March on, Sisters!
It speaks volumes about the fragile male ego that in light of International Women’s Day on the eighth of March, some men have been particularly active – overly active, even – in voicing concerns about the lack of a corresponding “International Men’s Day”.
Let’s take a moment to let that sink in. Heads-up: you might want to invest in a float or a buoy to avoid drowning in all the male privilege.
It would seem that this is yet another contention of what exactly feminism entails. Many have long since called out women rights activists on the use of the phrase “feminism”, contending that if it is genuinely about equality between genders, why don’t we give equal focus to men and women in terms of how the word is constructed? Arguably, the word might be viewed as misleading to some but clearly, such a response underscores how women’s rights and concerns are still being defined in relation to men.
Nevertheless, it seems that regardless of these ever-present anti-feminist sentiments, 2017 appears to be off to a strong start for women’s rights activists, with the Women’s March on Washington held on 21st January, the very day of Trump’s inauguration, a huge (or should I say “y-uge”) sign of resistance to a powerful political figure who has consistently belittled, objectified, and oppressed women. Many women took the chance to turn Trump’s words against him, making bold statements in fierce protection of what essentially are fundamental human rights.
A woman in a pink "pussy" hat transforms Trump's derogatory phrase of "nasty woman" into a symbol of power and agency
"Support your sisters, not just your cis-ters", a clever play on words and a powerful call to embrace diversity among women
These fierce defenders of women’s rights were not afraid to make their voices heard. But beyond demonstrating the strength of their voices, it is also clearly an exercise in showing solidarity, to speak up for those with smaller voices, or even those without a voice. As exemplified in the sign “Support your sisters, not just your cis-ters” (above, right), it is a resounding call to be all-encompassing in the fight for women’s rights, to recognise the struggles faced by other women who may be different from us, and to be able to be quick in saying.
In view of cis-white feminism that has the tendency to be exclusive and more often than not highly toxic for their counterparts of different orientations and race, it is thus heartening to see an increasingly intersectional approach to women’s issues. To the likes of Taylor Swift, Tomi Lahren, Lena Durham, and other self-proclaimed feminists who have time and again shown to prioritise their exclusive circle of women above others, it is time to recognise that “[none of us are] free when any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from [our] own”, as aptly put by feminist writer Audre Lorde. With events such as Planned Parenthood’s “Pink Out Day” in the US which aims to fight for reproductive rights for all and the Queer (Women) Story Showcase in the UK, we do see that women are rallying together despite differing views and struggles in a bid to loosen – if not eradicate – the hold these shackles have on them.
In this continuing bid for inclusivity, and as a follow-up to the March on Washington, we see that more recently, the “A Day without Women” strike on International Women’s Day is an appeal to women of different backgrounds to lay down their responsibilities for a day, be it as an office clerk, a teacher, or even a housewife, to demonstrate to the world that women are an integral part of society in so many ways. Women who could not simply set aside their duties for the day were urged to wear red to show solidarity to the cause.
In many areas, women, too, play the same roles and do the same jobs as men; naturally, it only makes sense that women are accorded the same rights as their male counterparts. Indubitably, the world stands to benefit from an egalitarian society, where humanity can prosper and progress as a collective whole. After all, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, where’s the logic in restricting ourselves from tapping into the other 50% of human potential?
And if that fails to convince die-hard “meninists”, a quick Google search will reveal that feminism is about men too (although that, in itself, probably warrants an article of its own).
So please, know that when women make their stand by marching, yes, they march to bring attention to women’s issues, to rail against the injustice of compromising reproductive rights, to challenge political figures that have no qualms with grabbing women by the pussy, but they march for all of us too.
So to our sisters, all brave and beautiful in their own right, march on!