University students across the nation long for March’s arrival. March means beautiful spring weather, a week off of classes spent at the beach and a St. Paddy’s day celebration that lasts all day (and all night). It means we are one month closer to summer, and we get to shed our ginormous sweaters and break out our favorite pair of lace-trimmed shorts.
March is more than blue skies, blooming flowers and green beer, though. The third month of the year is known as Women’s History Month, with a celebration of women everywhere on March 8 (International Women’s Day) and events happening throughout the entirety of the month. We all know a special, inspiring woman in our lives–our mothers, our best friends, our Bigs or Littles, our sisters and our grandmothers. Ruth Bader Ginsberg (also known as the Notorious R.B.G.) comes to mind, as does Beyonce, Serena Williams, Amelia Earhart, Emma Watson, Malala Yousafzai and, of course, Rosie the Riveter. Spend this month remembering the pioneers of women’s history, those who fight for gender equality every day, and also recognize your potential as a woman in today’s world. Raise your voice, and let it be known that you are proud to be a woman. Make sure to tell your fellow women that inspire you that they are in your hearts this month. Shout-out to the Notorious R.B.G. You rock, girl.
Don’t worry ladies (and gents), you don’t have to celebrate on your own. Get involved with your fellow women of Tallahassee this month, both on FSU campus and off. This past weekend, FSU’s Women Student Union is putting on a production of The Vagina Monologues, held at the Augusta Conradi Studio Theater at 8 p.m. This performance is made up of a variety of monologues, each connected in their shared theme: the female experience. This theme is reached through various ends, including the topics of sex, love, rape, masturbation, female genital mutilation and, of course, the vagina.
Then, on Monday, March 21, the SLC is showing the film Suffragette, starring Carrie Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep. The film transports its audience back into early 20th-century Britain, as women begin their struggle toward equality, fighting for their political voice and their right to vote. There are two showings of the film, one at 7 p.m. and one at 10:15 p.m., with a panel following the first screening.
Courtesy: Endure Nepal
The Women Student Union will be wrapping up their Women’s History Month celebrations with the Ladies’ Legacy Banquet held on Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m. in the University Ballrooms. This event is a time for the recognition of the various talented and inspiring women of FSU, including students, faculty and alumni. The banquet is free, but to attend you must pre-register.
Not only are there events on FSU’s campus, but there are events within the Tallahassee community that are open to the public as well (that means you!). The Tallahassee Oasis Center for Women and Girls is hosting their annual Women’s History Month Community Luncheon on Tuesday, March 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The theme of the luncheon this year is “Breaking Barriers, Building Communities,” and it is held at the Lively Café at St. John’s Episcopal Church. There will be awards, a keynote presentation, and, obviously, lunch. The event will run you $30 a ticket, but it goes to a good cause – and, you are given the opportunity to donate a ticket to a woman or young girl who is supported by the Oasis Center! Register, enjoy your lunch, and support your fellow Tallahassee women – Happy Women’s History Month, ladies! This event requires pre-registration too, which is available here.