To every woman in the world

You are amazing.

Whether you are five, fifteen or fifty; whether you are just starting out in life or have many years behind you. Whether you are gay, straight, bi, trans, queer, asexual, poly or elsewhere in the alphabet soup, whether you are white or a person of colour, whether you are married or single, whether you are religious or non-religious:

You are spectacular.

Whether you are the Prime Minister of this country, or a corporate lawyer, or a teacher or a nurse, or a shelf-stacker at Coles, or a stay-at-home mother; whether you have a PhD or never finished high school; whether you can buy yourself a new car every year or are struggling to pay the rent each week:

You are smart and capable.

Whether your body is fat or thin or tall or short, whether your hair is red or black or blonde, whether you whether you wear make up or refuse to; whether you have a disability that’s visible or hidden; whether people ogle you in the street or sneer at you, whether you consider yourself sexy or don’t want to be sexy, whether you’re confident in your body or not, and whatever the length of your skirt:

You deserve to be respected.

Whether you have experienced violence and abuse, or whether you have been sheltered from it; whether you have been discriminated against and fought back or stayed quiet, whether you are an activist fighting the patriarchy, or whether you are sometimes swallowed by its overwhelming power:

You are strong.

And when you are angry rather than happy, and when you aren’t feeling strong, or respected, or smart or capable, and when you really aren’t ok and wish people would stop telling you that you need to be ok:

You deserve to be listened to and not patronised.

Happy International Women’s Day to every woman in the world!

(Or at least, every woman who reads this blog.)