International Women’s Day is gone and it may well be the same for genuine sisterhood and support. We go on with our lives, implicitly accepting the status quo. Let’s reflect on it, but not over a corporate expensive dinner to acknowledge women’s achievements and marketed to “make us feel good” – and let’s do it certainly while we are sober.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being pessimistic or a men hater at all, I’m simply acknowledging the fact that an International Women’s Day had to be created because….? Because something was and continues to be off. Duh. No hope for change unless patriarchal capitalism is challenged from the roots. What’s worse, there are global signs of a backlash. For instance, have you heard about International Men’s Day? Watch this space, apparently men got jealous and created one. You haven’t heard much or anything of it, but brace yourself, it will happen on November 19.
International Men’s Day was created just before the millennium in Trinidad and Tobago to support and bring awareness about male health, discrimination and gender relations. Something to object? Um, no and yes. Is it a legitimate thought that this celebration potentially obscures the genuine and original purpose of International Women’s Day? You be the judge. I would like to ask the attendees of The Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen in 1910, when they created Women’s Day to promote universal suffrage for women and equal rights, but I rather don’t disturb them in their eternal sleep. I’ll disturb your unconscious mind instead.
Let’s face it. More than a century later there’s no strategic plan for gender equality, and the steps towards this goal are painfully slow or backwards – see Islamic countries or Trump’s Administration.
I can’t help but think about the Scandinavian countries as my heroes. Shout out to Iceland! They just passed a law to penalise unequal pay to women. Can’t we follow suit?
Surely the almost compulsory demonstrations of sisterhood on March 8 around the world are designed to make women feel good about themselves; also, it revolves around the sense that we are going to meet men half way somehow. Eventually. Just as it is a perfect opportunity for men to publicly reconcile with women and feel better about themselves, like, “of course, I support women and believe in equal opportunities”. That’s the right thing to say, isn’t it? That’s the society expectations of a modern and sensible 21st century man, at least in Western countries. Then, they go to the pub and will say to his mate, “oh, come on, stop bitching around!”. And all the others will laugh out loud. Am I being cynical? You bet I’m not, I regretfully laughed myself at those jokes in the past. Shocking, I know.
The amount of sexism in our society, not only among men but also among women, is insidious as much as outraging. It is in the small things, the invisible, the private sphere, even the romanticism. Many women are still so unaware as to accept that their partners will insult other women – directly or indirectly, as the ultimate compliment to them because they were the chosen ones, hence different, better women. They are oblivious to their partner’s misogyny and therefore the misogynist society we live in that we all create. Our society is a construction of our making. Women need to be genuine about their sisterhood for their own well-being before blaming others for the state of things… or when they are not the chosen ones.
Food for thought.