Open Thread: Celebrating International Women's Day

The World Food Program put together this great video which focuses not so much on how women suffer disproportionately from hunger (which they do ) but on how women are in a unique position to be the SOLUTION to many problems.
Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sltFpt9R9vI

Putting the “Trans” in International Women’s Day on Equality 101

Excerpt:

Yet, we do still need to be reminded of the negatives, particularly the broad exclusion of trans women from the basic rights and privileges granted to almost solely those we typically imagine when we say “women.” The need for this reminder is evident from the brief history of this day included here: it is soaked in cis privilege. “Women” means cis women in this history and in the celebration of this day, and it does not include trans women.

When I think about “equal rights for all” in the context of International Women’s Day, I think about the many, many ways trans women are not considered equal and do not have access to equal rights. I think of the cis-privilege inherent to the history of this day that is one small part of the transphobia that leaves so many trans women impoverished, homeless, sick, abused, tortured, and killed. I think of the trans women who have made a significant impact on our lives and I think of how easy it is to gloss over or ignore their accomplishments. I think of the health care debate flaring up in the US and how little of this debate concerns the needs of trans women or their bodies. I think of our fight to stop violence against women around the world and how rarely we think to condemn violence against specifically trans women.

On this day, International Women’s Day, I invite you to find and support organizations that support all women. I invite you to broaden your definition of “women” to include all women who identify as such. I invite you to learn about trans women’s history, trans women’s lives, and trans women’s struggles. I invite you to learn more about cis privilege. More than anything, I invite you to celebrate, support, and fight for the rights of ALL women — not just today, but every day.

Wow, I can't for the life of me figure out how to add to Reuter's live blog, but that's okay! I wrote a post for International Women's Day about how we can truly make the women's movement for all women.

Feminist Review has a post up about what Bigelow's Oscar win means for female filmmakers--and a review of the ceremony.