Name of the picture above: "Gender equality in Sweden"

Today is Women's day as google is so good reminding us. Some people do not need a reminder. I cannot help but think that since there is an international Women's day however, there should be one for men too.

Sure, we are far from having achieved what our mothers and grandmothers hoped for us. There are still so many battles to take on for women to get the  same acceptance in society or even basic human rights in some countries (without mentioning the constant battle for power positions, salary equality and same chances of participating in governance) that at times it feels disheartening.

But the war against inequality cannot be won without men. They have to participate in the fight. Even if it is only for their mothers, wives, sister or daughters.  But really, they should fight for themselves. Men have to fight for their right to prioritise their children and families over work if they want to, without being judged, for being accepted as sensitive beings that can and should have feelings about alot of things, of not being expected to be the ones that have to earn a higher salary or be the main provider for their loved ones, or whatever else men feel they have lost by the empowerment of the other half of humanity. Yes men and women are different but that is alright. It doesnt mean one should take over the other. This is a war where the goal is to change our cultural perceptions and I think one of the first steps must be to change the idea that "same" is necessarily the best. (i.e. "women" qualities can just as well be acceptable for leaders as "men" qualities are. but that is for another time...)

Let me tell you a little story. When I was 10 years old I had a birthday party like any "normal" kid would. My mum had made me a pretty skirt out of this ballet material that was so in fashion at the time. At first, I doubted about the skirt as it was not bought from the shop and exactly the same as all the other girls had on. I wasn't sure either about the red juice we served with the cakes as all the other kids always had coke or sprite or fanta at their birthday parties. I was so insecure because I was so desperate to fit in. With my crazy eyebrows, weird name and French father I stood out in a small community that was and still is used to everybody fitting the same mould. Still, that is nothing, I can only guess how people of other skincolour, culture or sexual preferences must feel when judged by people convinced that their norm is the way to go. But I would not change all those moments of doubt and insecurities for anything in the world! If you see my closet now - there are so many pretty, unusual dresses that nobody else would ever wear that I can't even close it! Growing up I used to love having grenadine syrup and still do - so if I am not up for coffee (like any normal person of my age should have when in le Flore) I order a "diabolo grenadine" because i really do not care what other people think about me. I feel I am extremely fortunate having grown up in two different culture and lived in different countries in different circumstances. I feel you learn alot from meeting people that are different from you and I am working on trying to understand things that I do not agree with (having strong feelings about many issues) but ultimately I hope to be able to teach my children tolerance for people different from themselves. Being boys, I  hope they will not feel they have to do whatever else the others are doing. It is not because everybody else is doing it or it has been like that forever that it makes it necessarily alright. 

Its not because women have been the ultimate caretaker in the home since forever that it has to be like that until the end of time. But cultural habits are hard to break. Just last saturday at a family gathering, while the hubby got (deserved) attention for all that he does at home (cooking, grocery shopping, washing and sometimes picking up the kids by himself) while the missus is at work, I felt judged by the other women at the table. "Gosh, he really IS the perfect husband, isn't he?" or "Wow - how amazing". Yes he is amazing, but does it mean I am a bad mother and wife- not fulfilling my role as a traditional woman? Why am I even asking myself that question? If I had flexible workhours and we would turn the roles around, how many men would have looked at me in awe over all I do at home WHILE working a full time job? I guarantee you, not many.

The battle goes on - so lets celebrate today with a video of acceptable woman behaviour (below) - and continue tomorrow

I haven't stopped. Just dont like my blog home anymore - so looking for a new place to stay. Somewhere where you can easily blog from your phone and look back to old blogs. I have some ideas, it should not take long but I want to do it correctly. 

Meanwhile alot of things have happened and I wanted to mention many articles I found interesting to share, guess it will have to wait...

In the meantime, some golden moments from the domain world:

"So I was at the playboy mansion last week, and lets say we gave alot of money to charity..."

Laughs from the boyclub...

"and was she good?" Hahaha

*sigh*

It used to be cnn, nyt and perez...but those were the days and they are long gone. Its not that I don't care about news anymore, because I do - Ben Ali's wife making a scene at the central bank to get out 1,5 tonnes of gold while everybody else is just trying to have ends meet is just a too good story to pass - and I thought the story of France's Front National bodyguards beating up a journalist disturbing. Especially since I know poor Michael, but it is worrying that such a big political party would condone and not CONDEMN a move like that.  And in FRANCE of all places, its not like he was reporting in The Congo, or Tunisia for that matter. You would have thought he was safe at a party convention, but as a journalist its probably best to never let your "guard" down.

My time on the internet is just so much better spent these days. And, honest to god, I cannot remember life before Google. What did you do if you forgot your cookbook at home and had the sudden urge to bake a Galette des rois at your inlaws? -> 750g.com merci beaucoup! Or could not remember that film title your collegue insisted you had to see -> go IMDB! (not that you could see it if you didn't download it anyway). But most importantly, I would like to thank my private doctors (doktor.is, babycenter.com and wikipedia.org). Without them, the ER's of the world would be swamped by constant phonecalls and emails of worried parents like myself. "Its not normal to obsess about a cough"  you'll say, no but is it normal your kids are sick every other week?? I just need to know! (By googling it, I get alot of answers. In French for example, we call the baby's first years the years were the baby is making its defenses -> "faire ses défenses" so if there is a term for it, it must be very common!  Ah... that reassures me.. but I might want to see if there are any herbal remedies for it anyway so I google it, (you'll be surprised what comes up).

I will also share with you my brand new discovery of the sciencedaily.com !(thanks to the eversurfing hubby)  So exciting! So next time your queues are down at work and you have 3 extra minutes, surf and learn instead of looking for random news on google.news , twitter or amidst your FB friends.  Did you know the Estrogen pill is not to blame for high levels of the hormone in Drinking water? Inteeereeesting! 

Yes yes, happy new year. Didn't feel like writing it in a FB status- although every other person on the planet seems to have done so! My new year moment was spent comforting my two year old who suddenly has become afraid of alot of things (but of course, with all the crazy fireworks that sound like the city is under attack, it must feel pretty scary to a toddler). Nothing special there, and frankly, I am glad all this is over to get the routine back on track. Visits from the family, travelling back and forth, christmas (the gifts, the food) and sickness kind of took alot of energy. Now, like the head of BP said "I want my life back".  

on a sidenote (but not really) I really feel I have to say something about "Sex and the city 2". Never been a big fan, although I do enjoy the occasional episode but seeing half of the movie, I thought maybe they are on to something. (aka the writers, who I have heard are mainly homosexual men). Odd also as everybody had said the movie, this sequel was really bad. But was it? I wondered, (pretend I have the voice of Sarah Jessica Parker for a sec') what if the characters were supposed to portray all the roles we need to fulfill to become the modern "perfect woman"? I mean, the guilt of not being able to be the perfect mother/wife (Charlotte), the career woman / single forever young girl (samantha), The career woman sacrificing work for family - or the other way around (Miranda) and the egoistic, stylish always "picture-perfect" sexy girlfriend (Carrie). Isn't there a pressure to be all these characters at once -if not just from oneself? I didn't get much further in that thought as I couldn't watch the rest of the movie, being on the plane with two kids under 2 who needed immediate attention- I dropped being Carrie to only attempt being Charlotte, before the stewardess came to resque the situation as I was totally unable to calm Mr. F down, who for some reason panicked during his 11th flight-trip. So much for being the perfect mom.

But I am just saying, no one puts pressure on us as much as we do ourselves. And although I know its impossible for me to be all these women, I still try. Maybe its time to face the music and admit that time will be my friend on this - and for now what is the most important is to find balance for the four of us. That's what 2011 will be...with less proverbs

Not sending so many applications these days. That is because I got a project. Where I go to a special place at the same time every morning, do things during the day and bicycle home when the sun goes down. Oh and hopefully get a paycheck at the end of the month.Yes,  I guess you could say I have a job!

Not practicing my Danish as much as I hoped although Im learning a whole new language. Funny how each job comes with its own vocabulary. I come from the Media world where it was all about the Offs, the OOvs, the packages, the coquilles or the tops. Now I can have a whole conversation talking about generic TLDs, Nics, registrars and how crucial it is to have the correct information of the current registrant (no, not the same as the registrar or the registry for that matter!) and how I have to remember to parse the whois. Say what?

It only took me about a week to get my head around it, guess some would say I'm super-intelligent, others that I'm crazy. I feel Im on a constant brainfreeze - copying information I have to remember to paste at some point. Whatever. When you are a mom of two, you can only be so picky. As long as I bring home some biscuits... Im happy.