Sick of it

Hey! Instead of thanking us for #InternationalWomensDay how about equal pay, an end to #everydaysexism & no more rape & FGM? #JustAnIdea

- Journalist Nikki Bayley on Twitter

I'm not sick of International Women's Day. I'm sick of the need for it. I'm sick of having a day that just highlights that every other day is International Men's Day.

Equal pay, an end to everyday sexism, no more rape, and no female genital mutilation. Definitely. But far more than that.

For so long, it seems that the fight was about equal rights. And equal rights are rights under the law. We need that. Everyone needs that, especially those who lack power. But therein lies the real key.

Power. It's about power. Power to shape our own lives. Power to shape the world. Power so that we do not live in fear. Power so that the world becomes a place where the default human being is "human," not "male."

I know plenty of men who would not think of themselves as being in a position of power. But privilege is not personal. It's systemic. Men have privilege, and the power that goes with it, whether they want it or not. The best they can do is to recognize it and work with us to change the situation.

We take power when and where we can. We have made gains. But those with power do not willingly let it go. The best intentioned try to allow us a better place within their power structure. Equal rights, but please don't change anything fundamental. That's not how it works. That's not how it has to work. The power structure has to change, fundamentally. It has to belong to all of us.

I'm sick of waiting. I'm sick of knowing how many women in the world can't even dream of the gains we have made in our society. And more than anything I'm sick of the backlash by those whose power is threatened and who thus feel threatened themselves. It's not your fucking world. It's everyone's world. Isn't it way past time for that become a reality?