Written by: Jesse Mechler
Welcome to Women’s History Month. Please enjoy these next 31 days where women are celebrated and encouraged! Enjoy your right to vote, own property, be educated, and many more liberties that were fought for on our behalf. However, please ignore the gender wage gap, the number of women stuck in prostitution, our sisters across the sea who are treated as property, the feminization of poverty and the fact that we are still fighting for the rights to our own bodies. We hope you enjoy your ride!
As fun as a ride through Women’s History Month sounds, I have grown in my feminist values and realized that March has lost its value as a celebration of women. As inspiring as it is to tweet Margaret Thatcher and Rosa Parks quotes all month, we don’t seem to reach out to our sisters who are fighting battles today. Just because it’s Women’s History Month does not mean that we are only allowed to celebrate those who are dead and gone. History has its eyes on so many women today, and they need just as much recognition and celebration as our late sisters get. March should be a month-long party about women, past and present.
One way to celebrate this month is by taking time to thank the women who are fighting for us today, such as our moms and grandmas, doctors, lawyers and even the occasional politician. As any feminist would tell you, every day is a good day for empowering others. If we started celebrating our small victories every single day, more people would be accustomed to the celebration of women. While it may take years of persistently loving and supporting each other, eventually society would be so accustomed to celebrating women that we would no longer need a specific month set aside for us. “Women’s history” would just be “history.” We should feel free to celebrate ourselves, and recall our part in the making of our society whenever we want. We shouldn’t have to set aside specific months for individual groups once we represent ourselves every day.
When celebrating, we shouldn’t just include our “cis-ters,” but recognize all of our sisters, biological or otherwise. Why fight for equality but exclude those who weren’t blessed with two X chromosomes at birth? No one can change the world by being exclusive. In today’s society, where women are still fighting for equality, we cannot turn around and say that some people do not qualify to be equals. All of God’s children should want to celebrate their brothers and sisters, no matter the circumstance.
Now that March is almost over, the ride through Women’s History Month is slowing to a halt. While I hope you have tweeted at least one quote with #WomensHistoryMonth and thanked your mom for raising a fierce young lady, I mostly hope you are fearless in your celebration of who you are and where you are going. Once you find confidence in your pursuit of everyday life, encourage someone else in theirs. We cannot continue our march to equality without walking hand-in-hand.
