Happy International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day to everyone, but especially to all the strong, brave women who fought and fight for a world where women and men have equal opportunities, equal representation in all fields of endeavor, and equal rights in society, custom and law. I am privileged to have been raised by my strong, feminist mother and father to be a feminist man. For my Mom, my grandmothers, my wife, and my daughter, happy IWD!

International Women's Day (Thanks, @brigittekhair!)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Action • Event • feminism

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boxlightbox

fitting win then for Kathryn Bigelow!
hmprescott

Celebrate IWD, but don’t “sell-abrate” — the website you list above is a marketing gimmick:

http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2010/03/03/sell-abrating-international-womens-day/
- Cory Doctorow
  
  Good point. Got a better URL?
Felton

Happy International Women’s Day! And that is a great picture. :-)
brian rutherford

Thats a great picture. You look so happy in that picture that I just had to smile too.
Gloria

Fab photo.
Anonymous

Since when was “Women’s day” “feminists’ day”? Feminism is a social ideology and movement, women are people. Let’s not conflate the two.
Anonymous

wow Cory, guess you were pretty lucky
taliesyn30

What a brilliant press cutting.

@hmprescott – sell-abrating is as old as the hills. To adhere to virtually any cause in history, some sort of financial contribution was needed – and if not then some real in your face activism. The righteous have to eat, after all. I don’t see what is wrong in this extension of something that has gone on for years (and years and years and years and years). Underfunded is the cause that does not shake tins while demonstrating! :-)

OK, yoda-esque moment over – what a fabulous aricle. Even in ’72 this was probably a very brave – if not scary – step to take for a woman (PO Boxes for contact = fear of retaliation). What a cool, progressive mother you had, Cory. The journalist, Cathy Dumphy, also needs saluting.

Do you know whatever happened to her? A google search provided this:

http://www.ryerson.ca/journalism/facultydirectory/instructors/dunphy.html

I think it may be her. How about a picture (with article) of the three of you together (all of you being well and available of course)?

Anyway, hurrah and that f**k for equality! Without it I might have to talk to men all day! :-)

RJ (Robert-john)
taliesyn30

that should have said ‘thank f**K’

You probably guessed. My mum taught me touch typing, the ol’ feminist! :-)
nutbastard

What different worlds we come from Cory. My mother thinks the women’s suffrage movement was a huge mistake.
Nenya

Your mum seems entirely amazing, Cory. Now we know where you got it from!
Antinous / Moderator

My mother was a research scientist who spent my youth keeping us safe from Soviet ICBMs. Also battling Sears-Roebuck who didn’t want to issue a credit card to a divorced woman.
OhMeadhbh

on behalf of liberal feminists everywhere, let me say, “we love you too, cory.”
Anonymous

The Mirror? Haven’t seen that in a long time. Is it still even published?
Thanks for the blast from the past, Cory. I kinda miss North York now and again.
Lauren O

Awesome!
hisdevineshadow

Congrats on having such a brave mother Cory! Seeing this reminded me of something I heard or read the other day from the opposition here in Florida who is proposing a bill to make all abortions illegal. He said he wanted to reset the laws back to where they were before lawmakers got involved and made abortion legal. But the ass got that backward because abortion wasn’t illegal in first place until lawmakers got involved.

I hate that we still have spend time, money, and energy to fight this battle because the opposition will not stop trying to change it back! There is no telling what could have been achieved by now if those resources had been directed elsewhere.

PS I know the point is moot, but too bad nobody laminated that article when it was fresh.
Anonymous

Thank you for bringing attention to this important day that often goes unrecognized. If anyone is looking for a simple action you can take to celebrate International Womenâ€™s Day check out http://www.Girl2Woman.org. Every time someone shares the videos on the site with a friend, $1 is donated to Pathfinder International to support reproductive health care for women and girls worldwide.
tubacat

Thanks, Cory – it’s great to be appreciated by a feminist man. And it’s sad, to me, that so few young women these days are proud to call themselves feminists…it feels like watching something that was very hard to build get washed away, like a sandcastle in the tide…

But nevermind – there are still plenty of old feminists around, and most of the victories won have now become taken-for-granted, which is good (I think).

Some better links:

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/8/international_womens_day_marked_around_the
arikol

To the women in my life, I salute you!
- Anonymous
  
  Thank you so much for sharing this article of your mother. What an inspiration.
halkun

Boy Cory, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, doesn’t it.
Anonymous

It’s strange how terminology strays with time.

I consider myself a ‘humanist’ in that I believe in the value of humanity and our ability to better the human condition, but the term ‘humanist’ as it is commonly used is so convoluted and bears so many conflicting implications that I dislike using it.

Even more problematic is ‘feminist’, because either by common usage or merely logical extrapolation the word means things I disagree with. At best, using a term derived from the strictly gendered word ‘female’ to refer to a movement which seeks to reduce differences between genders is absurd. At worst, the term evokes the same sort of superiority complex one typically associates with the ‘macho’ mentality.

I propose a solution. Anyone who believes in fair (not equal! – strict equality is hardly ever fair) treatment of not only humanity, but all living things, shall henceforth be known as a Decetist. (From the Latin decet, “it is decent / suitable / seemly / proper / fitting”.)

~D. Walker
JIMWICh

What a great photo of you and your mother! And in such a great context! Salute to all the women in all of our lives!
Antijoe

I bet Cory still makes that face, like *all* the time. ;-)
- devophill
  
  He totally does.
Anonymous

Warm cheers to all women and men fighting for equality and justice for all!
J France

You happy little thing, Cory!

And most awesome – it’s clear to see your mum had no small part in shaping who you are. Rock on the Doctorows!
Anonymous

For some strange reason, some people equate pro-choice with never having children. Nice to see that photo associated with that story. I’m sure I would like your mom if I ever met her.
jetfx

This is much more heartening than what’s going on at my college campus, where free make overs and chick flicks are how the day is being marked.
http://www.bitpixie.com/women/