It is #InternationalWomensDay and you know what that means!

…Just kidding, neither do I. There seems to be a lot of vague talk about supporting women on this day so here are a few tips from a woman on how to support the women in your life, whether you are male or female.

1.Think outside your own cushy bubble.

Many women in America (unsurprisingly) think International Women’s Day is about their own hardships and struggles. If you really want to support women, then throw your voice behind women who are truly struggling in unimaginable circumstances. In many parts of the world young women are forced into arranged marriages with much older men as soon as they start menstruating, which can be as young as 10 or 11 years old. In Iran, a woman who publicly removed her hijab in protest of their oppressive government was not seen or heard from for months after her picture went viral. When she emerged it was to the tune of two years in prison for the crime of uncovering her head.  In Saudi Arabia, women aren’t allowed to drive cars (their “progress” on the issue being repealed only months after it was instituted) and can’t be seen in public without being accompanied by a male relative. Women all over the world are exploited and forced into sex slavery every day. Here in America we ascribe the word “brave” to female celebrities who make millions of dollars when they become vocal about wanting to make as many millions as their millionaire male counterparts. There are braver -and poorer – women in this world who deserve our attention and support. Take a minute to be grateful for all the blessings our country affords women, and then take another minute to find out how you can help women who live in far more horrendous conditions than our Hollywood royalty.

2.Let us be who we want to be.

We’re always talking about “breaking glass ceilings” and getting women into more positions of power. But the women who don’t choose those paths are ignored or ridiculed for their “lack of ambition”. If a woman wants to be a CEO, great. If she wants to stay home and raise her children and be in the PTA that should be great too. Modern feminism has robbed many American women of the privilege of choosing more traditional routes by constantly berating us to be more like men – to have their jobs, their earnings, and their positions in society. There has become a type of shame attached to women who don’t toe the progressive line in womanhood. Let us do what we want and be who we want, even if it isn’t what you want.

3.Raise good and strong men.

Even if you don’t believe in a God who specifically created male and female, natural evolution still supports the notion that male and female are complimentary towards one another. It takes male and female to procreate because both have qualities that are needed for survival. That “natural evolution” is reflected in our social relationships. Men and women compliment each other – that is to say, they are both at their strongest when working in tandem. Women don’t want or need weak or arrogant men. We need good men who can stand with us as partners; men who are confident enough and smart enough to know when we need them to lead and when they need to be led.  The progressives can keep their “beta males”. If you really want to help women, raise some alpha males so the women of the future have dependable partners.

4.Stop trying to tell women what a woman is.

Women do not have penises. Women do not have Adam’s Apples. Women do not have XY chromosomes. Currently there is a movement among some men to redefine womanhood to include men who feel they just live in the wrong body. This is just one more example of men telling us women what we are to believe about womanhood. More men telling us what to do and how to think. Stop.

5.Let us live.

We glibly throw around the term “second-class citizen” in America when talking about women’s rights in the freest nation on earth. However, in many countries women are literally second-class citizens or worse – property. As a result, many girls in foreign countries are murdered or left to die as infants simply for the sin of not being born a male. Even more disturbing as technology advances is that millions more are simply not even given the chance to be born at all, with the rates of sex selective abortion rising drastically. The results are devastating. In Armenia for every 120 live male births there are only 100 live female births. That does not bode well for that nation’s floundering demographics. Many pro “women’s rights” activists stop short at protecting the rights of a female in the womb. Would we be so casual if we discovered people were aborting their babies because they found out they had a “gay gene”? No girl can become a woman unless she is born first. If you support women’s rights, you must support our right to live in the first place. Our gender should not be a death sentence. Pro-abortion activists who ignore this dire problem in supposed support of women are disingenuous at best, traitors at worst.

However you choose to support the women in your life, please don’t forget about the millions and millions of women around the world who do not have the luxury of feeling “oppressed” because their nation failed to elect their first female president. Support anti-trafficking organizations, share articles about what women in other parts of the world are going through. Inform yourself about the plight of women in third world countries. Let International Women’s Day truly be international.

And God bless America.