Women's Day: Some Important Reflections

Every year, International Women’s Day (March 8) is accompanied by poetic remarks and "wishes" that, instead of honoring or emphasizing its true meaning, reinforce stereotypes about women in a naïve yet harmful way. Specifically, we are talking about benevolent sexism.

What is Benevolent Sexism?

Benevolent sexism is a form of sexism that manifests through seemingly positive, protective, or flattering attitudes and behaviors toward women. However, in reality, it sustains gender inequalities.

Although it does not express overt hostility, it helps maintain stereotypes and limits women's autonomy and opportunities, indirectly reinforcing social inequalities.

Examples:

"You're really smart and funny—for a woman!"

"Women are more sensitive and emotional than men."

"You shouldn’t lift heavy things—there are men for that!"

"You don’t have to pay, you’re a woman!"

Examples of Benevolent Sexism on Women's Day

• "On Women’s Day, we celebrate the feminine nature that beautifies our world."

Statements like this whitewash the history of Women's Day, turning it from a day of struggle against oppression into a shallow "celebration" that reduces women to decorative ornaments. They link women's value exclusively to their aesthetic impact, as if our role is simply to beautify the world—primarily for men. We were not born to "beautify" your world—we were born to build our own world, a world of freedom and peace.

Women’s Day is not an ode to feminine "grace" and "aesthetics." It is a reminder of inequality, violence, marginalization, and systemic injustice that we are still fighting to dismantle. It reminds us that society continues to devalue, exploit, and oppress women with "kind" words that mask patriarchal realities.

If you want to honor women, fight for us, with us, and start questioning the system that demands our submission. Anything less is just patriarchy wrapped in a deceptive package of "respect."

• "Women are the greatest gift in life; the least they deserve today is flowers and love!"

The idea that women are "the greatest gift in life" is not only a blatant objectification but also places us in a frame of idealization and romanticization instead of recognizing our real value as autonomous, equal members of society.

Saying that "the least we deserve" is flowers and love trivializes the true meaning of Women's Day and our struggle. We are not gifts to you—we are HUMAN BEINGS with needs, goals, dreams, and achievements.

"Rewarding" us with flowers and sweet words once a year while benefiting from your privileges the other 364 days (often at our expense) is not an honor—it’s hypocrisy. We don’t need flowers, chocolates, wishes, and symbolic gestures. We need equality, safety, opportunities, and the respect that is denied to us daily. That is real love!

• "Happy Women's Day to the most sensitive and tender creatures on the planet!"

The notion that women are naturally sensitive and tender has been used for centuries to keep us in submissive roles—as caregivers, as emotionally available for everyone, as those who "soften" male harshness.

This phrase is not a compliment—it’s an insult that erases the spectrum of our emotions. Women are not born sensitive and tender—we are socialized to be this way because society demands that we serve others, conform, and avoid threatening men’s power. When we stand up for ourselves, when we express anger, when we refuse to play the "sweet and tender" role, society calls us hysterical, aggressive, overreacting, difficult.

Women’s Day is not for sticking shallow labels on us. It is a time for our voices to be heard as they truly are—angry, unapologetic, and fearless!

• "Behind every great, successful man, there is an amazing woman."

This phrase reduces women to mere side characters in men's lives, existing only to inspire, support, and uplift men, as if our value is derived from how well we enable male success.

This deeply patriarchal idea has roots in Abrahamic religious traditions, where God supposedly created Adam first and then shaped Eve as his companion, so he wouldn’t be lonely. According to this myth, the only way for a woman to be seen as a "complete" person is to have a heterosexual relationship.

Women are not secondary figures, complementary subjects, or supporting roles in someone else's story. We are protagonists, leaders, and creators of our own destinies.

Women’s Day is not about celebrating our "silent contributions" to men’s success. It is about urging each other to dismantle the system that keeps us in the shadows!

• "A woman is the queen of the house; the least we can do is honor her today!"

Calling a woman "queen of the house" is a glorified way of trapping her in a domestic role—burdening her with the responsibility of caring for the family, children, and household, as if it is her innate duty, while men retain actual power and freedom.

We don’t want crowns that imprison us—we want shared responsibilities and to be seen as equals both inside and outside the home. We want to dismantle the throne of patriarchy and the roles it forces upon us. We want a society where we have freedom of choice, rather than being viewed as unpaid caretakers.

• "Happy Women’s Day to mothers, daughters, wives—the women of our lives!"

This phrase erases our individual existence and defines us only in relation to men. We do not exist to serve others! Women’s Day is not an opportunity to glorify "feminine contributions." It is a reminder of the fight against oppression, gender violence, and social inequalities—a reminder that the system continues to exploit, silence, and restrict us.

• "A big thank you to women who, despite their nagging, scolding, and nerve-wracking ways, we wouldn’t exist without them!"

We are not creatures whose existence is naturally tied to nagging, scolding, and nerves. This narrative is an outdated, patronizing, misogynistic cliché that frames us as burdens while pretending to honor us. It only values women in relation to how they affect men instead of recognizing our worth as autonomous individuals.

• "Respect to women—without them, we men wouldn’t exist!"

Another example of how patriarchy disguises degradation as "respect." This statement implies that women are nothing more than walking wombs, reproductive machines whose only importance lies in birthing men.

We do not deserve recognition just because we give birth—we deserve it because we are people with skills, dreams, and aspirations just as valid as motherhood. Women’s Day is not about reminding men of their existence. If you can’t talk about women without centering the conversation around men, maybe don’t talk at all.

Problems about Women’s Day

• A Day That Excludes Many Women

Women’s Day, while created to honor the fight for equality, often remains stuck in a narrow definition of womanhood. Too often, the day focuses on white, educated, cis, heterosexual, middle-class women, leaving behind Black, migrant, Indigenous, trans, lesbian, bisexual, and disabled women—women whose voices rarely get heard in feminist movements, despite facing multiple layers of oppression and systemic violence.

True equality requires intersectionality—we must acknowledge that women are not a monolithic group and that gender identity intersects with other forms of discrimination. If Women’s Day is meant to be a space for demanding rights, then these women must be at the center of the conversation—not at the margins!

• Women’s Day as a Once-a-Year Token Gesture

Equality is not something to discuss once a year and then forget. The need for action must be daily, not just ceremonial. This applies especially to social media accounts that post about Women’s Day for engagement but ignore women’s rights the rest of the year.

• A Capitalist Trap

What began as a radical, socialist, and labor-driven movement has been stripped of its purpose and turned into a capitalist charade. Companies use Women’s Day to sell pink products and "Girl Boss" mugs while ignoring the real struggles of women—such as domestic violence, femicides, and human trafficking.

Capitalism hijacked a day meant to expose labor exploitation and turned it into a commercialized spectacle of “empowerment” that doesn’t threaten the system.

If Women’s Day becomes just another consumer event, then its meaning is completely lost. We don’t need more patronizing “Happy Women’s Day” messages—we need a day that remains political, radical, and unapologetically demanding—just like it was meant to be.