IWD: A plea to stop the female stereotyping

This is a rant, and a plea, and an angry stamp up and down kind of protest against the continual barrage of crappy female stereotyping we, and our children, are exposed to in a million ways every day.

It's International Women's Day. I love that. I have had some amazing female mentors who I am sending good vibes to today, who have helped me discover the person I am, have been and can become. Some of those women are the strongest, bravest, most capable human beings I have ever met, male or female. They are the people who have made me feel included, welcome, they show up as themselves and aren't ashamed of who they are, encouraging me to do the same. And today I also celebrate myself :-). I'm a 44 year old single mother of 2 amazing children. I have a good job. I own my house. I pay all my bills. I do all the DIY, decorating, fixing things, along with all the driving, cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing (the list is endless here). I'm not unique, I know. A lot of single mums do all this with such ease and grace that it goes completely unnoticed. I give my kids (I hope) most of the emotional support they need, and I'm raising them to be independent, self aware adults who I hope will be free of stereotypes and bias based on their gender, background or indeed their own limiting self beliefs.

And so to today's issue, and let me state unequivocally here: I have never wanted to own or be given a pink diamante watch or an anti-theft pom-pom backpack (two things advertised to me today by a popular discounted shopping outlet in special honour of IWD). And I would be pretty happy betting on the fact that of all the women in the world I know and admire, very very few of them want that sh*t.

How do we hope to achieve gender equality when this is thrown at us in emails and advertising every day? Where lists of recommended presents for girls and women have us labeled as shopoholics who are only interested in pink sparkly things and eating chocolate, while the men need techno-gadgets and driving days? It's as damaging to men as it is to women, and I hate the subliminal effect it undoubtedly has on us from pretty much the time we can open our eyes.

The picture above is the last thing I bought for myself because I wanted it, it fulfilled a need I have and it made a job I had to do a lot easier. It's a mitre saw. And it doesn't need "feminising" (that is, to be available in pink or have a special soft handle). I would have loved to receive this as a present, and although my kids are still young and don't yet have the means to buy such a great gift, I know that when they do, this is the kind of thing they know I'll love. If only all the marketers, buyers and brand owners in the world also paid some attention to who women really are and stopped the crappy stereotyping of both genders. All it takes is a little bit of awareness of your own bias, a little bit of self-challenging next time you're looking through your offers list for things to promote, a little bit of thinking about the equal pay and equal opportunity you want for your own daughter.