I am no bird and no net ensnares me...

If you didn't already know, today is the centenary of the first ever International Women's Day. This means the interwebs are filled with feminist rants and badly written articles by supposedly empowered women. It also means that men (and women) everywhere have the opportunity to complain and to suggest that feminism is no longer necessary or even relevant. A couple of years ago if someone had said this to me, I would have embarked upon an angry (slightly squeaky) rhetoric about inequality. I would probably have used the words 'objectification' and 'chauvinism' at least twice, and rendered the person in question either a little bit frightened or a little bit amused.

I've grown up a bit. 

So now, instead of droning on about how much feminism matters, I am instead asking the question: does it? My personal opinion remains unchanged, and I would still very much consider myself a feminist, but I would like to take a softer approach to tackling inequality. Rather than evoking resentment, today should bring about debate and thanksgiving. I realise how lucky I am and I never failed to be amazed by the fact that the (relative) liberation of women is all so recent. It's too soon to be complacent. As soon as the din dies down, it passes under the radar, so apathy can't be the answer either. 

So now what? What does it mean to be a modern day feminist? We have the vote, we have equal rights , we have everything. Right? Do we really have the right to be harping on about inequality when there are women in the world who cannot vote at all? Do we really have the right to employment tribunals and equal pay when there are women who must seek permission before they are even allowed to leave the house? Erm... I think so. Maybe. I suppose the key difference is that it would be really very difficult to completely reverse a patriarchal society, whereas imposing stricter regulations so that women are not objectified in the British workplace is relatively a piece of piss. So yes, we are lucky that we don't live in a country where women are uneducated, are mutilated, are lesser citizens, but feminism is as valid as ever, in this country as well as others.

For me, one of the biggest problems Brits face is equality in the work place. There is disagreement over how much less women earn than men on average for doing the same job, but forty years after the passing of the equal pay act, even the lowest figures suggest that it's over ten percent. Then we must consider the baby factor. If I was a big-shot business tycoon, the simple fact of the matter is that I wouldn't necessarily want to employ a young woman because she would be too much of a liability. When times are hard, the last thing businesses want is to be dishing out money to employees who are not doing their job because they are selfishly too busy having ruddy children! The problem has been aggravated by the recession. Everyone has been hit, but women seem to be at a greater disadvantage, which is a real shame.

Feminism is defined as a Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Who on earth could argue with that? The word has negative connotations - of bra burning and masculinity and aggression - but when stripped down, there is nothing in this movement, which sadly seems to be losing momentum, that doesn't make complete sense. Equality. No matter what the cost. One day we won't need a day to remind us that women are equal. 

 On a brighter note, the Guardian has today published its definitive list of the top 100 women including the likes of Maya Angelou, Angela Merkel and Rachel Maddow, but also controversially including Madonna, Lady Gaga and Thatcher, to name but a few. It's a good list, and makes for an interesting hour.

Here are my top five sites for womeny folk:

• Dorothy Surrenders
• F Bomb
• Jezebel
• Woman's Hour
• Feministing

I leave you with a link I have shared before, but it was back in May and I simply couldn't top it. I want to be her just a little tiny bit.

And failing all that...