Unfortunately, I’m feeling unwell today so unable to go into work. Happily, though, this gives me the chance to post on International Women’s Day. There are a number of entries around the ‘sphere – Rob Corr’s birthday is also today, and he has some interesting reflections on celebratory days specifically and generally, OLS reminds her readers that this year is the one hundredth anniversary of (white) women getting the vote in Queensland and Flutey points out that the gap between women’s and men’s wages is widening. Any readers interested in a sociological analysis of the reasons for this lamentable development I wrote for the Queensland government can download it here – it’s part of the submission on Pay Equity.
IWD, then, is a day for celebration, but also for consciousness of how far we have yet to travel towards genuine equality between the sexes.
NOTE: Image of the wonderful Emma Goldman courtesy of Anarchist Images. This one’s for my friend Michael C! As Emma wrote, “If I can’t dance it’s not my revolution”.
The table of ratio of female to male earnings in that paper is woeful. At least women have Pinnafore Patterson looking out for them now so things should just sort of go right back to the fifties. Rickets anyone?
So go make a woman happy today! I’m doing my bit by staying home and not breaking any hearts tonight.
Happy International Women’s Day, everyone!
And hrere’s a link to more about one of my all time heroes, ‘Red’ Emma Goldman
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/
JUst copy and paste into your browser.
A remarkable woman, human being. Her two volume autobiography, Living My Life, I first read 30+ years ago.
I discovered Emma through my Catholic Worker youth. Dorothy Day was another remarkable woman, human being and anarchist of the Catholic variety and known as the grandmother of the Catholic Left. Dorothy often referred to Emma and other anarchist and socialist activists in her writings. BUt I suspect Dorothy was more like Emma.
Other remarkable women, human beings who have helped shape my thinking include Catherine de Huck Doherty, Rosa Luxemberg, Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Nadezhda Mandelstam, Joan Baez, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, Julian of Norwch, Carter Heyward, Ani de Franco, and a suite of others, including my two grandmothers, my step grandmother and my mum.
“If I can’t dance it’s not my revolution” – ‘Red’ Emma Goldman
And there’s not much dancing in John HOward’s Australia
Goodness me, I left out Patti Smith
…and Siouxsie Sue, Poly Styrene and Susan B Anthony.
Let’s not forget the remarkable Alexandra Kollontai, one of the most forceful and idealistic of the Leninist revolutionaries – who, when there was a remarkable flowering of artistic freedom – and the notion that the revolution really empowered people to be who they wanted – including sexually – for a very short space of time, wrote some brilliant books. Kollontai, though identified with the Left Opposition, when Lenin moved to close down all dissent within and without the Party in Soviet Russia, remarkably survived, and died in her bed some 30 years later as Ambassador to Finland. She must have been one tough woman to survive Stalin’s purges.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/
yay! Emma Goldman and Alexandra Kollontai!
all I need now to make my Troppo experience complete is that promised post on Aeon Flux :)
are you an Aeon fan by any chance, Michael?
Oh yes, but I haven’t seen a lot of Aeon Flux. I watched it when it was popping up on SBS and thought it was great. As a young ‘un I was an Avengers fan, particularly of Mrs Peel. I suspect there’s a continuity here, on my part.
I read an article on Siouxsie recently, her views of Nazism, Jews and wearing the swastika were pretty offputting, to say the least.
One of my heros is my great great great great grandmother Mary Huggins, girl astornomer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/huggins_margaret_lindsay.shtml
We might have general equality of the sexes when there is an International Men’s Day to celebrate.
Get lobbying then, EP. Organise and make it happen!
I’m working on it, but other men’s issues like equality in the family and criminal courts, equal medical service, equality in education and equal representation have priority.
Clearly women didn’t wait for all that to come to them before getting a day to celebrate …
I don’t know if women got all that before the day or not, but I conside substance more important than symbolism — so I’ll go for the actual rights before the “ain’t we great day” every time.
But since you said we can’t have “general equality of the sexes” until you men have your day, it is my interest to see that it happens. In fact, if it means we will finally have equality in all areas then I insist. ;-)
Sure, but the day is only the icing on the cake. We have to bake the cake first. :)
Talking about men baking cakes, a good start!
EP, how about “International Anti-Sperm Theft Day”. International everywhere but Sweden?
Amanda, I’ll check out the link about your ancestor when I get a chance!
That’s only one small issue, Mark. There are lots of other areas in which men’s rights need to be asserted.
It’s telling to note, however, that we have a special day devoted to celebrating women, and none for celebrating me. Just one more example of discrimination against men in our society.
“It’s telling to note, however, that we have a special day devoted to celebrating women, and none for celebrating me”
I hereby declare March 9 International EP Day!