Happy International Women’s Day!

As you celebrate the wonderful women in your life and all they do, please don’t forget to celebrate:

• Women who don’t ovulate or have menstrual cycles;

• Women were not born with female body parts;

• Women who are at greater risk of discrimination and are locked into systems of oppression because of the color of their skin;

• Women are regularly verbally abused online and in-person by other women because of their size;

• Women who are living with invisible illness that you can’t understand, such as mental illness or chronic pain;

• Women who love women, women and men, non-binary individuals, and who have more than one partner and therefore are likely to experience discrimination due to the way they express their love;

• Women who are poor, or homeless, who don’t dress like you, who don’t spend their money like you;

• Women who are struggling with addiction due to a society that makes it very easy to become dependent on substances, but offers little help in recovery;

• All women.

It is easy to get caught up in our own worlds, to only hear the words bouncing off walls of the echo chamber social media has become. To only celebrate the faces that look like ours. The scariest part is, I believe this happens completely unintentionally. Few of us walk around actively thinking, “I want to exclude that group of people.” It’s more insidious than that.

So on this International Women’s Day, examine your internal bias and the ways it affects your thinking, perceptions, and the people with whom you surround yourself; the media you consume.

If you look around and find your friend group is more homogenous than you realized; that the shows you watch and books you read are filled with people who look like you and not many others, aside from a few “token” characters for diversity, consider expanding your worldview. A quick Google search will find you media to consume that’s created by non-dominant cultures, for non-dominant cultures. Search for advocates or influencers to follow on Instagram who share a different viewpoint from you.

Take Action

Lastly, do what you can to stand with the marginalized women in the world. If you strive to be an ally, let your vote speak for you (If you’re in Harris County, I can register you to vote! Just email me!). Attend a protest. Talk to your friends and family about issues that matter to you. Don’t tolerate hate speech (eventually I’ll publish an article on combating hate speech from loved ones and strangers, but I’m sure plenty exist already that are helpful if you need assistance getting started! This can be challenging). If you see injustice, do what you can to stop it.

Use your privilege. No matter your background, you will encounter someone who has less privilege than you and needs your help. Use your resources to protect and empower those who need it. This is part of how you can celebrate an inclusive International Women’s Day. Because if it’s not inclusive, it doesn’t count.