Why I Don't Celebrate International Women's Day
A selfish, victim-obsessed day that obfuscates the uniqueness of women
Editor’s Note: If you make it to the bottom of this post, consider buying me a coffee? I sure would appreciate it!
I’m all for celebrations. We have National Chocolate Mousse Day (April 3rd), National Postage Stamp Day (July 1st), National Mule Day (October 26th - not the shoes, but the animal), and many more. But whether it’s ‘international’ or ‘national’, I’m not interested in a Women’s Day and most normal women I know (even most of the not normal women) eschew this ridiculous day.
A day with dark communist and socialist roots
Since the day only became recognized in it’s official capacity in the United States in 1975, when the UN chose March 8th as International Women’s Day, most people don’t know of it’s less-than-savory origins.
From the Marx Memorial Library: The initial event occurred in 1908 when a group of women went on strike in New York City to protest working conditions in their garment factory. The protest lasted a year, if you can even fathom it. And the next year, 1909, the Socialist Party of America observed National Women’s Day. It became recognized internationally in 1910 when German communist activist, Clara Zetkin, wanted to establish observance of the day in her country.
A few years later in 1917, a communist revolution was heating up in Russia. Once the revolution began, ironically on March 8th, the horrors and the number of dead reached to the depths of human depravity, according to Yuri Maltsev, a Russian historian. Maltsev says, “In its monstrosity, this terror is unrivaled in the course of human history.” After Russia’s collapse, Vladimir Lenin declared International Women’s Day a Communist holiday to be celebrated on March 8th.
Prior to the UN implementing the official International Women’s Day, the day was revived in the US by a Chicago-based women’s group, which included daughters of American Communists who remembered having the holiday.
International Women’s Day of today still steeps in its communist origins
A cursory glance at The International Women’s Day website drips with socialist and communist tropes and clarion calls to #EmbraceEquity. Hmm…my history is a little rusty. Didn’t some guy in Russia say, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” Oh snap! That’s right. It was Karl Marx.
Equity and equality are two completely different concepts, yet the International Women’s Day site uses these interchangeably. Equality speaks to giving everyone an equal opportunity to work and pursue success and happiness. Equity is untenable.
The organization also champions one of feminists’ favorite all-time causes — gender parity. What? Anyway, I know there are countries where women are truly treated poorly (i.e. Muslim nations, parts of Africa, China), but in the US and Europe, women and men already have equal rights per our constitution.
And of course, there’s the constant barking over the mythical pay gap and the endless sexual harassment hand-wringing. There’s literally now a thing called ‘stare rape.’ Look it up. I’m not dignifying it by linking to it.
What should we celebrate about women?
The International Women’s Day site and, indeed, the entire feminist movement (from the very beginning) don’t celebrate women at all. If they did, they would highlight and promote the things that make us unique like femininity and motherhood. Instead, feminism and the so-called International Women’s Day promotes an agenda. This agenda, or narrative, implies that women have no value to society unless they are just like men and do all the things men do, namely grind away in the workforce.
As a stay-at-home mother and very happy wife, people still make snide remarks about the choices my husband and I made for the benefit of our family. I don’t get it as much now, since the kids are (almost) all grown, but the vitriol toward stay-at-home wives is real and wicked. It doesn’t really bother me as much as it makes me curious. These women are obviously really bitter and unhappy. Why would I want to emulate them?
Instead, as a society, we should look to the beauty and virtue associated with traditional femininity and the unique abilities associated with those who truly embrace womanhood. Personally, here’s an image of my favorite woman ever. I do my best to emulate her:
In the past, I wrote about how I love the patriarchy. I think I’ll write more about that this March 8th.
I never knew the history of this so-called holiday. In fact I never paid attention to the day at all! But, in my Catholic college days, we used to say we were “feminine-ists” -fighting for the right to be truly feminine! :)
Thanks for exposing the roots of this fraudulent holiday.