International Women's Day: Why All Women Should Be Celebrated
.png)
On International Women's Day, we celebrate women.
"It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political." (United Nations)
I think it's wonderful to celebrate women on this day. I love seeing all the posts about women who have done amazing things. Women who have broken the glass ceiling. Women who are fighting for social and environmental justice every single day. The stories are inspirational and filled with hope.
But there is also something missing. We need to celebrate the women whose voices have been silenced.
As I began research and writing for a new project--an anthology called "Reclaiming the Goddess: How to Bring the World into Balance"*** -- I realized that women's voices have been silenced for far too long. Yes, I knew this before, but it really hit home when I began to understand that the silencing of women started with the silencing of goddesses. Here is a passage from a (very early) draft of the introductory chapters:
Loud voices and patriarchal rulers still use the mythical or historical representations of certain "dark" goddesses to put women in their place in modern times. Any goddess who fought for balance and justice, or appeared independent and outside the “feminine norm” was labelled monster or a witch. These labels still appear today. Lilith, who came to being from the same earth as Adam, was punished for insisting on her own equality. Women around the world still face punishment. Medusa, who was simply fighting back after being punished by another woman for being raped, was turned into a Gorgon. Her symbolism is then applied to any woman who dares step out of bounds or demand a more just world, particularly in the political arena. Sedna, an Inuit Goddess of the Sea is sometimes called “Big Bad Woman.” She became a goddess after being betrayed by both her husband and her father. How many women today have been labeled as “bad” when they fight against a man’s betrayal. We can find modern day equivalents to each of these Goddesses—because the patriarchal voice still chooses to call them evil, rather than allow women to gain power in this world.
For this reason, and many more, I want to celebrate more than the women who are most well known. I choose to celebrate:
Women who choose not to face them to protect others.
Transwomen (who are women) who have the strength to live their truth every single day.
Women who work multiple jobs in a society that has made it more difficult to simply live.
Women who cannot work because of disabilities, and yet still strive and survive.
Women who choose to have children.
Women who choose not to have children.
Women who choose to nurture strangers.
Women who create and express themselves without any accolades.
Women who speak out for others.
Women who help other women reach the top.
Women who love women.
Women who love men.
Women who simply love.
Women who get up each day and do the hard work.
Women who have been punished by a system that does not work for them.
Women who work in every single field.
Women of every race, religion, gender, ethinicity, or any other label that divides.
Women who strive to make this world a better place.
Women who use faith as blessing rather than a weapon.
This list could go on forever, honestly.
I also acknowledge that there are a few women who I don't celebrate, but today is about the ones I do.
The point is that women should celebrated not just today, but every day. If you are a woman on this list (or in a category that I have not named) YOU should be celebrated.
I Celebrate You!
I invite you to celebrate yourself and the wonderful women in your life.*** Follow me here or on social media for updates on this project. I am in the beginning stages and will be looking for contributors after I finish another book (Re-Creating the World: The Power and Joy of Collaborative Creativity) which will be coming soon.
