Happy International Women’s Day to all women! The official theme for the year is #BalanceforBetter—but given the expanding notions of gender today, balancing gender is a many-body problem.
There are as many ways to be a women as there are women, and yes, this includes transgender women. The same could be said for men and for non-binary people. Today we celebrate those who define themselves as women, who have overcome historical disenfranchisement but have nevertheless persisted. Let us honor the women in our lives and those throughout history who have helped shape the world in which we live—but may today be only one waypoint on our journey to a greater understanding of gender and how to create a world that is equitable for people of all gender identities and expressions.
Because this is a parenting blog, too, I must add: Let us today honor both women who are parents and those who are not, by choice or circumstance. Women have traditionally been defined solely by their ability to bear and raise children, but there is so much more to us than that.
Take a moment today, then, to applaud the multifaceted nature of women, part of the greater constellation of gender that brightens our world.