It’s International Women’s Day. A day that was founded in the early 1900’s, believe it or not. The day has ties to the labor movement, suffrage movement, and early protests and mobilizations for women’s rights to equality in citizenship, the economy, and basic rights. It seems that a lot of really good things kicked off in the early 1900’s as reaction to the newness of industrialization and the rampant inequality of early capitalism. Folks had a lot more awareness of what should and should not be, and they did their best to make changes where they could. It is 2022 and women are still not equal - in rights, in opportunities, in access to economic prosperity, in health, in safety, in respect.
This being said, we have a lot to honor, a lot to hold up as amazing examples of women who got it and got it right, and a lot of things to hope for when it comes to systems starting to recognize the basics of feminism - which, to me means something that seeks to recognize and celebrate the feminine and female, both the unique and biological realities of our bodies and the unique cultural, symbolic, psychological, sociological, spiritual and historical realities of our experiences.
As part of my reflection on International Women’s Day I also must say, as I grow older and as I mother a daughter, the power of the classics speaks to me again and again. One of these classics is Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott and all of the multiple variations of it that exist in movie and film form. Written in 1868, Little Women is a thing that gets it right when it comes to women’s lives. And of all of the film versions, it surprises me to hear myself say this, but the 2019 Greta Gerwig version is what nails it the most.
Women and girls have differences. Have aspirations. Have goals and dreams. And women and girls have realities that often push up against these differences, aspirations, goals and dreams and cause us to have to adapt, shift, give up, reformulate, or do what we can to have these things in smaller ways when, as Marmie puts it, we are always angry. This anger is spoken of in 1868, mind blowing, right. Because yes, women did and do and still have a level of anger at the restrictions, the expectations, the limitations, and the frustrations of living in a society that was not built around or for or in any sort of respect for us.
It can come from having to face these limitations ourselves - like Jo, when she wanted to be a writer, and it can also come when we have to watch our men deal with the limitations put on them in this system that does not allow them to be fully human most of the time. Little Women has always touched something deep inside girls and women, and I wish, really that more boys and men would read it or watch the film version as well because the story is important on both sides.
I used to think each woman was either a Meg, a Beth, an Amy or a Jo but now I see that every woman is a bit of each of them - we want so much, we have to adapt to restrictions, we have to love hard and follow our passions and we have to hold on to whatever we can of our dreams and goals.
Happy International Women’s Day, friends.