I love that St Brigid’s Day is now being celebrated with vigour and energy reflective of the woman and her legend, and of this time of year.
Each year we learn more and more about the woman who straddled the pagan and Christian worlds.
I discovered last week that she was a brewer, and fond of a beer. Legend has it that she turned bath water into beer at one point, and supplied 18 churches with beer.
I like the idea of St Brigid having a pint – it makes her even more my kind of woman.
The idea of a woman drinking a pint is repulsive to some. Women are supposed to drink more feminine drinks, aren’t they? Whatever that means – anything pink, I imagine.
Years ago, I was at a conference on the island of Islay. Myself and a few others, all male, decided not to go to one of the events and went to the pub instead.
After a while, I asked where the toilets were. The barman pointed to the one toilet in the pub – for men. There was no ladies' room.
I was mortified – why, in the early 2000s, was there literally no room at the inn for me or my ilk?
I later learned of the famous El Vino case.
El Vino was a famous bar on London’s Fleet Street, and women weren’t allowed to stand at the bar. Instead, they could wait in a back room for table service. This was perceived to be the more chivalrous option.
This ban was abolished in 1982 only after solicitor Tess Gill and journalist Anna Coote took a case against the bar and won. That’s just over 40 years ago, 20 years before I dared to start to drink pints.
If I ordered or bought a pint, I remember feeling that I was being judged by others because I hadn’t ordered something more becoming. The judgement might still be there – I just don’t give it any of my energy.
I am not for one moment advocating that all women should drink alcohol. We know that we should drink responsibly, but the question raised here is one of societal conditioning and the limitations and expectations that are put on women around how they should and should not behave.
Sexism and misogyny are so deeply ingrained in society here that we can’t and don’t recognise it.
This week, there have been a few articles written about local festivals with predominantly male line-ups. I have lost count of the number of times I have looked and shouted WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?
Drinking pints, some of you might reply. They might well be, as is their right, but the response to this question is usually we just can’t think of any, or there aren’t that many of them making festival-friendly music.
I take on board that an effort might well have been made to book female acts and the logistics didn’t work out, but surely we need to address this lack of visibility? Why isn’t that a priority?
This lack of representation all feeds into a society of misogyny, the idea that women aren’t equal, they are less than.
And it’s everywhere. I would challenge that it is rare to hear three female singer/groups in a row on a radio playlist. Visibility matters – it sends a very important message on equality.
Last week, the Executive Office, Department of Justice and PSNI partnered to launch Power to Change – the first behavioural change campaign for men and boys.
While this launch has been widely covered, it is worth repeating that it aims to challenge attitudes and behaviours, calling on men to consider their responsibility and how their actions affect others, while also empowering men and the wider community with the knowledge and skills to safely intervene when they see someone carrying out inappropriate actions or making unwanted comments.
It might be coincidental that this campaign was rolled out in the days leading up to St Brigid’s Day.
Just like Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas), these visual, audible celebrations of women are surely doing so much good to amplify our contribution to society, work and family life.
In the midst of the St Brigid stories and celebrations on my timeline this week, I saw a post offering self-defence classes for women.
This was well intentioned, I have no doubt, but begged the question who they need to defend themselves against?
This time of year is a time or renewal, fresh starts, hope springing eternal. I do wonder though, will we ever get there?