March 8 was International Women's Day.
I get the feeling that this is something I've mentioned before, because it drives me up the wall every year when inevitably, in jest or quite seriously, someone asks why we don't have an International Men's Day.
The answer to that question is short and sweet: there is an International Men's Day; it's on November 19 and I'm not going to talk about it any more.
Women's Day is, of course, a great time to bring up a whole lot of issues facing women.
It's also the perfect time to remind yourself that some women struggle far more than you, and that for some women even having their identity acknowledged is a daily battle.
And, it's an island in a sea of other days where you can take a little bit of time to celebrate your womanhood.
But, it's helpful to remember if you're not a woman, and particularly if you are a cisgendered man, that International Women's Day is one day in a whole year.
And every single day of every single year we are women and we are aware of our status as women.
Speaking for myself, I feel as though I have only been made aware of my gender through my interactions with other people; my experience of being a woman has absolutely been shaped by external forces.
I am acutely aware every time I walk into a room, open my mouth, walk down the street, or take control of a situation, that I am a woman.
No matter my position of authority or expertise, I am always anxious that what I can do won't be enough if someone looks at me and sees ‘‘woman'' instead of ‘‘musician'', ‘‘tutor'', or just ‘‘person''.
It's exhausting living each day worrying about proving that you are more than what centuries of patriarchy have made you out to be.
I hate having to fight for equal footing in situations I'm already very experienced at handling, like plugging my guitar into my amp or asking for the guitar strings I know I use and need.
Of course, in many ways it is my privilege to immediately be seen as the gender I identify as.
I will never be a victim of transphobia or transmisogyny when I apply for jobs, or show up to do my job, or even just walk down the street.
No-one will ever question my gender identity, and deny me access to the same privileges as cis women because they inherently distrust my ability to know who I am and what I need.
When thinking about International Women's Day remember, that being a woman is constant.
If there is only one day a year that you celebrate women for their achievements or talk about the struggles we face, please consider that this isn't enough.
For so many women there is at least one moment every day where being a woman is an issue, where it isn't safe, where it is disheartening and tiring.
Think about what it means to identify as a woman in a world that actively contests our not only our right to have one day a year where we are recognised, but also our right to exist safely and comfortably.
International Women's Day is an opportunity to openly interrogate what it means to be seen as, and to live as a woman in the world.
March 8 is the time to put as much energy into thinking about the way you look at women as women do, and to carry that energy on for the rest of year.
●Millie Lovelock is a Dunedin student.
