Apologies for the radio silence. Don’t worry, I haven’t gone anywhere but unfortunately I’m unable to post a new full-length blog due to my laptop giving up the ghost. I’m sending it to the computer medics soon so will be back ASAP.
Follow me on Twitter (@amyjosays) for updates.
See you soon,
Amy Jo
I can’t resist inspirational quotes. Neither can I ignore any excuse to celebrate. Naturally, International Happiness Day makes me smile – it offers a chance to appreciate life and waste time browsing galleries of cheesy mottos (even if this year’s features were slightly overshadowed by the eclipse). I have spent so many hours surfing Google Images that it’s a rarity I find one that I haven’t read before, although today’s new favourite is “Take Risks. If you win, you will be happy. If you lose, you will be wise”. I don’t mind seeing the same sayings but there are some that have often made me feel uneasy – those that tell you to experience sadness before you understand happiness. Although I think many are clumsily worded, I’ve started to recognise that they only mean well.
If you’ve noticed a sudden glut of opinion pieces about women over the last couple of weeks, it’s not a coincidence –it’s Women’s History Month (or at least it is elsewhere – the UK has not marked it since 2012 but that’s another point of discussion…). If you spent any of International Women’s Day online, you would have no doubt noticed an especially strong female presence. The one change I noticed the most though is not the increase of inspirational women but rather the rise of anti-feminist commenters – and it naively shocked me.
“This is what I’ve learned in my life: Headbanging is crucial. Growing up is hard to do. There’s nothing wrong with wearing a dress.” – Hayley Williams
When I first heard that quote around five years ago, there was something about it that jarred with me. “Headbanging” and “wearing a dress” just didn’t make sense together. How could a woman working in the man’s world of rock music encourage such a feminine fashion? Why would she choose to bare her legs when women had the right to wear trousers and, crucially, how could her ideas not match with mine? I was confused and disappointed by William’s words. Six years her junior, I was yet to understand that being feminine and being feminist were not exclusive.