March 8th is not a "women's holiday" in the commercial sense. It is International Women's Day; a necessary moment to pause and acknowledge the progress made.
At Floravi, we believe that freedom begins with self-knowledge. On this international day, let's delve into the evolution of our rights, where political history meets personal experience.
A century of struggle
The history of women's rights is a succession of courageous waves. On a social level, women obtained the right to vote at the federal level in 1918, but only in 1940 in Quebec; the following decades shifted the struggle to the private sphere.
In Canada, we benefit from one of the most progressive legal frameworks in the world. However, the reality is more nuanced. Although decriminalized since the Morgentaler decision in 1988, actual access to abortion remains unequal across provinces and rural areas.
Internationally, the picture is mixed. While some countries are making progress, others are seeing major setbacks (such as the annulment of Roe v. Wade in the United States in 2022), reminding us that women's rights cannot be taken for granted.
Does science have a gender?
One might think that medicine is objective, but history proves that it has long been centered on men. This perspective has concrete consequences for our health.
Until very recently, the majority of clinical trials for new drugs were conducted solely on male subjects (human or animal). Their efficacy and safety were then extrapolated to female bodies, ignoring the fact that our metabolism reacts differently.
Furthermore, historically, the time devoted to the study of male anatomy in medical textbooks far exceeded that of female anatomy. The male body has long been considered the "standard," and the female body a "modified" or complex version. Some studies analyzing anatomical textbooks show that approximately 64% of the images in chapters unrelated to reproduction use male bodies.
Pleasure: A political act
Talking about March 8th also means talking about the right to pleasure. In our society, a form of "prioritization of male pleasure" has long dictated sexual norms (the infamous script of ejaculation through penetration as the ultimate goal). Agency is the capacity to act, to choose, and to influence one's own life. For a woman, this inevitably involves reclaiming her body and her sexuality—whatever form it takes.
The most glaring omission in science concerns female pleasure. Although the clitoris has been known since antiquity, it was erased or minimized in 20th-century anatomy textbooks. 1998 marks the (incredibly recent!) date of the first complete anatomical representation of the clitoris by urologist Helen O'Connell. Before that, it was often ignored that the visible part is only the "tip of the iceberg" and that the organ actually measures nearly 10 centimeters.
Ignoring the anatomy of pleasure limits women's sexual freedom. By educating about how the body actually works, we move from passivity to agency.
Why we keep walking
Today, the fight continues for equal pay, against sexual violence, and also for comprehensive bodily literacy. To be free is to:
- Understanding your cycle without taboo.
- Demand healthcare that takes into account the specific biological characteristics of women.
- Claiming one's right to pleasure without shame or compromise.
Education as an engine of freedom
March 8th is an invitation to reclaim power. At Floravi, our mission aligns with this: to offer tools and knowledge so that every woman can inhabit her body with pride and autonomy.
Because a woman who knows her body is a woman who can better defend it, care for it and, above all, celebrate it.
Happy International Women's Day to all!
SOURCES
https://www.jogc.com/article/S1701-2163(19)30875-8/fulltext
https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/comprendre/comprendre-le-vote/histoire-du-droit-de-vote-au-quebec/
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/chronologie/womens-suffrage
