Celebrating International Women's Day

[yogacat]

It's International Woman's Day ya'll! And even though that means different things to different people, there is one constant, it's about empowerment, equal rights, and celebrating awesome women in all their shapes and sizes and roles.

So in honor of this day, I am going to post a badass video from a badass women. And if you dislike Taylor Swift, that's totally ok! You can still appreciate her delivering a strong message about self love and empowerment in her music video for "The Man."

😶‍🌫️

[boltnrun]

My employer has a "Women in Engineering" celebration. They are quite progressive and hire a diverse workforce, including some amazing women! I strongly admire these intelligent women. 

Although my father was a sexist oaf, my mother encouraged me to be whoever I wanted. Regardless of whether it was an astronaut or a homemaker. She believed I could do whatever I put my mind to and told me to never allow anyone to discourage me. 

[yogacat]

Yeah, my Dad was a little bit too back in the day, not anymore though. 

But I didn't let his outdated beliefs hold me back. He is old school (middle eastern...) and it took some time for him to come around and see the value in empowering women. 

I know this has nothing to do with International Women's Day, but has anyone recently seen Christie Brinkley?

Shazam!

 

[Batya33]

Christie was in the audience of the first Billy Joel concert I attended -they were dating (early 80s).   I was jealous! In 2008 at another concert I saw their daughter! I'm not a fan of lavishing praise on women for looking young - I think it's praiseworthy when middle aged and older people stay fit and healthy. I'm 57. Many of my friends put on a lot of weight as they aged and with rare exception it's not because of age or all because of hormones.  I work hard to stay healthy and fit.  I don't think women need to look young to be valued but they should value themselves and do their best to live a healthy and fit lifestyle.  

[yogacat]

10 hours ago, Batya33 said:

Christie was in the audience of the first Billy Joel concert I attended -they were dating (early 80s).   I was jealous! In 2008 at another concert I saw their daughter! I'm not a fan of lavishing praise on women for looking young - I think it's praiseworthy when middle aged and older people stay fit and healthy. I'm 57. Many of my friends put on a lot of weight as they aged and with rare exception it's not because of age or all because of hormones.  I work hard to stay healthy and fit.  I don't think women need to look young to be valued but they should value themselves and do their best to live a healthy and fit lifestyle.  

I've been to a lot of concerts, not made it to a Billy Joel one. Oh, was there a little musical crush on Billy Joel back then? I think lots of hearts were a flutter at that time. 

But yes, you're absolutely right. I liked how in the video it was said that she is a vegetarian for ethical reasons and that she loves exercising - that's what matters. Being in good shape and feeling good about yourself is what is important, not looking young. 

[boltnrun]

The headline to that video says "stay young" not "look young".  

[Batya33]

1 hour ago, boltnrun said:

The headline to that video says "stay young" not "look young".  

Thanks so much for pointing that out -sometimes I read too quickly. Yogacat wrote whether we've "seen" her - meaning what she looks like now- which likely lead me to read it wrong.  I'm glad Brinkley focused on "stay"

[Wiseman2]

17 hours ago, yogacat said:

I know this has nothing to do with International Women's Day, 

There are so many amazing women who are Nobel laureates,  political leaders, scientists, leaders in arts, literature, business,etc. But for some reason, a man-hating tween idol  in shiney short shorts using auto tune doesn't impress me much. 

[Batya33]

I am reading Kristin Hannah's latest The Women - historical fiction about women who enlisted during the Vietnam War as nurses - just realized it's perfect for International Womens Day.

[Seraphim]

19 minutes ago, Wiseman2 said:

There are so many amazing women who are Nobel laureates,  political leaders, scientists, leaders in arts, literature, business,etc. But for some reason, a man-hating tween idol  in shiney short shorts using auto tune doesn't impress me much. 

Correct , so many more important women who have contributed to the world. 
 

My mom is one of my female idols. She helped start a women’s shelter with other women in a town that didn’t have one . She mentored several thousand women into business. She was a very high ranking executive in the 80’s when it was still mostly men. She fostered over 45 foster children a lot from birth until their adoption. She had her own kids and 6 step children over her life and 17 grandchildren and great grandchildren. She is a very solid champion for women. 
 

She was born in the 40’s and became an adult in the 60’s when the fight for women was really valid. I remember being at the tail end of the fight for equality being told I couldn’t be in a combat role because I was a woman and belonged behind a desk. That was 1986. We have come miles and miles and miles since those days . As a woman who is middle aged this “ women fighting the man “ isn’t even a part of my radar anymore . 

[yogacat]

1 hour ago, Wiseman2 said:

There are so many amazing women who are Nobel laureates,  political leaders, scientists, leaders in arts, literature, business,etc. But for some reason, a man-hating tween idol  in shiney short shorts using auto tune doesn't impress me much. 

Yes. 

TS isn't here to impress anyone, she's living her life and doing her thing. While she may not necessarily fit your idea of what an impressive woman should be, she has still accomplished a great deal in her career and used her platform to advocate for important causes, such as women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

We can still recognize and appreciate the diversity of female role models and their different contributions to society. One can still support and uplift one another, regardless of personal opinions or preferences.

Thanks for your comments.

1 hour ago, Batya33 said:

Thanks so much for pointing that out -sometimes I read too quickly. Yogacat wrote whether we've "seen" her - meaning what she looks like now- which likely lead me to read it wrong.  I'm glad Brinkley focused on "stay"

Indeed, she looks amazing and radiates an aura of contentment.  🙂

Another person I find amazing is Jane Goodall: A primatologist and conservationist, Goodall is known for her pioneering study of chimpanzees in Tanzania. She has also been a vocal advocate for environmental issues and animal rights.

[Batya33]

41 minutes ago, yogacat said:

Yes. 

TS isn't here to impress anyone, she's living her life and doing her thing. While she may not necessarily fit your idea of what an impressive woman should be, she has still accomplished a great deal in her career and used her platform to advocate for important causes, such as women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

We can still recognize and appreciate the diversity of female role models and their different contributions to society. One can still support and uplift one another, regardless of personal opinions or preferences.

Thanks for your comments.

Indeed, she looks amazing and radiates an aura of contentment.  🙂

Another person I find amazing is Jane Goodall: A primatologist and conservationist, Goodall is known for her pioneering study of chimpanzees in Tanzania. She has also been a vocal advocate for environmental issues and animal rights.

I’ve heard Goodall speak ! I was responding to Bolt pointing out my reading mistake. She is correct. I don’t go by photos to the extent you do especially with photo shop. I admire lots of people and on a day when women in particular are highlighted I certainly can think of many women I admire. I admire my friend who is raising three children under 13, working part time as a therapist and caring for her husband who has terminal cancer. I have no idea how she feels in particular about causes. 

i tend to admire people who care more about contributing to individuals than who care so much about a specific cause that they prioritize the cause over individual or interacting with people individually. 
I admire my mother who cared for her mentally ill husband(my dad )while raising young kids when mental illness was particularly stigmatized. They were together about 67 years. I admire that she reclaimed her life when he passed away 7 years ago and is a social butterfly and doing great. 

I admire my former kindergarten student. I ended up working for her mom and becoming so close with her. Her mom was my mentor. She died a few years ago of cancer. Tragic. I admired her so much. But her daughter during the pandemic flew from across the globe to the northeast United States. Alone with her infant twins. Relied on the kindness of strangers. So she and her babies could see her mother one last time before she died. I have no clue if she is for any cause and I don’t care. I admire her strength. Her compassion. Her desire to do whatever it took to see her mother and have her mother see her grandchildren and not just on a screen.  

As we’ve kept in touch the last few years it comes as no surprise to me the kindnesses she does for others and what a great mother she is. To me personally that’s admirable.
 

Many of my Facebook female friends post about various environmental and animal rights and LGBQT causes. They volunteer. I admire that too. I just personally admire more what I described above. 

[yogacat]

29 minutes ago, Batya33 said:

I’ve heard Goodall speak ! I was responding to Bolt pointing out my reading mistake. She is correct. I don’t go by photos to the extent you do especially with photo shop. I admire lots of people and on a day when women in particular are highlighted I certainly can think of many women I admire. I admire my friend who is raising three children under 13, working part time as a therapist and caring for her husband who has terminal cancer. I have no idea how she feels in particular about causes. 

i tend to admire people who care more about contributing to individuals than who care so much about a specific cause that they prioritize the cause over individual or interacting with people individually. 
I admire my mother who cared for her mentally ill husband(my dad )while raising young kids when mental illness was particularly stigmatized. They were together about 67 years. I admire that she reclaimed her life when he passed away 7 years ago and is a social butterfly and doing great. 

 

Christie Brinkley she looks fantastic, I'm not sure where the negativity came from?

I very much admire Goodall and so many other women. I admire so many people as a matter of fact. As to Brinkley, she looks amazing and is a model of health and beauty. 

I agree, there are so many amazing women and people in general who deserve admiration and recognition for their accomplishments and contributions to society. And while physical appearances should not be the sole determining factor in admiration, it is also important to acknowledge and appreciate individuals who take care of their health and appearance in a positive and empowering way. As for Brinkley, she embodies that and it seems unnecessary to criticize or downplay that aspect of her. 

In any event, that's wonderful, you have a lot of people in your life to admire. We all have different criteria for who we admire and why, and it's great to hear about the meaningful people in your life. It sounds like your mom is a strong and resilient woman, and that's definitely something to admire.

I admire my Aunt, she was a nurse for 30+ years in some of the toughest working conditions, then as she aged, caring for Alzheimer's patients and helping them live out their last days with dignity (I've been a caregiver for a while myself, so, I know how incredibly difficult that work can be). My Aunt is an inspiration to me and I am no where near her caliber of giving.

Oops no auto-tune there. 

[Seraphim]

I come from a long line of strong and independent women. There was my mom who I mentioned and her mother who worked and didn’t marry until she was 38. She was a tough woman as tiny as she was . She was the boss and you didn’t cross her . Her mother died when she was 6 years old . She was partially raised by her grandmother another strong woman who took the 3 youngest of her daughter’s 8 children when her daughter died. She made sure her three youngest granddaughters were well looked after and went to school. Sadly , she died at 64 years old 6 years after her daughter . One of my great aunts , one of my grandmother’s sisters left her abusive husband in the 40’s and never went back and looked after herself until she died in her 80’s. So many women in my family rose to the challenge in days where women didn’t for fear of what people thought . Even my mom divorced my abusive father in 1973 when women didn’t even do that then . Lots of trail blazing women in my family . 
I am still the only female in my family that was in the military. Even in the 90’s the sexism was rife. I fought back against that to NIS ( National Investigative Service ) The military has changed so so much even from the 90’s. 
 

In the Western World women have fought their fight for the most part . The rest of the world however still needs to fight that fight unfortunately. 

[Batya33]

I wasn’t criticizing her at all. Please don’t twist my words. I disagreed with your opinion that the photo shows any inner health or spark. Photos are often touched up. I focus on seeing people in person to determine that.  No negativity on my part. She was a model and has very beautiful physical features. I’ve never met her and I won’t assess someone’s inner spark or beauty from a photo. You do you. 
Your Aunt is a person who made great contributions! 
I admire women who forge their own path especially if it doesn’t involve too many labels or categorizations. I find those too limiting and then the benefits - where others also understand the label - are outweighed by the downsides. I don’t self define as a feminist as it’s a label that has come to include stuff I can’t sign on to. I’m very comfortable with being a mish mash. I made some extremely traditional choices and some not traditional. I have no platform. I have nothing to prove. I continue to make choices that aren’t tied to social media categories or labels. I like to treat people as individuals and epecially women who are mothers as we’re often the target of silly assumptions and cliches. 

[Seraphim]

 

https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/canada-s-great-women

[yogacat]

1 hour ago, Batya33 said:

I wasn’t criticizing her at all. Please don’t twist my words. I disagreed with your opinion that the photo shows any inner health or spark. Photos are often touched up. I focus on seeing people in person to determine that.  No negativity on my part. She was a model and has very beautiful physical features. I’ve never met her and I won’t assess someone’s inner spark or beauty from a photo. You do you. 
Your Aunt is a person who made great contributions! 
I admire women who forge their own path especially if it doesn’t involve too many labels or categorizations. I find those too limiting and then the benefits - where others also understand the label - are outweighed by the downsides. I don’t self define as a feminist as it’s a label that has come to include stuff I can’t sign on to. I’m very comfortable with being a mish mash. I made some extremely traditional choices and some not traditional. I have no platform. I have nothing to prove. I continue to make choices that aren’t tied to social media categories or labels. I like to treat people as individuals and epecially women who are mothers as we’re often the target of silly assumptions and cliches. 

No, but you were criticizing me because I said she looked great and you didn’t agree with my reason why.

Can’t I just say “Christie Brinkley looks great” without getting criticized? I don’t think she’s setting an unrealistic standard, I think she has taken the time and effort to stay healthy and fit and it shows.

And I agree with you, women should value themselves and focus on their health regardless of their age. And being fit and healthy doesn’t necessarily have to make you look young, it’s about being strong and confident in your own skin.

Thank you for your kind comment about my Aunt making great contributions, she certainly has!

 

[Wiseman2]

Interestingly, Otis Redding wrote this song, but it took an amazingly talented legend like Aretha to knock this classic feminist anthem into the stratosphere. In 2002, the Library of Congress honored Franklin's version by adding it to the National Recording Registry. 

 

[Seraphim]

^ Fabulous song. 

[boltnrun]

3 hours ago, yogacat said:

Oops no auto-tune there

Some people find her success threatening to their sense of status quo. Others envy her talent and international admiration. Disparaging her takes nothing away from her accomplishments. 

She has done a lot to encourage people to use their voices, to support social causes and to encourage people to vote. I don't necessarily care for the type of music she performs but I will never say she lacks talent. And I'm not jealous of her success. I say good for her. 

[itsallgrand]

I celebrated with a steak and a bubble bath. Because why not?! I can. And I hope every woman who wanted to celebrate had a good one. 

I like hearing about the women that others here admire. The living and the dead. I like too thinking of the women going all the way back, all different lives and circumstances, and our connection. 

I'm not a stickler for men being in the mix and it not being a female leading the song. There is a female vocalist for this band too, and she's ethereal, but this is a damn good song that speaks to me about women and female energy. 

[mylolita]

I absolutely love Judge Judy!

 

In a famous interview, she said:

”I am not a female judge, I am a judge”

 

This really resonated with me. I respect that. What does gender have to do with it, whether you’re an engineer or a judge or a homemaker? If you do a good job, well done, but I don’t personally feel the need to stress gender or celebrate a gender. I even get awkward around Mothers Day. 
 

If you work a job or made some money or do something well, that’s rightly worthy of applause, but I don’t know why women need a special day of acknowledgement anymore than men do? Or children do? Or maybe there are days for them too? Days for everything? Days for International Celebration of Redheads, or disabled people, or, cats and dogs, or cats with one leg?  
 

And I always get the vibe ‘International Women’s Day’ is actually just a celebration of perceived “strong” or “accomplished” or famous women and, the rest can hit the highway on these Hallmark churned occasions! 
 

x

[Batya33]

1 hour ago, yogacat said:

No, but you were criticizing me because I said she looked great and you didn’t agree with my reason why.

Can’t I just say “Christie Brinkley looks great” without getting criticized? I don’t think she’s setting an unrealistic standard, I think she has taken the time and effort to stay healthy and fit and it shows.

And I agree with you, women should value themselves and focus on their health regardless of their age. And being fit and healthy doesn’t necessarily have to make you look young, it’s about being strong and confident in your own skin.

Thank you for your kind comment about my Aunt making great contributions, she certainly has!

 

No I didn't write that.  I simply disagree that looking young is important as you seemed to highlight.  I also disagree that beautiful physical features on a female are relevant to the meaning and purpose of International Women's Day. I have no criticism -I simply disagree with your perspective.  If that isn't your opinion I am sorry if I initially misinterpreted. I also don't feel I can judge a woman's inner spark through a photo only.

She does look great. My opinion is that looking great has nothing to do with celebrating International Women's DAy.  

[Batya33]

12 minutes ago, mylolita said:

I absolutely love Judge Judy!

 

In a famous interview, she said:

”I am not a female judge, I am a judge”

 

This really resonated with me. I respect that. What does gender have to do with it, whether you’re an engineer or a judge or a homemaker? If you do a good job, well done, but I don’t personally feel the need to stress gender or celebrate a gender. I even get awkward around Mothers Day. 
 

If you work a job or made some money or do something well, that’s rightly worthy of applause, but I don’t know why women need a special day of acknowledgement anymore than men do? Or children do? Or maybe there are days for them too? Days for everything? Days for International Celebration of Redheads, or disabled people, or, cats and dogs, or cats with one leg?  
 

And I always get the vibe ‘International Women’s Day’ is actually just a celebration of perceived “strong” or “accomplished” or famous women and, the rest can hit the highway on these Hallmark churned occasions! 
 

x

Fun fact -many years ago I had a first meet with Judge Judy's nephew through a dating site!  I think she is awesome.

[yogacat]

4 hours ago, boltnrun said:

Some people find her success threatening to their sense of status quo. Others envy her talent and international admiration. Disparaging her takes nothing away from her accomplishments. 

She has done a lot to encourage people to use their voices, to support social causes and to encourage people to vote. I don't necessarily care for the type of music she performs but I will never say she lacks talent. And I'm not jealous of her success. I say good for her. 

Indeed.

Taylor Swift is sending a powerful message to women on the Eras tour | CNN

The writer of this article, who was not originally a fan, shared her own challenges with ambition as a woman and lauds Swift for her uplifting message. So I think that resonates with many of her female fans, especially since many of them may have also faced their own struggles in their daily lives. Her vulnerability and honesty in her lyrics make her relatable to fans who may also be going through similar situations.