March is Women's History Month in the US

[Selene Gregoire]

Did you know March is Women's History Month in the US? I didn't until I read this article: https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/causes-gender-equality/i-am-a-man-and-im-a-feminist-heres-why/ar-BB10xiqT?li=BBnb7Kz

Quote

Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8, and during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_History_Month

 

Why is it I never get these memos?*  

 

*rhetorical 

[Orwar]

   . . . In the month named after the deified personification of Mars, which represents masculinity. 

[Tolya Ugajin]

3 minutes ago, Orwar said:

   . . . In the month named after the deified personification of Mars, which represents masculinity. 

The month for the God of War is the month for Women's History.  Was someone trying to make a statement?

[Janet Voxel]

La guerre continue....

[Amina Sopwith]

Presumably it's this month in order to coincide with International Women's Day, which is 8 March. Apparently it was originally 19 March as that was the day the Prussian king promised to introduce votes for women in 1848. It was moved to the 8th in 1913, not sure why. 

Someone once asked Joss Whedon why he wrote so many strong female characters. He replied, "Because you're still asking me that question."

Edited March 9, 2020 by Amina Sopwith

[Lindal Kidd]

I completely boycott any events or days or months or classes or books or anything that says it is about [insert group of choice here]'s History.

History is not about women or blacks or white males or Asians or any other special group.  History is about people.

 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

45 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

I completely boycott any events or days or months or classes or books or anything that says it is about [insert group of choice here]'s History.

History is not about women or blacks or white males or Asians or any other special group.  History is about people.

 

I get where you're coming from, Lindal. And in a better, or maybe (hopefully) a future world, I'd even maybe agree.

The problem is that "history" has never been objective or neutral or comprehensive. When the so-called "Father of History," Herodotus, wrote his history of the Persian Wars, he devoted the vast majority of it to the heroism of the Greeks, and pretty little space to the Persians, whom he mostly denigrated, and about whom he was often misleading or wrong.

I surely don't need to point out that most histories, whether academic or school textbooks, were until quite recently almost entirely focused upon the achievements of important cis gendered, heterosexual white men? That it's really only been since the late 60s that they've begun to account in any kind of a comprehensive way for the contributions of women, of people of colour, of the LGBTQ community?

The point of things like "Women's History Month" or "Black History Month" aren't to glorify the achievements of those demographics over others: they are playing "catch up," and educating people about the stuff that they frequently still don't know. Although it's an imperfect example, think of the point of the movie Hidden Figures. It wasn't about "stealing" the glory of anyone else: it was about making people aware of the contributions of those -- in this instance, black women -- who simply get left out of most conventional narratives and histories.

One day, we may no longer need to play "catch up," because those contributions will be well known. But we ain't there yet, by a long shot.

In the meantime, blacks, women, and others can be forgiven for feeling a bit put out that, until quite recently, it was apparently just fine to focus almost exclusively upon white men, but when the tables are turned even a bit, all of a sudden we're hearing outraged cries about how it should be about "ALL people"!

Where were those cries when women and others were being excluded from history?

[Selene Gregoire]

4 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Where were those cries when women and others were being excluded from history?

Or eradicated/purged from history/face of the earth.

[Lindal Kidd]

re. Herodotus:  History is written by the victors.

[Lindal Kidd]

19 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

[much Good Stuff omitted for brevity]...

...Where were those cries when women and others were being excluded from history?

I agree.  And yet, I cannot get behind very much of this "oppressed minority" specialist stuff, even when it concerns me personally.  I feel that it only just contributes to divisiveness.

I just live by quiet inclusivity, and wish everyone else did.

[Selene Gregoire]

5 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

re. Herodotus:  History is written by the victors.

Not hard to do when genocide succeeds. 

Or even almost succeeds as has been proven within the last 200 years, several times.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Selene Gregoire

[Janet Voxel]

Isn’t the idea of these designated months that __________ can do? As a counter to the wide spread belief that ________ can’t do?

If anything, you have to see the value in that for children.