Today is International Women’s Day.
I have a plethora of strong, amazing, incredible women in my life, and I’m beyond blessed to have them there.
Women are amazing beings. We really are.
I’m talking about all women: Literally any human being who identifies as female/woman.
How amazing are we, ladies?
We are friends, lovers, mothers, caregivers, daughters, sisters, executives, teachers, IT professionals, lawyers, doctors, singers, artists, bloggers, stay-at-home moms, business owners, politicians. We are warriors, fighters, queens, princesses, saviors, knights, Madonnas, Jezebels, strong women, power lifters, dancers.
My women. My amazing, inspiring women. My friends, my family.
Me.
We are. We are women. We have struggles. We are beaten down, oppressed, depressed, repressed, pressing the laundry, pressing the grilled cheeses, pressing matters, pressing the button for the destruction of inequality.
My women. My amazing, inspiring women. My friends, my family.
Me.
We are. We are women. We are creatively mothers, even those of us who are child free. We give birth: We birth ideas, babies, recipes, knitting patterns, home decor, weddings, funerals, business plans. We work tirelessly, up all night feeding our children, our infants, our pets, our spouses, our projects, our music, our dance studio, our painting, our depositions, our desperate friends. We nurture and mother, whether we are mothers or not we are nurturers. We care deeply. We love. We comfort. We give advice freely, over coffee, over tea, over whiskey.
We are.
We are WOMEN. We endure. We live it every day. The passive aggressive turned aggressive turned violent in less than 5 minutes dating site messages. The fragile egos of the fuckboys who insist that they are “nice guys”…who aren’t so nice when we politely say that we aren’t interested. We endure. The constant catcalls. The men who tell us to smile. The ones who leer, and call us prudes for going slow when it comes to sex, but call us sluts if we admit to enjoying it.
We live through the victim shaming. The repression of being told what to wear, how to dress, how to avoid being raped, when it is NEVER our own fault! If I walk down the street buck ass naked as the day I was born, it will NEVER BE CONSENT UNLESS I SAY YES.
We live through being TOLD we are being repressed, oppressed, simply by dressing a certain way. If I cover my hair, my face, my body, its oppression. But what they don’t realize is that I choose this. What they’ll never realize because they never ask is that I feel empowered by modesty. I feel empowered by nudity. My empowerment is not for you to dictate. Only I can say what empowers me.
I am a woman.
An Amazing woman.
A woman who sees other amazing women beginning to spark changes.
Women who make it their mission to build other women up. Realizing that we are NOT in competition with each other, but we are striving for a sisterhood.
Striving to understand one another. To break through barriers that divide, united in the fight for ALL women. For our right to CHOOSE. For our right to have control over OUR OWN bodies.
Today, I celebrate WOMEN. All the beautiful women in the world.
You are all strong, courageous and inspiring.
Ladies, don’t give in.
Don’t become complacent. We have to fight. We cannot be comfortable.
Stand up for each other, and each others rights. ALL rights. Don’t tear each other down. We are ALL in this together.
The Three of Swords... 