Sunday was International Women’s Day. Held in over 100 countries on March 8 each year, International Women’s Day is set aside to recognize women’s suffrage, remember the champions of previous feminist movements and to advocate for further progress in women’s rights.
At least that’s what the day is supposed to be about. But like most social issues, women’s rights has its share of detractors who don’t miss an opportunity to stir up trouble.
Personally, I fail to understand how some can rationalize their beliefs that women are subservient, weaker or somehow less capable than men. My gut reaction when I see posts on social media promoting the helpless maiden or sex appeal based value stereotypes to women is generally bewilderment. Have these people even met a woman?
I’m fortunate to have grown up with my older sister, who spent a fair amount of my childhood teaching me the proper way to express misogynistic ideas was to lean over the bathroom sink, pinch the bridge of my nose and wait for my crimson male superiority to stop dripping down the front of my shirt.
In school, with a slightly crooked nose to remind me to mind my manners, I was lucky enough to find several good friends who helped me avoid the excessive machismo and masculinity competition some of my classmates were roped into. Those same friends took it upon themselves to finish the lessons my sister had begun, though less painfully, and encouraged me to abandon any feigned empathy I had towards female empowerment and replace it with compassion.
My family is neither rich nor poor, influential nor ineffective, but reading Roxanne Gay’s explanation of intersectional feminism in her book, “Bad Feminist” in college, it’s pretty clear I’m just not qualified to express empathy for the feminist plight. Empathy requires imagining myself in the same circumstances, and I don’t have the experiences I’d need to properly do that. So, I have to go for compassion instead.
In all honesty, it feels disingenuous to write about the social issues where I don’t have a dog in the fight. I worry that I’m putting my voice where someone else’s should be. But frankly, the fact that we need a social movement to fight for the yet unreached equality for women, or any demographic, is extremely frustrating. That some employers still refuse to pay women the same as men, some men still think harassing jokes and touches are acceptable, that #MeToo and the women’s rights march and all of the rallies, protests and demonstrations we have each year are necessary is appalling.
I don’t get why some still seem determined to hold on to antiquated ideas. It’s not hard to let go of misogyny. Just lean over the sink, pinch the bridge of your nose and wait for dripping to stop. It’s a remedy I learned from my sister.
Thomas Howard is the managing editor of The Newton County Appeal. He can be reached at thoward@newtoncountyappeal.com
