INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY TODAY

Me, I'm all for it. Give them a chance I say. It's about time that the patriarchal societies that have existed since year dot got a bit of a shake up.

We've got another female Prime Minister and a good one too. USA almost had a female President but at the last hurdle choked and decided that it's safer to stick with a racist, ignorant, philandering rich prick. Good luck to them. We can see where that's got them.

The 'Women's Movement' has a long, long way to go. The revelations about sexual bullying and harassment by lawyers, politicians, businessmen, actors and 'celebrities' that we've been witnessing over the last year isn't a surprise per se. What is a surprise is that the victims in most of these cases are successful, intelligent, capable and potentially powerful women! And still they get victimised. I've been watching the fall-out from the Russell McVeigh law firm's 'indiscretions' and the various university law faculties outrageous goings on and again I'm astounded that the victims again are intelligent, strong-minded and capable young women who have been subjected to vile and disgusting sexual approaches, and, they thought that this was the norm and they shouldn't do anything about it. WTF!

So, there's something else going on. Intelligent, strong-minded and capable young women don't or shouldn't just accept the norm of cringy old suits touching them up nor should the 'suits' organisations allow these old (and young) bastards to act this way while pretending to be all about equal opportunity and gender equality orientation. There need to be a major change in thinking of the 'Suits Organisations' and the sooner the better.

The Old Girl, my partner of the last 30 years is a strong 'feminist minded' person. She was at the forefront of the 70s and 80s 'movement' that pushed the idea that women deserve equal rights, equal pay and equal respect at home and in the workplace. She has often said that the advances that women have made in the second half of the nineteen hundreds is being eroded by a lack of momentum and by the fact that young women are being seduced into the idea of freedom being in being able to drink as much as they want and acting outrageously.

Now The Old Girl isn't a wowser. She can drink Champagne, wine, cognac, gin and whisky like James Bond. It's not the alcohol, the sexual freedom, the rights to choose what you want that is the issue now, it's the fact that all of these things have been captured by shameless marketers (of both sexes) who represent liquor, fashion, media, telecommunication and travel companies.

*************

Right. That's said, thanks Mr Villa Maria Hawkes Bay Chardonnay. And also may I say a big thanks to The Old Girl who is very good at her job and works in a senior position for a major international company. She 'brings home the bacon' and keeps me in my dotage retirement in a fashion that I like to be kept. Happy International Women's day sweetheart.