What are your plans for IWD2024?

[Whatthechicken]

I know in the past few years, particularly last year, many of us felt a little apathetic towards International Women's Day, because it had been taken over by organisations wanting their woke cookies and transwomen being used to represent women on a day (the only day - not a month or two) that should have been representing women.

This year, to me feels different, it feels a little more angry, a little more revolutionary.

So what are your plans this year? Are you doing anything - if so what? If not, what would you like to be doing?

I am involved with Virago in Leeds, so I will be attending lots of events there over the weekend with my daughter...I'm determined to celebrate this one, and share with my daughter the companionship of women gathering, after feeling quite despondent last year.

I would like to protest for my biological rights to be upheld with every other single woman and girl who believes and wants the same thing.

I'm not doing anything, but after feeding the male cats on the morning I plan to do nothing for men all day! (No different from any other day to be fair).

Given that last years was fairly men centred it wasnt the best however I would like to say my highlights from last years IWD were:

on IWD Mumsnet gave us the gif button!!

And it will be a year since JKR tweeted about the sex matters petition

The Sex Matters petition! I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed watching the numbers go up.

I know! I was reading back through it earlier we were having a whale of a time! I was supposed to be finishing UTDOD and was at the proofreading and faffing stage but kept getting distracted by trying to catch palindrome numbers! Then JKR tweeted and it went nuts and then the gif drawer appeared. I'd actually forgotten how much fun we had that day!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitionsnoticeboard/4758082-petition-to-update-the-equality-act-thread-3?reply=124463111&utmcampaign=reply&utm_medium=share

Shortly after the post I've linked to the numbers started shooting up, we were watching the numbers fly up and then discovered that JKR had tweeted at that point.

Just fell down a hole rereading it all again. We should have nominated it for classics 😁

I don't know what I'm going to do this year. It's usually so infuriating.

I was looking forward to an event organised by a sports club I belong to but turns out it isn’t as women focused as I first read. So am not going rather than ‘rant’ to quote my partner 😕. I will stay away. Just as well I didn’t splash out on some suffragette ribbon as planned. Seems pointless to have an IWD event inviting all the women from the club but then say bring your menfolk. Nice not to exclude anyone and sport shouldn’t be political ….so am opting out rather than spoil it for the organiser.

Probably best to have a duvet day, and re-emerge when new-wimmin-good-as-gold have ruined it for us, and it's all over.

For Women Scotland are encouraging Scottish women to #BeMoreMary this IWD. Mary Godon died on #IWD2023 and so they are encouraging us to celebrate her legacy through our own activism/craftivism/letter writing/ribboning/acts of minor rebellion
https://twitter.com/ForWomenScot/status/1763968031393230900?t=SnjN9MPFK802uPnqTPj5DQ&s=19

I love that and I think Mary would too! A lovely tribute with added sedition that Mary would approve of. I'm not Scottish, but I may do some hateful haberdashery in Mary's honour.

From For Women Scotland 's website

International Women’s Day is on Friday 8th March 2024 and the official IWD website is urging us to “inspire inclusion”, as, apparently, “IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere”.
To echo the words of JK Rowling: “I’m so sick of this sh*t”. Enough is enough. We get one day a year and it is exclusively for WOMEN. So, instead of doing what we’re told, we are launching #BeMoreMary. This is about Mary Gordon, an infamous yarn bomber/chalker/uppity woman. She died on International Women’s Day last year and we want to Be More Mary in 2024 in her honour.

Mary was on Twitter as @fatblackcatspaw and famously had the police at her door after chalking “Women’s rights are not a hate crime” on the wall at St Andrew’s House. So please think what you can do to honour her for International Women’s Day 2024. You don’t have to be in Scotland to join in, and it can be crafts, stickers, chalking, be creative, write letters to MSP/MPs, go and see them, tie a Suffragette ribbon on their office door.

Send your photos to us at [email protected] or post them on Twitter using the #BeMoreMary and #IWD2024 hashtags on Friday 8th March.

Some #BeMoreMary photos to inspire you:

I stopped volunteering for IWD a few years ago. Here's what happened in Chester this weekend.

There have been quite a few threads about this already, and rather than go through the endless list of businesses and councils who because they are businesses and councils aren't focusing on women, start thinking about what we as women can do.

Just as the example of women in Scotland have come up with a way of commemorating a woman there is nothing to stop any woman or group of women doing the same.

We could have a FWR tag for instance #TerfIslandIWDUK

#WomenWontWheeshtIWDScotland or ....

or meet up with friends and celebrate yourselves.

But please, for the LAST time and as said on every other thread on IWD over the past week:

There is NO OFFICIAL IWD website. The one mentioned above (@Boiledbeetle) is a commercial marketing site and hard to believe anyone on FWR would be taken in by it, especially as this is pointed out every year.

And again, as has been said if you want an "official" IWD slogan then please bother to check the history of IWD as it is an "official" UN day and you will find it is one of the UN's public days and has their slogan.

Most women dont bother with either.

It is frightening (not quite on the same way as gender has now replaced sex) but how easily the public as a whole, and sadly women in particular have, through social media have totally bought into the sales marketing pitch of an advertising company.

Are our memories that short?

Are we so used to just consuming the "feminism" that others try to spoon feed us.

Or more disheartening to know that posting on FWR doesn't help share information - as this has been pointed out every year on FWR for I dont know how long.

Media feminism is not feminist. It is forced conformity.

Please dont colllude with them.

@IwantToRetire

There is NO OFFICIAL IWD website. The one mentioned above (@Boiledbeetle) is a commercial marketing site and hard to believe anyone on FWR would be taken in by it, especially as this is pointed out every year.

Oi! My post was a straight cut and paste from for women's Scotland who are being disparaging about that particular site.

Wind your neck in.

For the first time ever I've taken the 8th off. There are quite a few events on locally. Most of them woke. I'm looking for a women's event.

Not firmed up plans yet.

On Saturday 9th I'm going to Million Women Rise March in London.

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy feminist t shirts etc with donations to women’s charities?

I really like Angela's designs at
WILD WOMYN WORKSHOP – UNCOMPROMISING RADFEM MERCH FOR FEARLESS AMAZONS

I've got two t-shirts, just coming up to replacing one because the print is starting to wear after a couple of years.

It's my DD's birthday on 8 March.

I can't tell you how proud I was when she told me today that she feels this gives her a special responsibility and that it's her birthright to be a strong feminist.

I know she should be a feminist regardless of her DOB, but I'm grateful to the IWD movement for planting this seed.

I like to think that DD will use her feminist beliefs to encourage her female friends to stand up for what is right for them.

My company is donating money to the Orchid Project.

@Boiledbeetle you and Rowling will be pleased to hear that #InspireInclusion has nothing to do with trans women. It's about including women, proactively.

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Missions/20202/What-does-it-mean-to-truly-inspire-inclusion

Watching a feminist film with my family - ie with a strong female lead character and story about women, not just an incidental woman or two (depressingly hard to find a good one, some great suggestions upthread though. Last year we watched Elizabeth, about Queen Elizabeth I).

Just read this article in the Times. The author thinks it and Mother's Day should be cancelled and tw aren't even mentioned in passing.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/please-no-barbies-is-it-time-to-cancel-international-womens-day-jz876lqn8

https://archive.ph/6m0PX over the paywall goes one leg 🎶

I have a feeling that I may finish my current stock of stickers during the course of tomorrow. I have been travelling a lot recently and they seem to have been falling out of my bag at quite a number of stations and airports. @BingBongSong if you buy a t-shirt from Angela you may want to get a few stickers to put in your handbag - https://wildwomynworkshop.com/category-product/merch/sticker/activist-sticker-packs/