Questioning Women’s Day
March 11, 2026 8:44 PM
Tuesday, March 8 marks the 100th observation of International Women’s Day. And although women’s issues are oft explored in universities and reported on by Canadian media, I am continually in shock at how many twenty-somethings simply don’t think that they deserve any attention.
So many people out there think that equality was a finish line that we triumphantly ran by some time in the past.
Others have a vague perception of a disturbing undercurrent, but remain too passive to really think about it.
Still others carry the misconception that it’s an occasion for male bashing or making sweeping generalizations about the disadvantages of women in a “poor me” tone of voice.
If you ask me, the day is quite simply an opportunity to ask questions about how concepts of gender influence our lives.
So if you will, I invite you to ask yourself these few questions.
Do you feel that it’s your duty to be a financial crutch for loved ones by virtue of your gender? How about an emotional one?
Have you eliminated options from your career path because they didn’t fit with what your gender typically does or what your parents would expect of you?
Have you ever felt pressured to perform a sexual act? Have you ever been physically assaulted by a partner? Would you feel comfortable talking to someone about these experiences if they happened?
Do you earn less for doing the same job than someone else who’s equally qualified?
Would you ever feel judged for showing too much of an interest in playing with babies or children?
Have you ever seen a male friend break down because he just can’t hold it in any more?
Would you hesitate to cut your hair a certain way for fear of getting typed as too feminine or too masculine?
Are you ever scared to walk alone at night? Does it ever bother you that people you pass when walking at night seem uncomfortable?
Do you think that society and the media teach male and female children to strive for the same ideals, and to be the same kinds of people?
It’s not our answers to these questions that I’m interested in, it’s just that we take the time to think about them in the first place.
Because we can talk until we’re blue in the face about how gender is no longer as issue in our ultra-perfect, modern society.
But with questioning our culture emerges a simple, undeniable fact.
We each have a lifetime of information stored away about gender.
This framework guides us in the decisions we make, how we act, and how others treat us. It guides what we hope for and what we fear.
International Women’s Day is not an obligation to bemoan the state of womanhood; it’s an opportunity to take a small moment in the day to think about how ideas of gender affect who we are pressured to become, who we would ideally be, and whether these things differ.
Whether we are conscious of it on a daily basis or not, gender expectations and limitations affect us.
They not only guide us in who we would or wouldn’t be and what we would or wouldn’t do, but also define global conditions and demographics in a very real way.
As such a fundamental determinant of the course of one’s life, you’d think that we would be more enthusiastic about exploring and questioning gender.
That, for me, is the true purpose of this day. However, it’s far from the only route to take. There is a wealth of information concerning what Women’s Day is really about in different countries and for different people.
For instance, in paying my weekly visit to the website of my one love George Stroumboulopoulos (er I mean catching up on my Canadian content), I found a fabulous video on the subject.
In a concise examination of the importance of Women’s Day, Judi Dench cheekily reprimands Daniel Craig/007 for his general ignorance on the subject asking him, “Are we really equals?”
This is just one example of the thought provoking content that’s out there. I recommend that everyone I know take five minutes out of their weekly YouTube cruise and check it out.
So heaven forbid, lest you be one of those people who thinks that the work is done, I urge you to go to www.weareequals.org and watch Bond get berated. It will be fun, I promise...he even dresses in drag.
