Happy International Women's Day!

Happy International Women's Day (IWD)! Occuring on March 8 every year, IWD "is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific."

I got the best IWD gift ever in the mail today with the arrival of my contributor's copy of Exponent II, one of the publications I mentioned in a previous post! It's so amazing to see my historical fiction short story in print in a Mormon feminist publication I respect so much. If you like stories about polygamy and free will and overcoming adversity, you'll love my piece (called "Elect Lady"), featured as the first story in the magazine.

If you're interested in reading my story, you'll have to buy a copy of the print magazine (which you can do from the Exponent II website) or a digital subscription. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to enjoying all of the essays, stories, poetry, and art in my own copy. It'll hold a special place in my heart as my first-ever paid fiction publication in print.

If you need suggestions for how to commemorate IWD, I highly recommend listening to the Our Dirty Laundry podcast to learn about some of the pitfalls of white feminism in U.S. history to get a fuller picture, purchasing a book by a woman (one I loved and just read is Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto, which had me laughing harder than any book in recent memory), or watching a show or movie that highlights the experience of women (I'm currently on a nostalgic binge of Sister, Sister on Netflix). Or just recognize the amazing contributions of the women in your life - we all have women without whom we wouldn't be where we are today. How are you celebrating today?