Busy here as well, I have to drag the wife out to vote!

Tom

Fair enough, you can say that men are whining. But is it really bad when (Swiss) men are complaining about the fact that they have to pay 3% extra taxes instead of doing military service or that they have to work longer until they get retired?

What ..... ? Women have the vote, already? What do they know about politics?

Let's see.. the top countries celebrating International Women's Day according to your link are:


U.K.
Australia
U.S.
Canada
Ireland


Do you notice a pattern there? For someone so interested in social justice, you could probably do with a little less anglocentricism when calling other countries backwards. Clearly this an event primarily celebrated by English speakers.

Ahem, it (was?) is First of May...

The only thing they do around here is give out mimosa.

Tom

anglocentricism on the English Forum. Hmmm... who would have thought it?

I didn't call Switzerland backwards. You have misinterpreted my comment. I said it was 'backwards in coming forwards'. This is a figure of speech. It means to be shy about expressing an opinion.

Also, to note, the point was made earlier in the thread that International Women's Day was actually started in Switzerland, along with three other countries, so it is/was not always an event celebrated primarily by English speakers. And we are in Switzerland are we not? Hence my focus on Switzerland's participation.

I think what you pointed out is valid and interesting (and thank you for doing that!) but I don't see it as a counter argument to the specific question I raised.

OP, it's also a real celebration in Eastern European countries, if that helps. I personally (vaguely) thought it must be an inherited "commie" sort of thing (in line with theories like equality between all people irrespective of gender, race and nationality, the friendship between all peoples of the world etc etc etc)...apparently it's not.

If I still lived there I would have probably had a girls evening out and got bunches of flowers. I guess..

I don't really understand why we have to have a 'day' for anything or anybody.

What's the point if it all really?

What? Birthdays too?!

It IS a "commie" sort of thing (read up on the history).

Tom

Well if you look at that website, and at other non-English speaking countries, some (Germany) aren't even listed, presumably because they don't have a single event, France has 1 event, and Spain has 3, one of which is, ironically enough, a skincare and makeup workshop, and all of them seem to be organized by English speaking women's groups of some sort or another.

Switzerland in fact does have events, they just aren't listed on that anglocentric website:


UNIA women's march in Bern:
http://www.unia.ch/de/aktuell/events/detail/a/10569/


Seminar, film, music in Zürich:
http://www.rotefabrik.ch/de/solivera...l.php?id=22569


Women composers in Basel:
http://www.8maerz-bs.ch/


Women's forum in St. Gallen:
http://www.ostschweizerinnen.ch/Fron....php?navanchor=


Switzerland isn't shy about expressing an opinion, it just prefers to do it in a native language....

My understanding is to celebrate how far we've come? Just think, women weren't allowed to study specialisations considered male only not that long ago...for instance first woman engineer in my country wasn't accepted to study engineering home due to prejudices but accepted though in 1909 to the Royal Technical Academy in Berlin. You know, these little things. ..

Don't forget girls, if you're marching or standing around for a long time, then you'll need to wear sensible shoes.

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Tarantula Festival?

Remind me to avoid Ticino on the first of May from now on...

I think it's totally ok to have days for things that usually don't make the headlines and are easily forgotten. Say the "Tolkien reading day" (coming up on March 25th). I honestly do not think that feminists get too little attention. I quite regularly find that especially the radical ones get far too much of it.

I prefer to be for gender equality with actual behavior every day than marching somewhere once a year.

On a related note: https://twitter.com/danwarne/status/570387078917132289

I think it's fine for people who feel passionate about something to have a day to celebrate it. I think marches are somewhat insipid and annoying, but seminars, events, workshops and the like are great.

It's Movember. Men don't put sugar on honey.

Get over it. Want me to make a list of AAAALLLL the things women are still disadvantaged in? Be warned - it's more than one or two.

The event is largely UN-influenced these days and the UN isn't exactly a Swiss institution. And this one day - in its fundamental purpose anyway - is not about paying half a percent more or less taxes for goodness' sakes, but about fundamental disadvantages that women are facing globally.

But statements like the above are EXACTLY why it is impossible in this country to discuss this topic properly, with most people anyway. Reminds me of the "preferred seat for women" thread a few months back, which couldn't have been more ridiculous.