International Women’s Day always brings gender issues into the mainstream media, providing a rare reason for a broad audience to talk about how to eliminate violence against women, ensure greater political representation, or guarantee reproductive rights.
As happy as I am to see those issues be discussed by a wider audience than the usual “progressive” crowd, I can’t help but think: Will I ever live in a world where we don’t need a day to speak about these issues? Where the population at large simply cares to ensure particular privileges exist for women and men alike?
This gets me thinking about the “women’s movement”. I am not sure it is a singular movement anymore since every issue has a gender angle to it - poverty, climate change, economic development. Many people that cringe at the use of the “f-word” often wonder why, in a society where women have equal rights, do women have to be so annoying and talk about gender – it’s a non-issue right?
I always keep a few responses in my back pocket:
1. It is about gender – men and women are NOT the same, therefore have different needs.You cannot have a conversation about gender without talking about men.
2. Fixation on the pay issue is always a favourite for many people in North America. “Women work, they make the same money, have the same opportunities” is something I hear all the time. Women are now attaining higher levels of education, but still make less – across almost every field. It’s still an issue as economic means remain a determinant of other opportunities available to an individual.
3. Women “here” are connected to women “there” – those faraway places that we don’t like to think about because unpleasant things such as genital mutilation and forced marriage happen.
4. Women “here” experience many of the same things – do we truly believe there are no forced sex workers, women experiencing violence, or systemic poverty in our society?
5. This isn’t about making women victims. Every society I can think of in today’s world (I am sure I have knowledge gaps – this is a blog not a thesis, get over it) patriarchy reigns. We need to work towards a world where victimizing a woman isn’t normal and advocating tooth and nail for a fair shot at life is no longer the case. The power for a woman to choose her own destiny is all we ask for.
Work life, family life, sex life – whatever, is all affected by gender relations. For many, the status quo provides benefits- making individuals blind to its effect on others, or the status quo is so completely normalized it becomes difficult to imagine any other type of society.
We pesky women (and men) have imaginations. We can imagine worlds that do not exist but can exist. One where your genitalia does not determine your destiny.
Moreover, us pesky feminists believe it will exist.
To women all over – mothers, sisters, friends and lovers, have a lovely International Women’s Day.
