Embryonic Kicking of Feminism’ at Women’s Day Event

A Netflix documentary got a powerful dose of publicity thanks to Meghan Markle.

“It’s funny, I’ve actually been joking the last few weeks. I had seen this documentary on Netflix about feminism, and one of the things they said during pregnancy was ‘I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism.’ I loved that, so boy or girl, whatever it is, we hope that that’s the case with our little bump,” the Duchess of Sussex said Friday at an International Women’s Day event. Her comment was in response to a question onstage when asked “how that bump” was treating her.

The crowd responded with warm choruses of laughter.

Markle joined a panel of high-profile female thought leaders and activists like Annie Lennox, founder of The Circle; and Adwoa Aboah, a model and founder of Gurls Talk; to discuss a range of issues facing women today.

The 2018 documentary Markle referenced was Feminists: What Were They Thinking? Starring Laurie Anderson, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, the film revisits the influential 1977 photography book Emergence by Cynthia MacAdams.

MacAdams captured black and white photos to feature pioneering women like Fonda and Judy Chicago and other subjects who challenged conventional representations of women at the time. Even Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas was among the group. If you’re looking to an ode to some of the trailblazing women of the past, it’s available on Netflix to stream now.

And you can watch a snippet of Meghan Markle’s “embryonic” comment in the video of the International Women’s Panel at King’s College in London above.

The full video of discussion will appear on the Queen’s College Trust website at noon Eastern Time.

Markle’s comments championing a future generation of feminists future generation of feminists followed up Friday morning’s Kensington Palace announcement that the Queen named Markle Vice President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT).

The role will be all about working to support young leaders working to better their communities alongside the Queen, the trust’s Patron, and her husband Harry, who acts as President of the Trust.