Happy International Women's Day! As I am busy listening to my husband complain about his colonoscopy prep, I invited my new friend Jenn Trivette to write a guest blog this week. She is such a talented writer with a real perspective on today's current climate. Please give her some love in the comments, she deserves to be praised for speaking up and out! 

Side Note: We haven't figured out how to reply to comments on the blog, but I promise I read every single one. A huge thank you for those that comment. 

Side Note 2: My husband did not find it hilarious when I asked him if he saw the irony in the fact he was taking it up the ass on International Women's Day! :) 

*Jenn enters the conversation* 

I often imagine a world where women are treated with respect and dignity. Where both sides realize we are in this together…so we should work together. But, as I scroll through the daily news, I realize we are a long way from that unrealistic picture. Sigh, so much more work to do.

The first ‘National Woman’s Day,’ here in the U.S., was on February 28, 1909 in New York City. The global feminist movement in the 1960s embraced the holiday and propelled it to prominence worldwide. The UN adopted International Women’s Day (IWD) in 1977 as a way for women to advocate for change. We are still advocating.

The whole concept of IWD came about because of the shitty conditions in the sweatshops some men called factories. The sweatshops hired mostly young women and girls, usually recent immigrants, barely paid them, and worked them to the bone.

The integrity-free owners of the sweatshops got away with it because…profits over people. And that’s all that matters to some people…profits. Women tried to draw attention to the terrible conditions and the way it affected the women that worked there. But nothing changed.

I honestly think that IWD would have kicked around for a few years, given a lot of lip service, and shoved under that bridge over there. I don’t think there’d be an International Women’s Day in 2024 had it not been for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

The Hellfire of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company

On March 25, 1911, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York City, a fire broke out on one of the top three floors of the 10 story Asch building. Those floors were occupied by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. 123 women and girls and 23 men died in the fire. Most of the victims were recent Italian and Jewish immigrant women and girls aged 14 to 23.

The reason there were so many deaths: because management locked the easily accessible doors to prevent theft and to keep the union organizers out. The foreman who had the keys vacated the building safely, taking the keys with him. What kind of bullshit is that? The victims burned in the fire, died from smoke inhalation, or had to choose between the fire or jumping out the window. Many chose to jump.

International Women’s Day is Still Important

Do we still need an IWD? Hell yes, we do! We’ve made progress in the last 100 years but not nearly far enough. Here are a few reasons us women still need to be vocal worldwide:

• Roughly 70% of women and girls are physically and/or sexually assaulted at least once in their lives. SEVENTY PERCENT. Simply atrocious.
• 181 million girls and young women aren’t in school, employed, or in training. Why? Violence (hello, Malala, I hope you are well), religious fanaticism, discrimination, exploitation, control (28 girls a minute are forced to marry against their will).
• The gender pay gap. Here in the States, in 1982, women made 65 cents to every man’s dollar. In 2002, women made 80 cents per dollar. Getting closer, right? In 2022, women made 82 cents per dollar. Hmm…seems like all that talk, the last two decades, about bridging that gap has been lip service.
• 72 countries don’t allow women to open bank accounts. Worldwide, women only have 75% of the legal rights men take for granted. I’m so tired of this bullshit. Don’t even get me started on women not having reproductive autonomy. Fuck Your Abortion Laws! I hear the whispers of Handmaidens.
• Women in the States make up 76% of all healthcare positions…but women hold only 25% of senior leadership positions in the field. That’s some bullshit right there. Even in an industry where women are the clear majority, women can’t run the show? What do you think would happen if they did?
• Here in the States, 70% of our poor are women and children. 35% of single women with children are poor. Why? Women generally are stuck in low-paying jobs, gender pay gap, inadequate social safety net, childcare and family responsibilities, violence, and abuse. I see a theme here.
• The murder of Indigenous Women. A young Indigenous Woman was walking along the side of a deserted road in Montana late one night. A white supremacist woman, who named her children Aryan and Nation (I did not make that up), went for a joyride, high on drugs, with Aryan Nation in the Escalade and struck and killed the Indigenous Woman. And the police declined to press charges at first. Yep, the young woman was hit and killed by a white supremacist who then drove off. The police were like, “what was that girl doing walking around by herself at night? She clearly was doing something wrong.”

What the Fuck Can We Do?

I would love to wake up one morning and think: what a glorious day! No one is discriminated against, there’s no such thing as unconscious bias and everyone, worldwide, is celebrated for their differences. Wake me when that happens, please.

There is hope, though. Gen Z gives me hope. And the potential for the Alpha Generation is enormous. With the ability to travel on the internet, the kids aren’t as ignorant as we were. Some of us still are ignorant AF.

If only we can survive the arthritic dinosaurs still shuffling around. The mean ones never die young. Here are a few suggestions on how to support women if it will help (ladies, please forward to your local dinosaurs):

• Teach your sons that raping, beating, and murdering women is WRONG.
• Teach soldiers that raping, beating, and murdering women is WRONG.
• If you wouldn’t say or do that to a man, don’t say or do it to a woman.
• Lift women up: hire women, promote women, pay women the same as men for the same work, mentor women, treat women the way you want to be treated.
• Keep your hands and laws off women’s bodies.

Tired But Still Fighting for Our F’n Rights

I hope you have a good Friday and a good weekend. It doesn’t have to be great; I’m aiming for good. The theme for 2024 is Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress and #InspireInclusion. I hope this isn’t just lip service but I’m not sure. With all the shit going on in the news, Thanks Supreme Court, I’ll be paying close attention for any sign of progress on the Women Front.

Please wear purple today to show support for IWD. Purple signifies justice, dignity, and support for the cause. Some countries also wear yellow and/or green which mean growth and hope. We need all of that for 2024. A very important election here in the States between a desiccated orange with a super long tie and an escaped geriatric meanderer. I’m just glad Kamala’s there to show him the way.

 Stay Malicious, 

Jenn Trivette