Happy International Women's Day!

There are rare times when some one manages to articulate exactly what you think and feel. The beautiful and brilliant Jessica Nicol did just that today, so I will defer to her brilliant words: 

Happy International Woman's Day! 

It’s no secret that woman continue to face many challenges around the world. There are SO many issues, obstacles and problems that to list them all feels overwhelming. One thing that I think we can all agree to is that we need to stand together as sisters and help empower each other to rise to our highest selves. As women we face a lot of pressure and scrutiny by men to look perfect, be nice and keep our “angry feminist” opinions to ourselves. Yet as I’ve grown older and travelled the world I’ve learned we also face another from of judgment, and that is from other women. Crazy I know. We all have felt the sting of inequality and sexism from time to time and yet as women we can be the harshest critics of each other. 

Many woman shy away from the term Feminist as it has the connotation of being an angry, bitter, male hating lesbian. Not true. Feminism has gone through many stages and continues to evolve. Feminism can mean something different to each woman. For some women it means rising to the top of the corporate latter. For others it’s about cutting off their hair, swearing off high heels and denouncing the male gaze. For others it’s about owning their sexuality and ignoring the label slut that society unfairly ascribes to women and not to men. For others it’s about having the right to choose an abortion instead of being trapped into motherhood too soon. For others it’s about playing sports and training their bodies for athletics instead of starving themselves for the catwalk. For others it’s about having the choice to stay at home and embrace motherhood and being respected for all the hard work and sacrifices that entails. Whatever feminism means to you I salute each and every one of you for being a crusader for what makes you feel proud and empowered. 

Happy Women’s Day