International Women's Day 2020

I don't know how I committed to always writing a post on International Women's Day: see 2015, 20162017, 2018, 2019. But with the current state of the world, it feels even more important. So here I am on a Sunday evening, tired but happy from my birthday celebrations this weekend (birthday was yesterday) and a very busy last week, but making sure that come hell or high water, I write on this blog today.



A whole lot has been said on social media today and mostly great things. We are not going to talk about the morons that want to make this about them by asking stupid questions like, when is international men's day. UGH. The freaking irony.  Two overarching things to talk about. First, I want to draw from Elizabeth Warren's political campaign. I don't care what your political views are, and I am hoping you are making sure you are on the right side of history. But ideological differences aside, no one can deny how astute, brilliant, and phenomenal Elizabeth Warren is. The woman is humble, she listens, she pays attention to policy, she's extremely brilliant, and most of all she never trivializes the experiences of marginalized populations. She is exactly the kind of person you would want leading you. Yet, this woman just did not get the broad support she needed to get that nomination. I know there are a multitude of factors responsible for this. But we can all agree that her media coverage was piss poor and there was a clear bias against her because of her gender. It is what infuriated me and many others the most; that this clearly qualified person lost the shot largely because of that Y chromosome.

As women, many of us can relate to Warren's trajectory. Sometimes you work incredibly hard, crawl your way up and once you get to the peak there is a man there waiting to take all the credit. Warren worked hard, and whomever wins on the democratic side would probably just tap her and all her ideas. I realized America is even more sexist than homophobic. So why are people going around telling their daughters they can grow up to be anything? They can't. At least not in America.  And this is the first thing I am hoping we think about this International Women's Day. Because we are not truly equal until people stop relegating women, until you stop leaving us behind, and until you recognize our strength, brilliance, and formidable power. Check your prejudice. No matter what, I am proud of Elizabeth Warren and the campaign she ran. I am proud, because, NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED. She showed us how to fight for our plans and dreams no matter the obstacles and hostilities around us. In her words, "the fight goes on".

The second thing is for women specifically. I am here to tell you that you don't have to be "strong". You know, when people describe women as "strong", it is often only after enduring the worst form of abuse and  after doing all the emotional and physical labor. You don't have to be extraordinary too. Somehow, women have to be extraordinary. And I'm not here for it. It's okay to not want to be badass. It's ok to be mediocre. To be content. To not want to be that powerful boss. It is okay to want a slow, simple life in a world that constantly demands you to hustle, strive, build, compete,  have this immense impact on the world, save the world, and always want more. I am here to remind you that bigger is not always better. It is okay to not have the energy and stamina to keep up with this crazy world.   It is okay to be whatever you want. As long as you fulfill God's purpose for your life, which is not always in the grand way people think. As long as you live out loud. As long as you never apologize for who you are. And as long as you never ever silence yourself.

Happy International Women's Day to all the women in my life. They are fierce, brilliant, and resilient. Importantly, they know it is absolutely okay to be ordinary. Let us keep smashing the patriarchy y'all.

The fight definitely goes on.

Love,

I


No comments