My Wishlist This International Women's Day

Parity comes but once a year, right?

Dear Santa,

Well, International Women's Day is upon us once again! I'm sure you and your elves have been busy, busy, busy crafting Birkin bags and diamond charm bracelets and leggings that don't give the wearer VPL, and all the other stuff that you men think will win our fair but fickle hearts.

As a woman, I am part of a special minority, and we're lucky to have a whole day for visibility, awareness, and celebration! After all, it's not too often that one comes across a woman, is it? But we can be found in the strangest places. I know that, whenever I'm in a strange place, there are always other women there, with me. And yes, that's an insider tip - just in case you hope, one day, to spot one of these rare creatures yourself! Just be careful - if you get up too close to us, we tend to get frightened, scream, and flee when you whip out your, uh, cameras.

Anyway! Since women are such a tiny group, our needs are absolutely nothing like those of other people. It's not like women's issues are just human issues; it's not as if rights and freedoms for women benefit the entire population, regardless of gender! That's a silly idea. We women are lucky we get one day a year to call the rest of the world's attention to our plight.

So forgive me, Santa, but I've been pretty good over the past year, and I thought I'd just go ahead and dream big this time. Here’s my official International Women's Day wishlist!

• The ability to freely and legally decide, in any state, whether to continue a pregnancy or not

• Equal representation in education

• No one telling us to “smile, you'll look so much nicer!”

• The ability to seek reproductive healthcare in safety

• Equal representation in government

• Freedom from harassment

• Reports of sexual assault being treated as crimes, rather than as lies

• No one commenting on or touching our bodies in public

• The ability to walk safely at night

• Enjoying any hairstyle or mode of dress, without inviting casual comment on our sexuality

• No longer having our emotions attributed solely to our reproductive cycles

• The ability to consume any beverage in public without concern for whether its contents have been drugged

• Not being judged for having children

• Not being judged for not having children

• Freedom to travel alone safely

• Not being dismissed by doctors for feeling physical pain or other symptoms

• The eradication of unwanted, yet freely shared opinions about our life choices

I know that's a tall order, Santa. I know that any one of these things is probably too much to hope for. But hey, all we get is this one little day, right? One little day to educate about and advocate for the particular, peculiar needs of this quirky little minority we call “women!” Who knows when this will ever come up again? Our needs are so obscure, haha!

But we do have them. And if anyone can make this wish list a reality, you can! I mean, golly - you're a man! You can do anything!

Thanks, Santa!

Love, Sally

PS - If you and your elves really are in your workshop, cranking out non-VPL leggings, then, uhhh, yeah … we need those, too. 😉

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