Happy International Womens Day

So today is International Women's Day and it's celebrated all around the world... isn't that nice? A day when, according to the video I just watched, men go around and give women flowers to honor them, celebrate their contribution to society, and show them their sympathy for the fact that women don't have equal rights (social, economical, political) as men.

A FLOWER?!?!? Pardon me sir, but a flower just isn't enough... How about 364 more days. Thanks.

While I do appreciate this gesture (though I am yet to receive my flower), and can see how important this day is, it also makes me angry. Gender across borders is asking the world to blog, and this years topic is "Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all." This topic seems appropriate because that is exactly what comes to mind when I hear "International Women's Day." I am reminded that we will never be equal if we still have a day because that means we still need a day. Oh, hey... did anyone tell that guy over there.. you know, the one beating his wife, that today is international women's day? We may have come a long way since 1908, but we still have a long way to go. This is especially true when it comes to the "International" part of "International Women's Day." It reminds me of my own ignorance and privilege. I see the women's movement through my atheist white middle class American eyes and need to be reminded that my plight is not the plight of all women. While oppression binds us together, we are not neccesarilly struggling under the same hierarchies. After all, I don't think the women of Darfur are going to be able to blog today.

We need to unite together and continue to create radical change for all women (cis / trans) regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, ableness, weight, nationality, ethnicity, and religious background. If it effects women, it effects all women. Let's put an end to genital mutilation. Let's punish the rapist and not the victim. Let's end rape! Let's end domestic violence. Let's stop religious persecution. Lets end discrimination. LETS GET ACTIVE!