APRIL 2020 PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINE 17LESSONS IN ADULTHOOD
PHOTOGRAPH: MARK HARRISON. HAIR AND MAKE-UP: CAROLINE PIASECKI. STYLIST: KATE ANYA BARBOUR
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Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @harrietminteren years ago, neither I nor
any of my friends would
have been able to tell you
when International Women’s Day
was. Now, my social media feed
fills with memes, inspiring quotes
and pictures from IWD events.
It feels like a celebration.
IWD began 110 years ago, after the
Socialist Party of America organised
a Women’s Day to campaign for
better rights for working women.
The following year, the International
Socialist Women’s Conference
decided to make it a global event
and 8 March 1910 became the first
ocial International Women’s Day.
The early days featured marches
calling for women’s right to vote,
to hold public oce and to end
employment discrimination – they
had an overtly political message.One day? No way!
In these times, it feels like
International Women’s Day has
been watered down somewhat. Do
we need a day that treats 51 per cent
of the population as though they’re
a minority? Isn’t there something
rather depressing about the fact that
we have one day a year to point out
all the ways we’re discriminated
against and then, for the other 364
days, we just shut up and take it?
The original political message ofIWD seems to have been overtaken
by one that places hashtag activism
at its heart. Don’t get me wrong,
I’m all for a #girlboss who is
#hustling and #makingmoves,
but sometimes I really long
for an upsurge in anger.Don’t speak, shout
I remember walking the Women’s
March in 2017. All around the
world, women came together to
pour scorn on the idea that we’d
achieved equality. We shouted about
rape and claimed ownership over
our bodies. We held banners
screaming for the right to choose.
In the intervening years, it
feels as though that anger has dulled;
as though it surged and then the
constant battle it faced became too
much. There are only so many times
you can see another woman discuss
details of her rape and be disbelieved,
only so many times you can see
another man accused of sexual assault
still be lauded – before it starts to
grind the anger out of you.
So, this year, I’m going to be
political about it. I’ve been inspired
by climate crisis activists who have
brought an urgent issue that was
being ignored into the spotlight. We
can do this for women too. And I
won’t stop shouting until change
happens for us.International Women’s Day isn’t a Hallmark card-giving celebration, writes
Harriet Minter, it’s a chance to get our voices heard – not just this day, but every dayFight for your rights