“Stop the hate. Unite the fight. Build the resistance. Unity is power.” These were the words on the poster for the International Women’s Day march that took place on Saturday, March 11 in Toronto. I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the march and was so inspired by all of the incredible people who turned out to march not only for women’s rights, but for the rights of the many marginalized groups that are continually encountering oppression.
Photo Credit: Facebook
International Women’s Day was first observed in New York on February 28, 1909. The day was recognized and celebrated by the United Nations in 1975. In 2011, International Women’s Day celebrated its centennial, and President Obama declared March as ‘Women’s History Month’. (Oh, how we miss you Obama.)
Growing up, I knew that gender inequality was present, but I had never really experienced its effects first hand. As I grew up, more educated about the gross inequality between men and women, these little inequalities became more salient.
One experience I will never forget always enters my mind when the topic of benevolent sexism comes up. My high school economics teacher was a young, incredibly well educated man with a degree from a top-tier university. He loved to tell the class about all his experiences traveling abroad, and shared with us all the many different cultures he had immersed himself in. I respected him, not only for his openness to different cultures, but due to his ability to keep my interest in something as dry as economics (no offense Rotman kids!)
But I lost this respect for him when I realized that these worldly experiences and amazing education had failed to teach him about the hurtful nature of benevolently racist and sexist remarks.
He refused to pronounce my name the way I had corrected him (on multiple occasions), insisting that his pronunciation was the “ethnic” way. His preference for this exotified pronunciation came from his perception of my culture. Because I am part Sri Lankan, my skin is naturally tan, and being from a predominantly Caucasian city, my appearance struck him as “ethnic.” He knew his comments were humiliating, yet continued to embarrass me, as his jokes and snide comments were met with laughter and acceptance from the majority of the class. I simply wrote him off as slightly arrogant, perhaps seeking the high school glory that he failed to receive.
My respect for him diminished further when he began to instruct the boys in our class about ‘ways to impress women’. He told them that learning to cook would amaze any woman. He followed this by addressing the girls in the room, telling them that they should learn how to cook because it is a skill they ‘needed to possess as women’. His adherence to traditionalist and sexist notions of men and women’s work infuriated me, but even more sickening was the praise he was met with by my classmates.
The final straw was when on the last day of class, he shook all the guys’ hands, but refused to shake the girls’, instead giving us a high five. This was the moment I truly knew that the world we live in is still plagued by gender inequities. It saddened me to think that my teacher would never respect me to the same extent as my male classmates, that my contributions would never be viewed as entirely legitimate, simply due to my gender.
This is why, when I heard that Toronto would be hosting an International Women’s Day march, I knew I had to participate. To prove to my teacher that my gender does not signify my worth, that I am deserving of anything a man receives. To prove to all the people who endorse sexist and racist ideologies that these will not be tolerated.
I am so humbled to have been in the presence of so many strong, intelligent women. Many women shared their stories at the rally, further solidifying why we still need to recognize this day, and why we still continue to march for our rights.
The march started at the Medical Sciences Building on the U of T campus, and went around Queens Park, along Bloor and down Yonge street, ending at Ryerson University for a fair. It was reported that more than 11,000 people came out to march. I could feel the energy and intensity of the people around me, and it felt amazing to know we were all working towards shared goals of human dignity and respect. We made our voices heard, and chanted loud to make it clear what we were fighting for.
And of course, no march is complete without signs! Many people brought amazing signs (I took lots of pics!)
I was contemplating going for an anti-Trump themed sign, as I am from the States (#notmycheeto), but decided to focus more on what I was fighting for specifically, the equality women to men.
Some of the more radical signs, but all in the spirit of feminism!
Me and my cool sign..I was pretty proud of how nice it turned out…
Unfortunately, the fight for women’s equality is far from over. There will be many more opportunities to engage and participate in forms of activism to advocate for the rights we deserve, and I encourage you to partake in them.
It is easy to accept the subtle indignities that we often experience as women, but accepting them is simply furthering us from reaching total equality. As humiliated and infuriated as I am that I encountered a teacher who displayed these sexist attitudes, I am grateful that I was made aware of the ways in which these ideologies are fostered. The battle hasn’t been won, but we will keep marching, keep fighting, and keep persisting.
Photo Credit:
References:
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/About
http://www.spin.com/2017/01/protest-signs-womens-march/