10 Ways You Can Celebrate International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day!

Originally brought about in 1909 in New York City by the Socialist Party of America, March 8th is now celebrated as an official holiday in almost 30 countries worldwide (including this year’s newest addition-Germany)! In some places, IWD is seen as a day of rest, while in others it’s used as a day of protest–for better working and living conditions, better pay, and healthcare.

Whether you’re focused on helping to change the political climate or you celebrate by way of self-care, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Practice boring self-care.

First things first, drink your water. Then make yourself a smoothie or a healthy meal to better conquer your day.

Give your GFs a small gift, like a free drink. 

Venmo your girlfriends money for their daily coffee run, or their first cocktail at happy hour tonight.

Get involved in the community. 

Mentor a young girl in your community to give her a leg up in the world.

Make a donation. 

Donate your gently-used professional clothing to dressforsuccess.org to help a woman in need get back on her feet. Or better yet, prom season is coming up, why not find your old dress and donate it to a girl who’s dreaming of getting glam for one special night?

You can also make a monetary donation to End The Backlog–an organization filled with people on a mission to test every rape kit that’s been backlogged in America.

Support female artists, writers, and podcasters. 

Find female artists, writers, and podcasters and join their Patreons to help support their cause and their voice. We suggest following Rachel Cargle, a woman who strives to educate people on matters of race and feminism, or Gillian Pensavale, who not only runs the Hamilcast podcast, but is also a co-creator of True Crime Obsessed and My So-Called Podcast (along with her hilarious co-host, Patrick Hinds).

Listen to up-and-coming female artists today by buying an album or snagging a ticket to one of their shows. Lizzo and Ruby Boots are both touring currently. (Just throwing that out there.)

Wear your feminist swag. 

Wear your feminism on your sleeve (or back pack, or purse, etc.) with something from Little Woman Goods.

Treat yo’ self to a hot bath or face mask. 

Practice some self-care by way of an activity that enriches your life or by throwing on a face mask and making yourself your drink of choice.

Take a long bath and read a book by a female author who proves women can be complex, terrible, and still fun to read (looking at you, “Gone Girl”).

Give your mom a ring. 

Call your mother (if she adds love to your life. Call someone else if she’s garbage).

Remove the toxicity from your social life. 

Drop the toxic people in your real life, and unfollow the people that make you feel less than awesome on social media. Follow organizations like Building Brave or I_Weigh, instead.

Think about how awesome you are, really. 

Bask in the wonder that you are, and then do it again tomorrow, because you’re badass and deserve more than just one day of recognition.