Thread by @sharnatweets

Now that March has arrived, it's time for annual #IWD rant thread...

Here's to everyone who will get up early on March 8th, not to go to a breakfast that costs more than their weekly grocery shop, but just to do the same shit they do every damn day

And to those who do the heavy lifting to ensure that those overpriced #IWD breakfasts go ahead - the cooks, servers & cleaners - who could never afford to attend but will never be recognised for their work beyond a minimum wage pay packet that doesn't cover their expenses

Here's to those who couldn't ever make one of those #IWD breakfasts, especially the single parents, that start before the sun rises because they don't ever provide childcare services, despite claiming to be for equality

And this year especially, here's to those who will never be asked to speak at one of those #IWD breakfasts or will never receive an award or any kind of recognition for the work they do for women, despite having done it every damn day for decades

Here's to those do the work but aren't white enough, cis enough, straight enough, abled enough, sober enough, mentally well enough, educated enough or upper-middle-class enough to get an #IWD thanks or even acknowledgement by the media, advocates or Australian "feminist" circles

I used to say that #IWD was for us, too. For all of us. But fuck that. I don't want the Straight White Cis Corporate Barbie day. I don't want the day where a handful of Straight White Cis Corporate Barbies choose whose voices are deemed 'worthy' for us to hear

If you're attending an #IWD event this year & every person speaking looks like me - a straight, white, cis woman - ask yourself why that is. Ask yourself whose voices are being ignored & why. Ask yourself what 'progress' really means if we're hearing the same voices over & over

Ask yourself what 'inspiration' & 'women roaring' has led to actual structural change - and structural change for everyone who's impacted by gender inequality, not just for the straight, white, cis, abled, upper-middle-class women who have come to represent feminism in Australia

Use #IWD to acknowledge those who have been doing the work - the ones whose names you don't know, who have worked their arses off for years, without awards or being on the front page of a magazine. Listen to them. Elevate their voices.

Recognise #IWD for what it's supposed to be, not what it's become. Say no to it being the day where White Corporate Feminist Barbies gather in a room, eat eggs & pat themselves on the back for getting another White Corporate Feminist Barbie onto a board.

Let's turn #IWD back to what it's meant to be. Return it to a day that's a call to action. A day to get angry at ongoing injustice. A day hear the voices of those most impacted by gender inequality. A day to say 'fuck your crumbs'. A day to demand more, demand better.

Here endeth the #IWD2023 rant. I hope to fuck we don't have to do it again next year.