It is March 1st and the beginning of Women’s Month. All of March is a month dedicated to half of our population. It seems a bit odd, doesn’t it?
I did a bit of research about the beginning of the designation and why it was created. It is not a surprise to me that President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the first one in the U.S., in 1980. After the rise of vocal feminist groups of the 70’s it became apparent that women were often overlooked, and it was time to celebrate those who were courageous and who helped build a fairer, more just, society.
Since then every president has issued a proclamation to make March “Women’s Month” and I posted President Biden’s most recent one, for this Women’s Month, on Facebook.
I was born with an ‘independent gene.’ That’s the only explanation I have for always having the feeling that I can take care of myself, and that I am a strong woman. I have never doubted that I am. I come from a normal, middle American family, and I had a mother who was happy in her role as wife and mother. She was a good role model for being that – and I know as the saying goes that I have turned into my mother in many ways. I appreciate that she took the role seriously. She grew up at a time when not all women went off to college, or drove, or worked and lived alone (If they did they were called a spinster.)
When I went off to college I never feared my future. I knew I would be okay, even though I wasn’t set on where my life would take me. That ‘independent gene’ I have gave me plenty of confidence to go for a job, to take care of my bills, to do the right things to get ahead.
Not every woman has the gene, or has the circumstances that I had, and I know they struggle to live a safe, contented life. Even still today. Some women have never been told that they are important, or as good as anybody else, and that they deserve the same equal lifestyle. Thankfully, back in the 1960’s and 1970’s a group of very strong women spoke out for all women. We can never thank Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, and others, enough for they did not fear speaking out and they used politics to work for women’s rights.
In doing my research on Women’s Month I read about other females who fought for all women, so many throughout the years, all the way up the recent “MeToo” movement from just a few years ago.
At this point you might be asking, if there is a women’s month, then why isn’t there a men’s month? Well – Men had the power throughout time. History was written by men. Therefore women were often omitted, left behind, given less, and kept pigeon-holed. Some roles and jobs were out of bounds for women.
It took suffragettes and the feminists of the 60s and 70s to stop that cycle. Women had to earn the vote, and they had to work to get equal status (and they are still working on it). Young women today don’t always realize what their grandmothers and great-grandmothers before them had – and didn’t have. The women’s movement is still ‘fresh’ in terms of time, and there are still some men (older ones especially) who fight against it.
I also posted on Facebook this morning a list of today’s women who are being celebrated for their accomplishments. A few names are known, but many are not. I was taken back by how a large percentage of them started non-profits and companies that help others. It’s an interesting list of women of all backgrounds, colors, and geographical locations. Take a look.
Women today are in a place that offers so much more in opportunities, and choices. And a lot of women before them struggled and never gave up to get them here, to this place for us all. But there is a conservative group, small in numbers but loud and disruptive, who is trying to take away some of women’s important rights. We have seen what happened to the abortion freedom in this country. Unbelievable. But it happened. It is scary for all women. Women have come too far to go backwards.
So this month, this Women’s Month, make a point to do the following…
Appreciate other women.
Support freedom of choice.
Promote causes that help women.
Use your voice and your vote.
Every community has charities that give to women’s causes…. For young mothers, for single mothers, for women needing career clothing, for women needing affordable childcare, for birth control and medical assistance, for education, and for housing.
This is a good month to pause, to think of other women and their needs, and to help.
“I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
Marla’s Musings 