International Women's Day... Are You A Feminist?

Today is International Women's Day. Wikipedia states that today, March 8th is the major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations range from general celebration of respect and appreciation towards women, to a celebration of women's economic, political and social achievements.

Today, I'm inspired to put down my opinion on a subject close to my heart. I think it's quite misunderstood. Currently, many view "Feminist" is a derogatory term that's equated with being masculine and strident. This is a falsehood. To be a feminist simply means believing in the equality between men and women, supporting the idea that women deserve the same rights under the law as men.  Feminine and feminist are not mutually exclusive. One can have the wonderful qualities of womanhood and still be a Feminist. It is also true that men can still be masculine while also holding the belief that the women in their lives are their equal.

Where people seem to be getting confused is when manners and common courtesy enter the picture. Just because a man opens a door or pulls out the seat for a woman doesn't mean he thinks of her as less. A gallant man is not sexist, he is mannerly. It is gentlemanly behavior to have manners and be polite. Holding a woman's chair should be equated to using please & thank you. It is a form of politeness and shows good manners.

Unisex is not the goal of Feminism, equality is. Men and women make a great team working together. Each gender brings their own strengths to the party. The value of those strengths is what's equal. This is a good thing and anyone misunderstanding what the Feminist Movement really is can be comforted by that. As the French say... "Vive La Différence!"

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Here's some fun on this International Women's Day. Bookmarks!! I'm having so much fun just being creative and doodling. I'm inspired to doodle by Art Of Joy and her Etsy store. I think she's an amazingly creative person and I Lurrrrrve my personalized stickers. I can't wait to get them.

And finally, I took this as I was photographing the bookmarks. It's become impossible to take out the camera without doing a photo shoot for the bird! She's such a ham. This is called "Show me Wings" and she fluffs up on cue and lifts her wings. Big wings is when she extends them, but I haven't captured that yet. :o)

You won't be without me for long, tomorrow is Mosaic Tuesday & I'll probably have more bookmarks too. See you soon!

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