International Women's Day - being a woman

Another year we celebrate women, and spare a thought for our sisters around the world who are less fortunate, where our lives may be complicated emotionally & physically - at least we have the benefit of living in a country that on the surface respects women’s rights in law, now that’s not to say we are not discriminated against in terms of equal status, pay & opportunities, but spare a thought for those women denied the right to be educated, dress, travel and work within their chosen field. 

Personally, I think it’s sad that we even have to have a day that celebrates women and promotes equality, in an ideal world - gender equality should be a given, but we do have this day - so let us celebrate and give ourselves a pat on the back, for retaining our sanity, our sense of humour, our drive, and ambition, for supporting our sisterhood.

To quote Dolly, “its hard to be a woman” and not for giving your love to one man (google it you younger women), its the periods for years and years and then the menopause for years and years, I guess at least in 2023 it’s not a taboo subject, and there is less of a male slur suggesting that if you are a bit off kilter you are “on your period” 

We spend years being a slave to our hormones, its no wonder that women are so strong, those who chose to have children carry the child for months, whilst still expected to play an active role professionally, domestically, and socially, and then we go through labor with very little dignity intact - we care and cherish the newborn, whilst battling the overloaded hormones, we are a super strong bunch.

And, of course, the pressure is on to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, lose the baby fat, dress in clothes that do not smell of baby vomit, and look glowing & healthy despite 2 hours of sleep if you are lucky. You do your best because obviously, you don’t want anyone to think you are not coping, considering your mother-in-law had 30 kids and never had a hair out of place and the dinner on the table at 6 pm every evening rain hail, or sunshine. 

There is no denying that the majority of us are the main care providers and we seem to fall into the role of multi-tasking with ease - we can do a full day’s work and in our heads still plan meals, shopping lists, cleaning lists, next years holidays and social events. 

But as super strong as we are, it’s not unusual to fall into the societal trap of viewing a woman, women have enormous pressure to look a certain way - from very early on society labels girls, the pretty in the pink label, young girls & teens fall into the trap of having to follow a certain fashion/look - we can all look back and remember being a slave to the fashion of our teen years, now our teens battle with social media to portray the perfect image.

Body image has always been more focused on women, we are expected to live up to an impossible unrealistic image of the female form by the fashion and beauty industry, and the fitness industry which when you think about it, is entirely sexist  - with “the little black dress body” the “Bikini body” the “yummy mummies” where are the yummy dads ;-).

But there is enormous hope in 2023, I believe following covid we have all readjusted our priorities, and I believe that we are starting to look after ourselves better, appreciate ourselves, and understand how very strong we are.

As a woman I have been through a lot of strife to bring me to my 59th year, I have been a slave to my womanhood and society’s view of my womanhood - its taken over 40 years to fully understand myself, how strong, resilient, adaptable, brave and of course sometimes foolhardy I am.

To my sisters on International Women’s Day - take the time to appreciate yourself today, yes it’s hard to be a woman (Dolly, again) but you are made of solid stuff. You can achieve what you set your mind to, but at times you will fall short, it’s not a failure, simply a setback a learning curve, dust yourself off and try again, and if you meet a sister along the way in need, offer a helping hand, be a mentor share your wisdom, the greatest gift you can give is inspiring another to appreciate themselves.