International Women's Day emerged on March 8, 1857, when in a fabric factory in New York, workers went on strike for better working conditions, with a reduction in the working day and the creation of a leave of absence. maternity. It was a demonstration considered violent, with fire and the death of 130 women. From then on, other demonstrations claiming the same rights took place, and in 1975, the United Nations (UN) institutionalized that day.
The idea of commemorating the date arose in the context of demonstrations and protests by strong women, who needed and still need to fight to conquer basic rights and minimum conditions of work, and more than that, of life. This is a simplified summary of the initial story, to understand more, I invite you to do a search on the internet and learn about the story behind it.
Since then, we women, are still fighting to have our rights recognized, both in the workplace and our bodies; to be respected, to walk safely in the streets, not to be seen as commodities, to live a life free of harassment and violence.
Since then, we women, are still fighting to have our rights recognized, both in the workplace and our bodies; to be respected, to walk safely in the streets, not to be seen as commodities, to live a life free of harassment and violence.
Every woman has heard "flirty" jokes on the street/in the workplace, has been harassed and suffered violence, has been reduced to “she only got to this position because she had sex with someone”, and had to deal with a partner who proudly says that it helps with the housework, heard the classic question “do you have PMS?”, as well as “you can get married now, huh” whenever cooked something tasteful, among countless other situations that only prove to us that we have no reason to celebrate the international women’s day, no until we are properly respected.
Sexist advertisements
Pen for women, which goes with several other items for women, such as drill, beer, razors, shampoo, soap, and not least, even clothing colors. This pen, in particular, had a proposal that involved a “comfortable and elegant silhouette”, intending to provide more style and comfort (????). Pens were more expensive, as usual for products aimed at a female audience (the famous pinkwashing).
This campaign is from 2015. It wasn't long ago and it serves well to reinforce: how am I going to celebrate Women's Day, when out there, companies are making advertisements with rape apologies? Alcohol is no excuse for harassment.
The list of examples not to follow is huge. You can find a multitude of campaigns on the internet with an offensive proposal and strategy, which do not respect who we are and only reinforce the struggle that has to exist in a sexist world.
How to create campaigns and ads that are not offensive?
Answering this is not so simple, because I don't believe that there is the possibility of finding a simple way out. You need to read, study, and find out about the struggle of women, otherwise, the chances of you coming up with a strategy that is harmful to your business are huge.
If you work in a company that requires a women's day campaign, try to understand our context, and see examples of what not to do, this will help you a lot. And again, study. Understand the scenario as a whole before putting any campaign or message on the air. And when in doubt, simply choose not to. Sometimes silence is better said.
Don't give me flowers. Don't offer me deals on cleaning products or household products. Don't underestimate my intelligence. Don't question my rights. As long as there is no equity, respect for my existence, peace, and freedom, I will not celebrate International Women's day.
"I exist because I resist"
To women (and not just cis ones!), we continue together and resisting.