Throughout this week, International Women’s Day was celebrated with much pomp and circumstance. The predictable media posts, cakes and extravagant affairs once again took centre stage. As always, the real movements to ensure women have equal access to opportunities and freedom from harm continued to stay in the background.
It is quite distressing to see the way in which women are shallowly pandered to while their rights continue to be infringed upon daily. The ways in which we can actually begin to rid ourselves of the everyday impacts of economic insecurity, abuse and ecological collapse however, are rarely ever discussed with actionable steps in mind. So, instead of useful plans and policies that ensure women regardless of race, class and dis/ability have equal access to opportunities in their homes, workplaces and communities, what we get are “girl boss” pins and pink bows telling us how special we are.
A lot of this has to do with the way in which ideas of feminism have been shrunk, mass-produced and then aggressively use to oil the PR machines of businesses and its associated politicians. A day that was founded on radical action to secure better wages and working conditions for women today is a depoliticized snappy sound bite that is heavily capitalized upon. This is not done by mere coincidence, there is a vested interest in ensuring that women movements do not move past catchy sound bites and hash tags.
Given the growing popularity of feminism and the financial and optical benefits that can be garnered from promoting gender equality, elements of women’s liberation have been incorporated into popular culture and political movements. While the saying often goes that all PR is good PR, the problem with the growing clamour to jump on the feminism bandwagon is that persons rarely ever critically analyze what it means and how they themselves can be anti-feminist. We have the male feminists who constantly question and disregard female leadership, the good guys who gaslight and coerce, women who do not believe in other women’s decisions to take ownership of their bodies and the politicians who refuse to pass or amend bills to the benefit of those who are vulnerable.
Given a history in which women had to and in many ways continue to fight for the right to work, get educated and assume certain roles, there is now a tendency to celebrate women in leadership positions as being evidence of feminism in action. Simply being a woman however does not mean that they stand for womanhood and many show this in the way they practice and promote patriarchal actions and ideas. When on the topic of women empowerment, it should not be thought of solely in terms of glossed images of women leaders in corporate and political spaces. It should be recognized that while women’s participation in economic and political spheres is good and should be encouraged, it does not always mean the women that are elevated to these positions support women empowerment. Way too often, their participation in these systems acts in direct contradiction to liberatory efforts.
We are constantly regaled with superficial statements of women’s value while little is done to change policies, behaviours and actions that contribute towards creating unsafe and unequal environments for us. It is time that this stops. A commitment to women empowerment means implementing supportive measures that encourage women’s meaningful participation and which protects them from abuse. Many continue to face lower rates of pay than their male counterparts, have opportunities taken away due to their actual or assumed caring responsibilities and immense rates of sexual harassment and assault in their places of work, worship and homes. Choosing to challenge the systems that oppress us is much more than pretty graphics and posed photos. It means actively doing the work to bring about liberation for women, regardless of how hard or uncomfortable it is.
