Something I hear a lot is that the women’s struggle is over—or at least I did until Donald Trump was elected. Clearly, the feminist struggle is not over. Today we are fighting for many of the same things our mothers and grandmothers fought for—and we fight for more.
We still fight for access to abortions, access to birth control, and for pay equity, but the feminist struggle has expanded. Women of colour, queer folks, and women with disabilities have always been present in feminist spaces, and have always been active in resisting. Today there is more recognition of the importance of giving them more visibility and platforms. This is not happening in all spaces—“white feminism” is still all too prevalent—but there is, and needs to be, an effort.
International Women’s Day must focus on continuing that effort.
Every year, March 8 is a chance to recognize that women of different marginalizations from different areas of the world experience different forms of oppression. Today in many feminist spaces, we talk about the hyper-sexualization of black bodies, we discuss sex-work politics, trans-acceptance, and working conditions for migrant workers, to name a few. These topics were not discussed in the mainstream feminist circles of the 1980s.
The ways in which we are disadvantaged vary, but ultimately they can be boiled back down to capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy, and ableism. That is why we can still call this a feminist fight.
Protests of late have been criticized for a lack of intersectionality, meaning they do not recognize points of opression outside gender, such as race, ability and class. In January, the Women’s March on Washington was criticized for this. And on International Women’s Day, the “A Day Without Women” strike acts as another example.
It is not feasible for many women to simply not engage in any form of paid or unpaid work for a day. In fact, the idea that it would be feasible makes it very clear who is included in this protest: middle-class white women. This demographic is more able than others to simply not work, as women of colour are far more likely to be in precarious work positions than white women, and for that reason are less likely to be able to participate.
We have come a long way, but clearly, there is still work to be done.
International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the successes we have had in our struggles. It is a time to acknowledge one another and the things we fought for. International Women’s Day is about supporting women. It is a time to remember the ones who fought to give us the privileges we do have. But it is also a chance to discuss, among feminists, how we can be more inclusive. It gives us a chance to reevaluate our goals and be sure that they are not just reflective of white women. Part of intersectionality is recognizing when we aren’t doing enough by other groups and correcting ourselves.
To quote Audre Lorde: “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
– File photo
