What Really Matters on International Women’s Day?
I’m talking with my husband after a long day’s work when we start reminiscing about our teenage adventures. My memories tend to revolve around the theme of independence: how I’ve been able to do so much myself; how despite being a woman, I dared to volunteer in the Netherlands, sell beeswax candles in Italy, road trip through the Alaskan wilderness – whatever bold idea came to my mind, I was able to manifest it.
I realized, though, that I can’t just credit myself or my own thirst for adventure for the freedom I experience on a daily basis. So many bricks have been laid and walls broken down by women throughout history who allowed women like me to explore this world. And many women today are still continuing that process.
Of course, it’s not only women who have challenged conventional ways of thinking and created a better society for all. Brave men, too, have sacrificed and contributed to valuable social change. What makes women unique in the realm of social change is that they have often done so under unabashed resistance.
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We’re Not Equal ... We're Complementary
On March 8 every year, we celebrate International Women’s Day. The UN’s theme in 2016 was “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.” But gender equality isn’t just about recognizing women’s rights and the brave activists who have fought for them; it’s also about shifting the way our society thinks so that we can all embrace the reality that men and women are complementary beings who need each other. Yin and yang. Water and land. PB&J.
“Men represent heaven and women represent earth. Together they form the ideal purpose of God in creation.” - Father Moon, Resurrection and Liberation of the World’s Women, Part II, Feb 1, 1993
We've come a long way since the early suffragist movements of the 20th century, and while it's unquestionable that all women have basic human rights to be respected and to feel free as individuals, maybe it's time to focus more on changing our culture from the inside out. When we do, won’t all the loose ends of our fight for equality—like equal pay, the right to be drafted, and fair maternal leave policies—tie themselves?
Group Of Friends Having Fun In Park Together
How Do We Change the Culture?
How do we shape an entire culture? If a society is made of overlapping spheres of families, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, then the answer must be in our relationships, and in this case particularly, in our relationships between the sexes. In every aspect of how we relate—in our language, our gestures, our attitudes towards each other, we, men and women both, can model our Heavenly Parent’s perspective of who men and women are: God’s children—complementary to one another.
By men and women empowering each other to be the fullest, most developed people we can be, and to have all the life experiences we seek so we can grow into the epic people God created us to be—the time will come when we don't have to say, "She's an inspirational woman" or “She’s a powerful woman leader,” but it will suffice to say, "She's an awesome person" or “She’s a great leader.”
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Leave It to Disney
Fortunately, in the ever-expanding digital age, we can see that culture is already changing. Even the heroines of Disney movies have evolved as women’s struggles have been acknowledged and taken seriously. We’ve come a long way from floor-scrubbing Cinderella and whistling homemaker Snow White. Today’s children get to know fictional heroines who can stand up as awesome people in their own right.
Mulan seems to be right on the edge of that cultural shift, which is understandable given the film’s historical context: as strong and capable as she is, Mulan still has to dress up like a man to be able to do what she truly wants to do. More recently, in Disney’s 2012 production, Brave, Merida isn’t your typical princess. She’s bold, feisty, out of control and seriously skilled with a bow. Merida’s fiery character and passions help her (spoiler alert!) overcome a curse and change her kingdom’s tradition, which requires princesses to marry before they can rule. Mulan and Merida both face unjust expectations but at their core possess a deep love, strength and persistence—virtues that transcend external features of gender and which any soul has the potential to cultivate.
Are you an artist, writer, filmmaker, actor or actress, or simply a super talented person in general? How do you use your unique craft to positively shape our culture?
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Celebrating Herstory
To me, International Women’s Day is about three things: rallying men and women to work toward a society where we all finally live in perfect sync and build a better world together; celebrating all the brave and awesome people (including women) who’ve brought us this far; and celebrating the women in our own lives who encourage us to challenge the norm, to not be fearful of sticking our necks out for someone else, and to stand up, even in the smallest ways, for what we know in our hearts to be right. Where would this world be without mothers, wives, sisters and daughters?
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