Happy
International Women’s Day everyone!
I was going to wait a while till I got
opinionated but the 8th of
March comes but once a year and I’m not wasting this chance to speak out about
things that constantly bother me. When I say ‘Happy International Women’s Day
everyone!’ – I mean everyone, not just women. It is imperative that men, boys,
women and girls understand why it’s important to celebrate women worldwide.
Various factors such as culture, biology and location determine what
constitutes being a woman differently. I have no qualms in admitting I still
don’t feel like a woman (opposed to being a girl – I’m female, promise), but I
know that if I wanted to classify myself in that way it wouldn’t change my life
so drastically. What about those girls who fear the day they get their first
period because they know the traditions of their society might cause them far
more pain than menstrual cramps? Or the second class citizens who aren’t
permitted to speak up to their husbands? Or even the women that voice their
interests and concerns in the Commons Chamber? I’m getting a bit ahead of
myself aren’t I... in the not very wise words of Cameron, calm down dear.
The history of this world can be rather dark and
dreary if you trudge too deep into a topic as colossal as women and their
rights. I’m not a history major; I have a habit of inverting numbers and mixing
up names that don’t want to mingle. Rather than imparting some sketchy
Wikipedia facts to you I’ll just talk to you about my first hand experiences of
what it is to be female and how this shapes my life day to day. One of the
prompts for my writing this article was a friend’s status (and I say friend in
the loosest term of the word) that caught my eye yesterday. Here it is, exactly
as follows:
‘Men
have 2 emotions.. Hungry or horny, so bitch if u see me without an erection u
best be making me a sandwich’
Poetic
right? I won’t name the person because there isn’t any need, if he’s posted
this in the first place I’m quite sure my little rant isn’t going to turn him
into the next Bill Bailey (didn’t you know?! Find your favourite feminists here) and spark
brain cells that might cause him to blush with embarrassment at this appalling
quote. I probably laughed awkwardly at things like this a decade ago, but I
know better now. If shit like this goes unchallenged – or worse, liked by
upward of 30 people, both male and female – where do you start drawing your
lines? The boy who wrote this is harmless I’m sure, and pleasant and polite to
his muma and nana and all the other lovely ladies he encounters through his
days on Earth. Yet he felt the need, ironically on the eve of International
Women’s Day, to remind us girls of the two emotions men apparently possess. So
what about the emotions women have? This guy’s snappy sentence left me feeling
a plethora of emotions and neither were close to hungry or horny.
It seems to be hard to disentangle women and
feminism; the two are inextricably linked, in sickness and in health. I could
wax on about this all day – but I won’t, it’s Saturday and I’ve got things to
do. With that in mind, my rant is coming to an end, and I really do bid you a
very happy InternationalWomen’s Day – celebrate yourself, your mum, sisters,
daughters and the ladies who paved the way for this day, whoever you want.
Don’t let the men who sit quietly on facebook with strange misogynistic quips
taint what is a truly worthy cause of celebration. Women are rad, without them
the world would kind of be at a loss. Nobody explains this better than Itch, so
I’ll leave you in his capable hands.
Love
x
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