'Cause This Is Ladies Night! Is The Feeling Right?

Hurray to us all, it’s International Women’s Day!

I’m really proud to be the woman that I am. I remember the day my crazy Romanian folks sat me down at the dinner table and explained how they have been wanting a boy, but instead ended up with a hot blooded, neurotic, independent young lady. They would have named me Samuel. Yikes. I wasn’t all that uncomfortable with their exclamation, actually. It only made me more thankful and appreciative of the way I turned out to be.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a man. I don’t think there are major differences between the genders, except for genitalia of course.

From early on in life, agents of socialization like school and the children’s media like toys, books, television programs, teach us what it means to be a girl. Certain colours are associated with our gender. Certain toys are marketed more towards girls and not boys. Kindergarten teachers let the girls colour and play house while the boys are allowed to fight and play with trucks. Our culture seems to have set a certain guideline for us to follow as we evolve and become a bigger part of society. I do wonder on a daily basis what we would evolve into if such rules weren’t set from an early age.

Automatically we assume certain characteristics are more feminine than masculine. For instance – and this is one of my pet peeves – some people associate crying as being “a little girl”. I argue with the fact that both man and woman are given the ability to cry. Just like man and woman both have the ability to laugh, deceive, breathe, etc. To show emotion is to be human. I don’t believe one emotion is more feminine than the other or vice versa. Sure, women are probably seen crying more often than men but I still don’t get the whole “little girl” association. It should never emasculate a man if he decides to embrace his human emotions in public or in private. To mock something like that is rather immature and ignorant.

Such double standards continue to exist and from the looks of it, probably won’t go away. There’s so much inequality when it comes to how our society thinks we should behave. I’m still trying to figure out a way to break the spell.

I read one woman’s blog the other day and she also mentioned International Woman’s Day which really delighted me....until I discovered she just copied and pasted information from Wikipedia and ended the post saying “So, put on some lipstick and your favourite dress and enjoy being pretty!”....Yes, because that’s exactly what being a woman is about. Excuse me while my eyes roll into the back of my head.

I try not to morph into a preachy feminist so often (but sometimes I listen to too much Bikini Kill and I can't help it), however it really offends me when others say things of this nature. I will agree that some of us women can be materialistic, valuing clothing and beauty on a higher level than most people, but there are much more meaningful ways to celebrate being a woman.

I always enjoy looking back at some inspiring, accomplished women in the media and throughout history. I do this because lately there is far too much emphasis on hating other women in the media. We nitpick and criticize each other to no end when we should be praising and supporting one another instead (yes, I even have hope that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie can do this!).

International Women’s Day is a good day for parents who have daughters to educate them on women who have contributed something beautiful to the world in politics, arts, community, etc. I believe young girls who learn about Wangari Maathai and Jean Kilbourne will hopefully be inspired to also make a lasting impression in society.

I’m sick of the media labeling young, plastic celebrities as “role models”. Sure, some win Oscars and donate to charities once in a while for publicity, but nothing can compare to the lengths Maathai, Mary Wollstonecraft and Naomi Wolf (to name a few) have gone to make women more appreciated and respected in this world.

Today, I acknowledge the women that have come before me – the ones who made voting, owning property and pro choice possible. I also thank the women that I have in my life today – my mother, grandmother and teachers who encourage me to be strong, smart and free spirited. One particular woman I have had the pleasure of learning from is Angela Aujla, my Women and Popular Culture instructor. I mastered a lot in that class thanks to her and I continue to take all the information I have obtained through lectures and readings and apply it to both my personal and professional life.

To conclude my blabbering, today may be a day designated for women but overall, I'm celebrating what it means to be human because in the end it's what we all are, no matter the size, colour and sex.



P.S. I do think about Le Tigre every March 8th. How can I not mention them? Kathleen Hannah was my silver lining in highschool. I miss them and desperately want them to come out hiding and make epic anthems again.