International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day. March 8th is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Although it has been observed since the 1900s, it hasn’t been as notable as in the last few years. What does that say?

Coming from Europe, this day is widely celebrated. People give flowers and chocolates to the women in their lives. When I went to the US I didn’t hear much about it until celebrating the random daily holidays” became trendy. For example national cupcake day, national best friends day, national wear your underwear on your head day…. well the last one isn’t a thing as far as I know but maybe we can start the trend now. My point is, National Women’s Day is often misunderstood as a feminist holiday, and the word “feminist” in itself still has a a negative connotation to some.  To me, Feminism means being proud of being a woman, working hard to make the world see women in a positive light, standing up for other women that can’t stand up for themselves, showing that when women bond together it can be a powerful and beautiful thing, and most importantly being a positive role model for younger women. Feminism can mean something different to everyone especially women because it is so personally descriptive.
I talk about relationships between women often with my friends because it saddens me that what makes the news and is shown on tv as an example for young ladies is often cattiness and conflict between women. So naturally, they grow up thinking thats ok. We are all guilty of this but we can strive to be better everyday. We can strive to have better examples for young women. Lets think who the most famous women are currently? I bet the first 3 that come to mind, one of them you would not want your daughter growing up like her.

So today, let’s make it about being better for our fellow women. You can’t change how the world sees us without changing how we think and feel about each other first!

Some of my favorite quotes by women:

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K Rowling (1965)

“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.” – Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)

“Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit.” – Helena Rubinstein (1870-1965)

“Please know that I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)

“I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results.” – Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

“I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match. It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self esteem.” – Billie Jean King (1943)

xo,