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| https://www.hubspot.com/iwd |
There are movements happening all over the world
today in honour of International Women’s Day, which is so inspiring.
In honour of all the women who are standing up today, all the women who believe today is important, and for this day in general, I’ve compiled a list of some basic facts about the day that should be worth noting (also note that #6 is first from the UN, then the rest is based on my opinion and how I feel)!
In honour of all the women who are standing up today, all the women who believe today is important, and for this day in general, I’ve compiled a list of some basic facts about the day that should be worth noting (also note that #6 is first from the UN, then the rest is based on my opinion and how I feel)!
1) First NWD (National
Women's Day) was held on February 28, 1909
After a declaration from the socialist party of America,
the first actual march was in 1909 and was celebrated the last Sunday of February
until 1913.
2) The first IWD (International Women's Day)
was held on March 19, 1911
When the decision was made in Copenhagen, IWD
was first celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.
3) It was originally called International
Working Women's Day
Held in New York, almost 15,000 union members
and immigrants marched through the streets demanding social and political
rights.
4) Declared a national holiday by the Soviet
Union in 1917
IWD was declared a national holiday in the
Soviet Union and was actively celebrated by the socialist and communist
countries.
5) United Nations adopted the day in 1977
The UN adopted IDW in 1977, and ever since 1996
have picked the theme. This year's theme is #PressforProgress.
6) What's the day for?
From the UN “a day when women are
recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether
national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an
occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more
importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that
await future generations of women.”
For me, this day is for everything that the UN cited and not what the stereotype is of it. In my opinion, the word feminist or any words that fall under it, has started to leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.
There is a common misconception that being a feminist, or supporting this day, is all about bashing men, crushing the patriarchy, kicking men out of powerful positions, and/or promoting women superiority.
Over the most recent years, the word feminism has been getting a bad reputation because of those misconceptions and I want to tell you that feminism is not those things at all.
It honestly drives me crazy when people say that feminism is stupid, there's no need for it, and that it's all of the misconceptions I described above because it's really not.
Google defines feminism as, "a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes". Nowhere does it say that it should be to promote women's superiority, kick men down, or whatever else.
I will admit that feminism has changed, maybe it's become a little more radical or aggressive and the whole purpose/goal of it has seemingly been lost.
But we have to remember that for every issue, there are radicals on every side and unfortunately those radicals are the ones that get broadcasted to the world, changing every one's perspective on it.
Coming from someone that is not afraid to say they're a feminist, feminism isn't about crushing the patriarchy, or making women superior to men, or what other misconceptions there are about it.
I'm not trying to convince you to be a feminist, I'm trying to tell you that feminism is about working for equality amongst everyone, everywhere and that it's not all about burning our bras, or dissing stay-at-home moms, or believing men suck.
Feminism is about working to ensure that everyone is equal in social, political, and economic standards.
Feminism is about making sure every gender has the same opportunity and so forth.
Feminism is about having the equality of choosing whether or not to be a stay-at-home mom or being a CEO of a company and not getting negative opinions on it.
Feminism is about living in a world where being a woman doesn't give you the stereotype of just being a woman, it's about living in a world where you're more than what your body or gender says about you.
So International Women's Day is everything that the UN cited, but today is also about making everyone aware of the inequalities women face not only here in the U.S.A, but especially all over the world.
I'm grateful that I get to live in the USA, a society that I can go to college, drive a car, get a career, get married or not get married, have kids if I want, don't have kids if I don't want, vote, and everything else but it's still not perfect.
Like I mentioned above, I'm not trying to convince you to turn into a feminist, I'm trying to send the message that today is significant. Today is about making note of the struggles women have faced, how much it's changed, honouring those who fought for our gains, and to show that we've come a long way but there's still work.
7) There are ten IWD core values
- Justice
- Dignity
- Hope
- Equality
- Collaboration
- Tenacity
- Appreciation
- Respect
- Empathy
- Forgiveness
8) The United States dedicated the entire month of March as "Women's History
month"
One thing I want to leave you with is this quote:
"They used to give us a day-it was called International Women's Day. In 1975 they gave us a year, the year of the woman. Then from 1975 to 1985 they gave us a decade, the decade of the woman. I said at the time, who knows, if we behave they may let us into the whole thing. Well, we didn't behave and here we are." --Bella Abzug "Battling Bella"
I hope you enjoyed this and learned something new! Have a great Thursday (and happy International Women's Day!).
xoxo,
l.k
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