International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate women and girls worldwide. It is a day dedicated to just women and only women. And from a non-biased point of view, we f*cking deserves this. No matter what anyone else thinks or says.
International Women’s Day symbolizes all the struggles women have faced in history and have overcome to get to today. We gained the right to vote, get an education, be employed, own land, become leaders and even wear jeans. These were enormous battles for women. Rights that society granted to white men with no questions asked were years of protesting for women to have the same ability. Women used to be disregarded, considered less worthy, and not seen as influential individuals. International Women’s Day is a day to recognize all who came before us. The mountains we had to move and climb to gain equality. Yet, there is much work to be done to get equal pay, have a woman as the president and have rights for women in other countries. This day acknowledges how far we have come but the work that still lies ahead.
International Women’s Day is highly advertised on social media through support posts, remembering influential women in history, and telling the women in our own lives how strong and beautiful they are. This year I posted my annual support post. An image of three girls sitting next to each other with the back of their shirts saying “Girls Support Girls.” It is a meaningful post to celebrate a day with a reminder of how women need women today and every day. It was a small but powerful message, in my view.
International Women’s Day means something new to me because of this post. I had a male acquaintance respond to the post and ask, “I wonder why there is no men’s da(y)?” To say I am mortified is an understatement. I could not believe the audacity this person had to even send this to me and even more to ask this question. Do they not understand anything about women’s past, present and future struggles? Do they not understand the sexism we face through aggressions and microaggressions? Do they not understand the challenge it is to be a woman compared to a man? I am appalled at this person’s audacity and ignorance.
International Women’s Day stands for so much and means so much to many people throughout the world and me. It holds so much significance, resilience and hope for women. To have this person take this away from me in one comment hurt my soul and existence like no other. Then, I paused for a moment and realized this was not all men, but many men still hold this viewpoint. This is from not reading statistics, being uneducated and not caring. I realized that this is what International Women’s Day stands for. It stands for the ability to teach others who fail to acknowledge who and what we are as women. Frankly, that is their mistake and their fault.
International Women’s Day represents women’s courage, beauty, strength, leadership, worthiness, value, resilience, accomplishments and power. It is a day where all women can celebrate the achievements we have made without worrying about national, ethnic, linguistic, economic, political or cultural differences. Women have been trailblazers in the world and will continue to be every day. Society would not be where it is today without women.
On International Women’s Day, I encourage all to keep fighting for equality, keep standing up for themselves, keep staying strong and being fearless and keep steadfastly loving each other as women.