Uterus Day and Civil Unrest

The notion of Women’s day does not warm the cockles of my heart. I see the good intentions behind it, sure, but quite frankly, there are so many flaws. I don’t really feel the need to be celebrated because of the fact that I have a uterus, that's what Mother’s Day is for (when and if I’ve put the thing to actual use that is, and spawned some bundles of parasitic joy to further infest the planet). I don’t think men being ‘nice’ to me makes up for the inequities of the past and current day, and I really don’t think we need a politically correct stand in for Valentines Day. (For the record, I have no particular feelings on the last, I have an equal opportunities policy on giving me chocolate, so please do not feel inhibited in this area)

Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand the distinguished history of this day, and it is indeed one to be proud of (or to admire, depending on your standpoint) but judging from the general sentiment expressed during the day, I think this kind of gets swept to the wayside. The endless platitudes about ‘beautiful women who make our lives better’ that flood the social networking sites pretty much bring up images in my head of sandwiches with their crusts neatly removed, kitchen tiles and gingham aprons...and, um, no. In the end, the thing we are celebrating here, was the decision by women to stand up and be counted, to protest unjust treatment, and assert their right to speak. To protest against an oppressive regime that wished to control and limit them as people of colour, and to make it clear to the men in their own communities, that they had both the right, the responsibility, and the wherewithal to do so. The need to be heard is after all rather fundamental to the human condition, and most civil unrest or ‘rioting’ (at least to my understanding) stems from this. That at least seems to be the possible core reason for the current riots in Britannia, (something I do not feel at all qualified to comment on, but reckon this woman does a pretty awesome job of)

So herewith, may I suggest, that should you wish to commemorate the day in some way, skip the telling me I’m beautiful (I really don’t give a fuck) or that I make you’re life more pleasant (surprisingly this is not my function) and go here instead to learn something about the history of the day. Alternatively, find out a little more about feminism, what it really entails, and why it was and continues to be necessary.

Signed
Feminist Bitch Person

P.S. I suppose what I'm really opposing, is not the idea of the day itself, but the misappropriation of it, as was pointed out to me, symbols are important, I just feel we should make sure they're understood. Also, for non-South Africans, National Women's Day is a public holiday commemorating women activists protesting the pass laws of Apartheid regime.