Today is International Women's day, a holiday which has been used widely to celebrate women's achievements and highlight continuing inequalities. The International Women's Day website theme for 2012 is "Connecting Girls: Inspiring Futures" which I think is a pretty awesome theme. Since getting two fantastic nieces I have started thinking more and more about how to help bring up girls to be strong, confident, and full of self-worth in a society full of so many negative messages. I don't have any great answers (although I think buying a lot of Girl Scout cookies can't hurt) and sometimes it can be pretty demoralizing. Sometimes feminism can be just exhausting. Sometimes though, I try remember why I fight for gender equality:
Because I want to see what these fierce girls can make of themselves in a world without limits.
6 comments:
Hey! Welcome back darling!!! I was wondering what happened to you. And are those girls super adorable! :)
Hi there!
I just sent an award in your direction. :)
I'm doing the same thing, only with a nephew (and #2 due in May). How do I help make him a man whose attitudes towards women are healthy and appropriate? Auntiehood is serious, yo.
"A world without limits" S*I*G*H We 2nd-tier American feminists (the Suffragettes really deserve a lot of credit for their accomplishments) really thought that our bra-burnings, rallies, and the ERA would accomplish that lofty goal in our lifetime.
We were so naive.
Never give up.
Le Professeur Gothique - Thanks! I'd say they get all their good looks from their aunt, but they both clearly look more like their actual parents. I can say for sure though that the older one definitely gets her contrary nature from her aunt though!
Sal Kaye - Cool! Thank you! I will check it out.
TanteFledermaus - Yes, I have a handful of nephews as well. That's a pretty difficult dilemma to.
Sarahbelle - Well, you didn't actually pass the ERA after all (not that I think we'd be living in a feminist paradise anyway. The fact that so many people were so opposed to women being equally covered by the constitution really says it all, you know).
The real shame isn't that we didn't pass the ERA, but that we needed it, in the first place.
The fact that even in America(!) humans cannot all be considered to be equally worthy of rights.
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