"Since 1905, the threat of imperialist wars has been increasing continuously. Clara Zetkin focused her efforts on leading the international women’s movement against imperialist war. In 1910, she came to Copenhagen, Denmark, to lead the Second International Women’s Conference of Socialists. The women representatives from seventeen countries unanimously confirmed that the most urgent and sacred task for women and mothers at present was to oppose the danger of imperialist war. The delegates unanimously resolved not to contribute a single penny or a single person to imperialist wars, and to educate children to become outstanding socialists. At this conference, the International Women’s Secretary Clara Zetkin proposed that March 8 be designated as the International Women’s Day of Struggle, to commemorate the great strike of female workers in Chicago, USA, on March 8, 1909, and to unite women from all countries to carry out joint struggles. This proposal was unanimously approved by the conference. From then on, her name became inseparable from the “March 8” International Women’s Day, and she was called the “Mother of the International Women’s Movement.” (《Clara Zetkin》，Commercial Press, 1974.)
“The International Women’s Day of the Proletariat is an important factor in uniting the revolutionary forces of working women to defend their daily interests and to achieve freedom through socialism. In 1910, at the Copenhagen International Socialist Conference of the Second International, it was decided to hold an International Proletarian Women’s Day every year. This resolution was influenced by the effective and great revolutionary movement of Tsarist Russia in 1905, especially by the spontaneous strength of the mass strikes and barricade battles in Moscow. The resolution is filled with the Marxist spirit of Lenin’s teachings on the liberation of women through socialism.”
“Women’s Day should be organized on the basis of the most important daily demands of the proletarian women, mobilizing both men and women workers to oppose the bourgeois system and its foundation—capitalism—and to fight for socialism. According to the wishes of the initiators of International Women’s Day, demonstrations on this day should mobilize revolutionary masses to oppose the increasingly oppressive imperialist exploitation in class struggle, as well as to oppose revisionism and reformism that shamelessly infiltrate the workers’ movement, and to prevent opportunist leaders from undermining the consciousness and fighting resolve of their parties and organizations. Demonstrations on International Women’s Day must be a new, solid link in the chain of mass strikes and mass mobilizations, and the outcome of these strikes and mobilizations must be geared toward overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialist revolutionary struggles.”
“On March 8, 1917, in Petrograd, under the slogan ‘Bread, Peace, and Freedom!’, international Women’s Day was held in street battles, faithful to its revolutionary essence. Thanks to the patient and meticulous preparations by the Bolsheviks in enterprises, workers’ districts, and barracks, the masses triumphed in their struggle against the Tsarist armed forces. It is evident that in Russia, International Women’s Day had already become the starting point of the bourgeois democratic revolution. This bourgeois democratic revolution later developed into the October Revolution, which aimed at even higher and more significant goals with profound historical importance. However, the various Women’s Day celebrations organized by the Second International parties and organizations were often crude schemes to mislead the more gullible masses among the workers.” (Clara Zetkin: 《Lenin’s Testament to Women of the World》, Shenghuo·Dushu·Xin Zhi Sanlian Publishing, 1960.)
Since China’s restoration of capitalism, women’s social status has plummeted, and they have fallen back into being household slaves and sexual tools. The bourgeoisie spreads pornographic culture everywhere, and male dominance becomes one of the foundations of their rule. They encourage and promote male oppression of women, propagating the idea of male dominance in society, which necessarily distorts the original meaning of Women’s Day and widely promotes the objectification of women. In recent years, on Women’s Day, some reactionary labels have appeared in Chinese society: Goddess Day, Girls’ Day, Queen’s Day. These distortions are precisely promoted by the bourgeoisie. Although these holidays seem to praise women, in reality, they insult and belittle women, as their underlying message is that women should pursue beauty, cuteness, gentleness, and be liked by men. The bourgeoisie further exploits this by promoting commercial sales, making these days seem like only opportunities for women to buy cosmetics, clothes, receive flowers, and enjoy discounts. The demonization of Women’s Day with the Goddess Day label is a product of bourgeois distortion. In 2007, the official mouthpiece of the bourgeoisie, Xinhua News Agency, published such an article during Women’s Day:
Many “Post-80s” women reject “growing up” and “maturity,” sparking controversy
25-year-old Xiao Min, who usually chats on QQ, hasn’t logged in these days — every time she opens QQ, she sees messages from friends wishing her “Happy Women’s Day.” “I’m not even a woman, it’s so annoying!” Xiao Min said.
Like Xiao Min, most “Post-80s” women seem not very enthusiastic about this holiday. Despite half a day off and other benefits, they don’t care much — what concerns them is that they are “becoming mature” again.
The problem is, the first batch of “Post-80s” women are now officially in their “thirties,” and others are also approaching that age. “Perhaps they are facing a matter of adjusting their mindset.”
30-year-olds still love wearing doll clothes
As a mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old, Ms. Zhang, 28, still cannot accept the “Women’s Day.” She teaches at a middle school. These days, she fears that male colleagues will greet her with “Happy Women’s Day” as soon as they see her. Although it is a kind gesture, just hearing the word “woman” makes her feel uncomfortable all over.
Besides male colleagues, she also avoids older female colleagues in the office. Recently, some beauty products have been on sale, and after class, the most discussed topic among female colleagues is how to care for their skin and remove spots. One female colleague even cautiously told Ms. Zhang that women should know how to take care of themselves after marriage, or they will quickly become a “yellow-faced woman.” When she got home that day, Ms. Zhang couldn’t even finish her homework and spent half an hour looking in the mirror.
Huang, who loves wearing doll clothes, buying small accessories, and sometimes acting coquettishly with her family, still retains many traces of her youth. This woman working at a public institution in Xiamen always changes out of her “lady dress” and puts on her beloved Korean-style girl outfit after returning home.
“Actually, it’s not just me. Many of my peers are like this,” Huang said. Perhaps this is because “Post-80s” girls were born in the era of reform and opening up, with stronger self-awareness and a greater rejection of growing up.
“It’s a kind of longing to stay at 20 years old,” Huang said. Strangely, time seems to pass very quickly; before you know it, you’re 30 and “mature.”
Just changing the name would be enough
Most “Post-80s” women are not unwilling to accept this holiday, but they have opinions about the term “woman.”
Professor Zhu Dongliang from the Sociology Department of Xiamen University believes that if “Women’s Day” were changed to “Girls’ Day” or “Women’s Day,” more people would accept it. We might learn from Taiwan’s experience: “In Taiwan, whether it’s a young girl or a woman in her fifties or sixties, they all call themselves ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’.”
Some also dismiss this view. They believe that behind the terms “woman” and “girl” lies the rejection of “growing up” and “maturity” by “Post-80s” women; but everyone has to grow up, and refusing maturity is just self-deception, which only keeps oneself in illusions."
The article from Xinhua News Agency seems to suggest that all Chinese women consciously see themselves as men’s sexual tools, and that being young and beautiful is the main pursuit of life. This article is very malicious; it attempts to completely distort the history of International Women’s Day, turning a proletarian women’s revolutionary holiday into a day that objectifies and belittles women, aiming to eliminate women’s consciousness of struggle altogether. Women’s Day has always been closely linked to the international communist movement. From the Chicago female workers’ strike in the United States, to Clara Zetkin’s proposal for Women’s Day at the Second International Copenhagen Conference, and to the street battles in Petrograd on Women’s Day, all demonstrate that the essence of Women’s Day is revolutionary.
However, with the increasing gender contradictions in bourgeois society, under the pressure of mass struggles, some public opinion in China no longer dares to openly call March 8 “Goddess Day” or “Queen’s Day.” More and more people are beginning to insist that March 8 should be called Women’s Day. This phenomenon of reaffirming Women’s Day itself indicates a fact — working women have not forgotten the true meaning of this holiday. Yet, a new distortion has appeared: some so-called “feminist” opinions oppose “Goddess Day” and “Queen’s Day,” but at the same time reinterpret Women’s Day as a celebration of “women’s success” and “women’s power,” promoting corporate female executives, capitalist women, and celebrities, encouraging women to climb upward within the capitalist hierarchy. This approach seems progressive but is actually another way of distorting the history of Women’s Day. Its core message is clear: it does not oppose capitalism but hopes to make more women part of the bourgeoisie, becoming exploiters and oppressors.
As early as the last century, Lenin strongly opposed such feminism and pointed out the only road to liberation — the arduous struggle of the proletarian social revolution. The reason is that, "with the emergence of private ownership, women first became men’s property; with the development of private ownership and social class division, women became slaves both as wives and as labor power, and their original freedom vanished. Only after the abolition of private ownership of the means of production can women live and work as fully free and equal members of society. Between these two fundamental changes in the social system, there exists an intrinsic, indelible interdependence. The proletarian social revolution that transforms the means of production into public property must and can only be accomplished by the majority of the oppressed and exploited proletarians, workers, manual laborers, and mental workers. Women make up half of this group, and in some countries, even the majority. Therefore, without women, the proletarian revolution cannot succeed, and without active participation of women, the goal of the revolution — achieving socialism and communism — cannot be realized or guaranteed." (Clara Zetkin: 《Lenin’s Testament to Women of the World》, Shenghuo·Dushu·Xin Zhi Sanlian Publishing, 1960.)
Therefore, whether it is the past commercial propaganda of “Goddess Day” and “Queen’s Day,” or today’s bourgeois feminism promoting the “myth of women’s success,” both fundamentally distort the meaning of Women’s Day. Although their forms differ, they share a common basis — they avoid addressing the social roots of women’s oppression and do not touch on the issues of male dominance and class oppression.
The so-called “Goddess Day” appears on the surface to praise women but is actually a typical discourse of male chauvinism. In this discourse, women are not seen as subjects of social struggle but as objects to be admired, evaluated, and pampered. To be called “Goddess,” women must meet the standards set by male society: young, beautiful, gentle, and likable. Such “praise” essentially repositions women within the male-dominated order, continuing to place them under gaze, judgment, and control. Therefore, “Goddess Day” is not a sign of respect for women but a form of male chauvinist packaging.
On the other hand, some bourgeois feminism, in the process of “redefining” Women’s Day, turns it into a celebration of “women’s success,” widely promoting corporate female executives, capitalist women, and celebrities, distorting women’s liberation into the ascent of a minority within the capitalist hierarchy. This approach also fails to address the social basis of women’s oppression. It neither opposes male dominance nor the capitalist system but merely hopes to reserve positions for some women within the existing ruling structure.
However, the history of International Women’s Day tells us that women’s liberation is not achieved in this way. It was born from the struggles of working women and is an important symbol of proletarian women fighting against capitalist oppression and male dominance. Countless women’s struggles in history have proven: women’s liberation is not achieved through praise or through the success of a few, but through the social struggles carried out by the broad working women together with the working people.
Therefore, truly commemorating International Women’s Day requires reaffirming its revolutionary essence. Women are not “Goddesses” or pampered objects but an essential force for social change. Women’s issues are not individual women’s problems but systemic social issues. Only through the revolutionary struggles of broad working women and the working people, fighting against male oppression and exploitation, can women truly escape oppression and achieve genuine liberation.
