Intersectionality and Women's history month

Plus as a bonus watch me perform poetry!

March is Women’s History month and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it and all the incredible contributions female-identifying creators have contributed to the arts and wellness sphere.

International Women’s Day is March 8th, first declared by Vladimir Lenin in 1922. The celebration can be traced back to even earlier in 20th century to the Socialist Party in New York and soon spread through socialist and communist groups throughout Europe. I always wondered why (although it’s roots are in the States) I never really heard anything about International Women’s Day until I moved abroad. I have a feeling the vehement anti-socialist sentiment amongst the bootstrap individualists who "made it” in America through “hard work alone” may have something to do with it.

Women’s history month as we currently know it started as “Women’s History Week” in 1978 as planned by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women. Other groups followed suit in subsequent years and in 1980 The National Women’s History Alliance lobbied for national recognition and Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential Proclamation for National Women’s History Week.

In 1987 (my birth year!) congress passed law 100-9 to designate March as Women’s History Month and it’s been officially celebrated ever since. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Let’s Celebrate Action for Women’s Equality.” And while it doesn’t necessarily roll off the tongue, it does bring to light that while lots of progress for women’s rights has been made, at the current rate of progress it will take until the year 2158 to reach full economic gender parity, which seems far away indeed.

This year I was so honored to be selected to read poems on the topic of Resilience for Disability Arts Cymru’s International Women’s Day celebration. I shared the virtual stage with a storyteller, musician, and an activist, all identifying as disabled and based in Wales. Disability Arts Cymru (DAC) supports D/deaf and disabled artists (like me) to thrive and organizes for a more inclusive arts sector in Wales and beyond. It took me a long time to grapple with my own internalized ablism and be comfortable self-identifying as a disabled artist. This was my first paid poetry performance and I’m delighted (if a bit terrified) to share it with you. I read three poems and there was an interpreter performing live British Sign Language interpretation of my work.

Let me know what you think and how you celebrated Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day this year.

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Upcoming Events

📝 Writing from the Margins - Workshop at Abergavenny Writing Festival
4:15pm UK April 5 (in person)

🎙️ Stories from the Stage - Creating Community and Connection through Artistic Expression - panel discussion
12pm CST April 21

🎭 From Where I Sit - theater performance at the Birmingham, Alabama Disability Arts Festival
7pm CST May 10 (hybrid)
2pm CST May 11 (hybrid)