Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves

Happy International Women’s Day y'all! It’s a big one: 100 years ago from today, the Women’s Day was first marked with rallies campaigning for women’s right to work, vote, be trained and hold public office among other things. The first three women had just been elected to Finnish parliament.

We have come a long way since. But not long enough. Women still get paid less than men, are victims of domestic violence, are being discriminated because there is a chance of them getting pregnant and are still being harassed.

The UK government recently, unsurprisingly, rejected the compulsory boardroom quota for women. Instead, the companies were given a meaningless warning to increase the number of women in boardrooms. 

Currently 18 FTSE 100 companies have no female directors at all and nearly half of all FTSE 250 companies do not have a woman in the boardroom. Then again, the government itself is not exactly doing well equality-wise, with only four female members in the cabinet of 23.

Luckily it looks like the EU is planning to force a 20% quota in European boardrooms. At the moment, women make up only 3% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and in Europe, only 12% of positions on boards are occupied by women. As low as 20% sounds like, it’s still an improvement.

And it’s not all bad news. All across the world, women are taking things to their own hands. Hollaback is a movement started in New York, and now also working in London, dedicated to ending street harassment. They are working on abolishing the cultural acceptance of sexual harassment. It's not just a "feminists' attempt to ban the fun". Do a little gallup among your girlfriends, I bet you find more than one case where they have been groped by a stranger, “because, you know, wearing skirt that short means that you’re gagging for it anyway”. And ask them how they felt about it. 

As well-meaning and lovely the men in our lives are, the equality is not going to happen without women demanding it. Nobody is going to do it for us. And sisters, we are doing it for ourselves. 

You fat bull!

Ah the holidays are over and all around the world millions of people, mainly women, are feeling bloated, fat and unfit and swear on their life to go on diet and visit the gym four times a week – minimum – this year. I’m one of them. Somehow quitting smoking last year caused my appetite to double and now I’m a stone (that’s about 6 kilos for continentals) heavier than a year ago.

Fear not, I’m going to do something about these extra kilos. I am, after all, a young woman and as such know that my value to society depends on me being fit. Somehow it’s not quite the same for men. I have heard countless times guys calling a slightly overweight girls “fat cows”. Women are merely affectionate about men’s growing bellies, they call them cuddly and teddy bear-like which can hardly be considered insulting.

But growing they are, men. According to a study published by Oxford University, men are eating more and exercising less. In 1986 around 7% of British men were classified as obese, in 2008 the figure was 25%. The official statistics show that nearly half of British men are overweight, compared “just” a third of women.

Why is it so much of a bigger deal then when a woman is overweight? Is it because forcing women into pursuing painfully thin and pretty much unattainable ideal of beauty has always  been one of the means to control women? I don’t know, but I’m not having it anymore. No more should us ladies take pressure and insults from the lardy guys. Move over you fat bull! 

Pierce, you're fat!