When one of my old college roommates (and good friend) Marisa (I might have mentioned her yesterday) wrote me a couple of days ago insisting that I simply “must blog for International Women’s Day on the 8th of March or it will be a crime! A crime!” my response was obvious:

Me:  What is that?

Mari:  International Women’s Day. Tomorrow 8th March.

Me:  That was very helpful.  Thank you.

Okay, maybe that’s not quite what I said.  But you get the idea.

(I feel it’s important to note that while Marisa thinks she only gave me one day notice, she actually gave me a day and a half.  She’s currently living in Australia, which makes her inadvertently more considerate than she originally intended. )

She wrote me back and explained that today, the 8th of March, is the 100 year anniversary of International Women’s Day (IWD) and that I should write a blog post and link it to a website commemorating the occasion.  Unfortunately, I tried to become a “member” of said website and still haven’t received approval.

Story of my life.

But I figured that just because I haven’t been accepted as a member of a prestigious Australian site for young professionals, it doesn’t mean I can’t post something for IWD.

I thought of the many things about which I could write:

• Hot topic women’s political issues
• Gender inequalities in the work place
• Menstrual cramps
• Women in abusive relationships
• Tampons
• Sex slave industry
• Etc.

Then I realized that these issues have been tackled ad nauseam, by people far more qualified to tackle them than me.  Furthermore, I really don’t want to isolate my male readers.

As Marisa pointed out in her extremely insightful article (if she sends me a non-Facebook link I will post it here), it’s difficult to write or talk about women’s issues without inadvertently (or intentionally, for that matter) blaming them on men.

Hell, even the phrase MENstrual cramps has a certain accusatory tone.

Know what I mean?

And the second I start sounding accusing, the men will start getting defensive, and then no one will really learn anything at all, will they?

And that’s not what IWD is about.  It’s not about “chicks before dicks” – It’s about “chicks WITH dicks!”

Wait.  That’s obviously not right.

But my point is that it shouldn’t be about the typical blame games and anger that have become associated with the word feminism.  It should be about the beauty of women and men, and how a better understanding of and respect for each other could make us all much happier people.

So, I’m going to use this as an opportunity to celebrate just one of the effervescent, brilliant, worldly women in my life (and I’m lucky to have many).

And, I hope that you, all of the women and men who read Domestiphobia, will take some time today to appreciate the women you love or have loved, the women who’ve made you think, the women who’ve brought you joy, and even the women who’ve brought you pain.  Because, in the end, none of us would be the same without them.

Marisa Wikramanayake, thank you sincerely for being a role model for women internationally.  You are a prolific writer, incredibly intelligent, inexplicably fearless, and just as beautiful outwardly as you are inside.

Oh, and I’m sorry I almost burned down the dorm with your metal pot.

*Post title taken from the song, “Sister Suffragette” from the movie, Mary Poppins