Today we celebrate 108 years of International Women’s Day, during which we celebrate millennia of girlpower!
I kind of love that this is the 108th year. 108 is a sacred number to many, including in many religions, yoga, and martial arts practices. I also feel the feminist energy is at (nearly)* an all-time high.
*I say nearly because I can only imagine what it was like during the turn of the century and the 70’s. Thanks for setting the stage for us, you badass ladies!
After years upon years upon years of fighting for equality and shouting “girl power!” from the rooftops, the fight still isn’t over.
In psychology, there’s what’s called the Madonna-Whore Complex. It supports the idea that women are viewed as either innocent and virginal or sexual. One is demure and the other debase. One is to be respected and married, the other to be f***ed.
It makes sense that something so complex as personality traits and sexual tendencies is so strictly categorized for a grossly generalized evolutionary psychological theory. But even while studying it in college I couldn’t imagine real-life society would be so divisive.
Apparently that’s not the case.
Emma Watson, a Brown graduate and famous actress, is being ripped to shreds in the media and online for having the gall to demand equality for women AND showing cleavage in an editorial photo shoot. For claiming to be a feminist while baring some underboob. Apparently those are mutually exclusive qualities. Apparently you cannot be strong, independent, intelligent AND sexual at the same time.
I think it’s an unfortunate societal norm stemming from the Madonna-Whore, wherein you kept those archetypes in separate parts of daily life, even in separate parts of town. Hello, red light district! Men married Madonna. She was “a lady,” the the one who would bear children, raise them to be upstanding citizens, always take the advice and orders of her husband, vacuum in high heels and pearls. She understood duty and how to navigate society. She was not a sexual being, but rather viewed sex as a wifely duty, a necessary act to consummate her marriage and have children.
Men f***ed the whore. They left their ladylike wives at home with their children to go visit mistresses and “ladies of the night” in brothels to rut, carouse, and debase themselves. They could be themselves in a way they couldn’t with their made-of-glass wives because they didn’t need to respect these female figures intended solely for sex. It could even manifest present day in the inability to perform sexually within a committed and loving relationship.
This sounds like a lifestyle lived long ago when people married for status rather than love. But unfortunately it’s still a prevailing reality today.
Here it is: we can be intelligent and sexual, at the same time. You know why? BECAUSE IT’S OUR CHOICE TO BE WHAT WE WANT TO BE! We can be mothers and go dance on bars. We can own businesses and still love for a man to open the door for us. We can be able to debate topical political issues while wearing a short skirt. It’s our choice to do what we want with our lives and bodies, so get on board and support that. Or suck it up and deal with it, because it’s happening!
Femininism is about giving women choice. – Emma Watson
It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation. It’s about equality. I really don’t know what my tits have to do with it. – Emma Watson
I’m currently en route with two of the most amazing girlbosses I know to go meet some more of the most amazing girlbosses I know in Sonoma for a weekend of yoga, running, and wine drinking.
Not only is it International Women’s Day, not only is it #womancrushwednesday, not only are we on our way to a retreat with some amazing and badass women, but it’s also the year of EMPOWERMENT!
As Emma said in the video above, “feminism isn’t a stick with which to beat other women.”
We had a conversation last night that took a feminist turn. A family member’s gym has requirements of their trainers: they need to “look” a certain way to be trainers at this gym. The female family member said, “Not that I support that, but some of the girls don’t really look, you know, the way trainers do…” We all exploded in feminist rage over this! What does it matter what the trainer looks like?! As long as they know their stuff and are good at their job, it doesn’t matter!
The theme of feminism right now seems to be centered around supporting the fellow female. We need to build each other up, not put them down. Challenge each other to grow, cheer each other on, celebrate our differences.
On our run this morning in Ashland, we did ALL the hills! What better way to celebrate female badassery than to run uphill once, twice, and then throw some extra hill sprints in at the end? Coming down one of our last hills, I saw Jamie had turned around and was running up the short burst another time. Even as I was cursing her under my breath, her actions and big grin pushed me to get an extra hill in myself. And then we had to Insta Stories it, so we had another round too!
It got me pretty excited about running around Sonoma this weekend. And for our upcoming EMPOWERED Race Series in San Francisco, a female running and yoga festival weekend celebrating empowerment. It’s got me motivated to be running all the hills in the meantime…
What else can we do to #BeBoldForChange? Bums out for change!
What are you doing to celebrate International Women’s Day?
I love the idea of working out with a partner, Liz! It seems that the saying’ no man is an island’ is true!
I love working out with partners! Totally motivates me AND it makes it more fun!