LA Celebrates International Women's Day
International Women's Day celebrations began Thursday across the globe with countries holding events honoring the historic day, which reached one century of celebrations last year.
IWD is a global day which celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women throughout history and promotes women working towards success in the future, according to its website.
One passerby, Richard Kitscherman, dispelled myths about female empowerment. He commented, "The male-run media has distorted the definition of feminism to mean this anti-man sentiment, the idea that somehow the feminists want to come and emasculate men. That is not the case."
Many students on-campus recognized the accomplishments of influential women in their own lives.
Matthew Vine, a USC student, said, "I grew up with just my mom and my three sisters, so I have a lot of respect for women. And she was working three jobs and going to school just to provide for us and a lot of what she did is the reason why I'm doing what I am right now at USC. She always stressed education. She's probably one of my biggest inspirations."
International Women's Day was first celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19. The IWD website says the first rallies and events attracted more than one million men and women and focused on campaigning for women's right to work, to vote, to hold public office and to end discrimination.
Over the decades, as women were offered more opportunities and were able to break down gender barriers, the IWD shifted its focus from reminding the world about the negatives in women's history and to a celebration of the positives.
The United States celebrates March as Women's History Month, and Los Angeles held events throughout Thursday to honor International Women's Day.
- At 8:45 a.m., NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will host an event celebrating the success of women in the fields of space exploration, engineering and technology
- At 11:30 a.m., in commemoration of International Women's Day and to begin the "Women, Sow the Seeds of Resistance'' national human rights tour, three Filipina survivors of human rights violations in the Philippines will make several appearances, including at a community forum at Claremont School of Theology's Haddon Conference Center
- At 4 p.m. in West Hollywood, the National Organization of Women and Hyatt workers will protest what they have called the hotel's mistreatment of female workers.
- All day USC will celebrate USC Feminist Pride Day with students showcasing their Feminist Pride Day Portrait Projects
- USC will also host a round-table discussion, "Strength Through Adversity: Women and Mass Violence," in recognition of Women's Day
Vine offered one piece of advice that he wanted people to takeaway on this day: "Listen to women, because they have a lot of things to share."
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