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Join Christine Spratley on 'Fuck Fear' as she takes a deep dive into the history and global significance of International Women's Day. Reflecting on milestones from the early 1900s to contemporary female figures, Christine discusses powerful women in history, their contributions, and the importance of knowing and celebrating these achievements. The episode encourages viewers to participate actively in International Women's Day by altering daily interactions, celebrating women's history, and addressing vital issues such as the Equal Rights Amendment. Celebrate, learn, and engage with women's stories and achievements in this empowering episode,
00:00 Introduction and International Women's Day
01:09 Historical Background of International Women's Day
04:17 Significance of Red Lipstick
04:47 Personal Reflections and Conversations
06:14 Celebrating Women in History
09:55 Modern Contributions and Recognitions
18:49 Empowerment Through Language
25:24 The Importance of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
29:27 Call to Action and Conclusion
Creators and Guests
What is F*ck Fear with Christine Spratley: Living Like a Head Bitch In Charge ?
This podcast is for anyone who wants to live like an HBIC—or lives with, works with, marries, dates, or is raising one. Let’s be real: being a Head Bitch in Charge is messy, bold, and unapologetically badass. This is not a guidebook—it’s a pantry.
My guests and I will share the ingredients that we use—what’s worked and what’s failed—as we say “fuck fear” and take action to live a fulfilled life. We cover real-life hacks and deep philosophical pillars to navigate the chaos of everyday life—where some days, my only accomplishment is having a bra on and my teeth brushed.
We’re tackling the daily shit women navigate, from workplace politics to relationships, raising kids, and building careers, all with humor, audacity, and zero filters.
So, tune in—tell your friends, and even your enemies. This isn’t about aging with grace—it’s about aging with mischief, audacity, and a damn good story to tell.
012 F Fear
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[00:00:00] Hello ladies
Christine Spratley: Tubs. Gentlemen and everybody in between. Welcome to Fuck Fear with myself, Christine Spratley, living like an HBIC. And this is gonna be a short one today, but it's a, it's a shorty, but goodie today, when you're listening to this will be Friday March 7th, and that is going, that means that [00:01:00] Saturday, March 8th is going to be International Women's Day.
That's badass. And leading up to that day, I thought I would give you a little something to think about as you walk into your Saturday and a little bit about kind of where this came from in international women, you know, and again, fact, check me all you want and if I'm wrong, I please let me know. But what I have is, um, you know, it started kind of both.
In the US but also around the world. And it really started, you know, going all the way back to like 1908, you know, the US Women's March, about 1500 women marched in New York City for fair wages and voting rights. And I mean, and again, go way, way back, you'll see women protest throughout. But, um, you know, 1910, um, [00:02:00] there's the International Socialist Women's Conference in Copenhagen.
Um, calling for an annual women's day, and again, everybody's gonna pick up on socialist. Maybe if I say it like five times, it'll show up on somebody's feed. You know, you'll get shadow banned if you say it too many times. Yeah. But again, people were talking, women were talking, women were, were, were, you know, again, looking for these things.
And I know it started before the 19 hundreds, but that's as far back as I went. So, um, 1911, um, the first international celebration, um, Austria. Denmark, Germany and Switzerland held rallies for women's rights. So I know us in the US think we're pretty badass and we are, but there was some things going around the world because this is International Women's Day.
And so it's not just about our piece of the pie, it's about everybody. And I say that because that's your tribe, ladies. It's not just here, it's not just people that look like us, that talk like us. Um, it's, it's [00:03:00] women across the world and I think that's really awesome. 1917, and this I didn't know, but the Russian women protested and if you know what's going on in the 1917, um, there in Russia, that took some balls,
I know the, the, you know, it may sound crazy, but they protest. It's the famous bread for pe, um, bread and Peace protest. And, um, it just, it it led to, um, the abdication of Nicholas ii. And, um, they gained the right to vote out of that. And it's just amazing when you start looking that and. It's really amazing to me to see the power we have as we go through things, not just here, but if we tap into the greater power.
That's pretty awesome. [00:04:00] Um, so where did this come from and why am I doing it? That's a history and we'll get all into that, but . I, I wanted to, I was talking to some friends of mine who, um, and, and some just people in general about, Hey, what are you doing for, for International Women's Day? Are you doing anything?
What's going on? And as you see, I've got red lipstick on, so that's a shout out. Um, look up Elizabeth Arden, um, red lipstick. Russians wore it. Russian females wore it. Um, our um, . Our, um, comrades re or American Fighters wore it in World War ii. Um, it's, it's a sign of protest and it also makes us look really badass.
Um, so go, go grab you some lipstick and wear it tomorrow. Um, but as I was talking about it with my, with some different people and just bringing it up in casual conversations. 'cause if you haven't figured out by now, I talk a lot even to [00:05:00] strangers. Um, so I found out that some people weren't doing anything and wasn't even on their minds.
And so I of course was like, oh, that's, that's, that's okay. But you know, that's our day. And some of the people that I was talking to were really upset with what's going on in the US towards women and DEI and things like that, and . I was like, well, but this is, this is a day to celebrate that. If there's ever a day to go do some of this stuff, this is our day to go, go March or go do any, go do something.
And there's, um, so I was like, okay, Christine, what are you doing? And um, I. I started looking for events and things like that, and I'm gonna attend some events, but there was an event in Florida called, um, I'm gonna get this wrong, but it's, it's the Coral Gables March for Women. And, um, it's a rally march.
It's a protest march down in, down there. And I started talking, um, to some of the people that were thinking about going. [00:06:00] And unfortunately, I'm not gonna drive to Miami, tomorrow, I'm, I'm not gonna do that. But I thought, well, what can I do here? What can you do? All right, if you don't wanna attend a march, you don't wanna do all that.
What can you do? Well, first there's tons of things, but first of all, think about women in history. Know our history. I think that's a big one for me. I mean, I need to know this. Um, and so I went through and I started looking, um, . And I was amazed at some of the, the queens, um, like the, a African Queens, warriors, military leaders, um, throughout multiple countries, not just Africa, but, but throughout history that were leaders.
Um, you know, the, the, the nanny of the maroons, um, is 17th century Jamaican, um, warrior Queen, um, who fought British enslavement. Um, you know, there's just . [00:07:00] There's, there's a ton of these and, you know, queen Amina. Um, and just how she ran her kingdom and things like that. So go, go, go, start looking, looking at the history, and this dates back centuries.
I mean, we could go back all the way, um, way before that sort of, um, you know, to, to BC and, and, you know, before Christ and all of that. And look at, um, some of these women that were defeating. Emperors that were, teachers of kings of philosophers. Um, and and if I'm, I am gonna get this wrong, but I can't remember the name and I should know this, especially if I'm talking about it, but I don't, so I'm not gonna let that bother me.
I will look it up and get back to you. But I believe it was Socrates's, um, Socrates or Seneca's teacher was a female. [00:08:00] So it's amazing and, and I started digging into this and I just thought, wouldn't that be great conversation, um, to have with your daughters, with your sons, with your husbands, with your brothers, with your, you know, husbands, with your wives, um, to talk about, you know, the women of the Hidden Figures, you know, um, the, the women of science and math and technology that have just made such an amazing, um,
Contribution to our society. Um, you know, the, the, the first leprosy treatment, Alice Ball, Augusta Ball did that, didn't know that. Seriously, that's, that's kind of important. Um, the first programmer, um, first computer programmer, it's my understanding is ADA Lovelace. Um, and, and they were actually denied their credit.
That's what's crazy. And, and this is why it's a little bit hard [00:09:00] to find some of the women that, that were, you know, putting things into motion and. Because they were told, no, this is not, this isn't worth it. It's not good. Your work's not good. And then people, men, and I'm not bashing men, it's just what happens.
History took their shit and ran with it. And then they had to fight years and years to get it back and to get their name on things. Um, you know, um, Henrietta Lacks, I, I don't know if you don't know about this, um, but, um, the Hela cells, you know, her, her, her, her. Her stolen cells. I mean, she was, you know, that led to amazing medical advancements, but it was based off of the stealing, um, from a, from a woman.
And, and I think there's a lot of things here that we could talk about. Um, you know, even, even not even that, think about your home [00:10:00] security. Um, Mary Marie Van, Bri Brown, Bri Brown, um, invented the home security system. Didn't know that. I didn't know that. Um, you know, the GPS technology, the math behind the GPS technology Dr.
Gladys West. It, it's just, you know, then we go into like nasa, you know, I mean, those people are doing things way beyond my comprehension. Um, and, and the black women mathematicians who helped put men on . Under the moon. And, and, and again, there are, there are movies. That's a great movie. Did you see that movie?
Oh my god. Great movie. I like that one. Great movie. I love it when I love her, her, her speech when she's like, when he's, when he, when Kevin Costner is like, where were you? Yeah. Yelling at her for where? In the bathroom. And she's like, and, and women, if you have not seen that movie, couple things on that. If you have not seen that movie, see it.[00:11:00]
Okay. And I wanna call out something. White women watch that movie and you think how hard it is for us to walk into the rooms of corporate. Okay. Think about sisters that don't look like us. I mean, seriously, that's our white privilege and I don't call it out. Okay. But I, to me, privilege is, I don't have to worry about it.
Okay. And I just look at that movie. But I look at even now, today, and, and I won't go a side tangent on here, but I, I've talked to a friend of mine who's a PhD and she is, she's black, and we talk about the things that I don't have to worry about. Um, and, and I just think it's so, don't forget our sisters you know, and, and, and just because I don't worry about it doesn't mean they don't worry about it.
That's a privilege not to worry about things. Um, but yeah, amazing movie. [00:12:00] And there's, there's all of this, you know, the, the DNA double helix structure, um, and, and Rosalind Franklin, she was 1920 to 1958. And of course I've got notes because I'm bad with numbers, but, so yes, if you see me looking, that's what I'm doing.
But discovered in the DNA's, you know, double helix structure and all of that, that led to. Talk about politics, law, you know, the women that, that were doing that. Um, and there's a, a woman, . And I am going to mess up her name. Um, the Emper, Dauer. And I could be wrong with that, but it's CIXI. Um, she was in China.
I think it's pronounced sexy. That's sexy. something. How Apropos . Now I don't, I don't know if I just said a really dumb thing 'cause you're about to say what she did. So I hope No. [00:13:00] But, um, she was one of the most powerful rulers in Chinese history. I didn't know, didn't know. Um, the, the, there, there's all of these women doing, you know, just, you know, even Margaret Thatcher, you know, the first female prime minister of the uk And if you, if you ever go back through his history, especially during that timeframe, and you, and you watch, um, um, she actually
Did some amazing, um, maneuvering, and I haven't liked all of her politics. Um, but she maneuvered with the boys and she outmaneuvered the boys in a lot of ways. Um, and Dear Gandhi, you know, it, it just, again, just amazing. Um, I mean, and then in, in the United States, I [00:14:00] mean, think about all of the women here.
And are that are doing and working with the rule of law that are, you know, um, even Geraldine Ferraro, you know, and, and I remember that 'cause I was young then and that was a big deal. And so just think that through. And, and there's ways, you know, there's a, now we all know about Rosa Parks, um, and, but there was actually a teen mother.
That, um, Claudette Colvin, C-O-L-V-I-N, um, who had refused to give a per seat on a bus, before Rosa Parks, but didn't, you know, she, and, and again, it just, they're here. The people that have gone before us are here. The people that are doing it now are here. We just have to [00:15:00] look for 'em to celebrate. You know, the, the first black woman to win Olympic gold in the high jump.
Alison Coachman, you know Wilma Rudolph comes without saying, you know, obviously Serena Williams, which I loved her. And, and what's funny is. I had, I, I really love Venus. That's, that's my, that's my heart is my, one of my heroes is Venus Williams. But I love Serena doing the Crip walk on, on on national tv.
That was pretty badass. Um, Flo Jo, just amazing, amazing women. Strong women, and it comes with all different looks and, and, and . Countries and attitudes and, and some did it with different flair and different style. Some did it with, um, you know, I mean, we can, I just, there's even, and I don't know because [00:16:00] she's from Canada, so I'm gonna screw up the French last name, but, um, she was the first woman to play in an NHL hockey game.
Joe, if you can look her up and pronounce it, I'll let you take a shot at it. Yeah, I'm really bad at that, but I'll try Manon Manon and again, Andrea Laramie. Or Andrea Laramie. Where are you when I need you to help me speak French. Um, but again, think about this. We have these wealth of women that have gone before us or doing it now.
Um, . What they're doing healthcare and medicine and social work. You know, obviously Florence Nightingale, um, Claire Barton, just there's, um, amazing, amazing women, Dr. Elizabeth Backwell, and if anybody wants this list, I've got it. Email me at c spratley@hbadvisors.com [00:17:00] and I'll email it to you and have at it.
Have at it, have these conversations and that's what I'm talking about. That's why it's so amazing to me. So like, what can you do? I mean, think about the women that we could talk about, you know, from, our poetry and art and things that they've given us, let alone the activists and revolutionaries who you know, you know, soldier and truth.
And, and obviously Harriet Tubman and, but just all of that, and I celebrate that when I celebrate International Women's Day, how can I pass up a day to not do something, to not have a conversation, to not dig a little bit deeper? And it may not be at a rally, it may not be at a, an actual celebration. But this is what I talk about, about putting this [00:18:00] in my life.
So it's not just a day. I mean, these are facts that I can bring up in a conversation anywhere. Hey, did you know I didn't know this? Hey, by the way, I didn't know this. , one of the things that I've started to do to celebrate women is change my, um, . My daily interactions and how I talk. [00:19:00] An example of this is when I see a young girl, um, and it, I was down at Atlantic Beach, last weekend and just took some time for the weekend and went down with a friend of mine and she, she and I were having breakfast at the Banks Grill.
Best, best breakfast sausage. Ever. Um, and the, the ladies there and the owner are amazing and there was this little girl and she got up and um, she was walking out with her dad and her family and she had big, curly hair, kind of, you know, not real big, but just curly hair. And she had some pink stuff on and she just said, you know, she had a unicorn, I think on her shirt.
Typically in the past, I would say, oh, you're so pretty, you know, and, and do that. And I choose to use many words different. Oh, you are smart. You look so smart, you know, you look so strong. You know, tell me about how creative you are. [00:20:00] I like your outfit. And what's interesting is that, and I've noticed this when I say something like.
Especially if it's a man and her daughter and his daughter's standing there and I said, oh, you look so smart and strong. You know, or Oh, that, you know, whatever. Because strength, that's the thing is pink is okay to wear it. You can be strong in in that. And it's changing how we look at. What they'll do typically is they will almost push her out there and they're like proud.
I mean, they, it's like, it's like for men, it's like when you say somebody's strong, they're like, yeah, that's my kid. . You know? And it's like they go, oh yeah. And, and, and it's, it's really interesting to have that. So have those kind of conversations. Try it out tomorrow when you see someone and you use the words.
You And, and and they're more than just pretty. Yeah, they're pretty. But why are they pretty? Because they, they're strong. [00:21:00] They, they're, they're conveying who they are. Um, I know this may seem crazy, but if I'm doing it at the coffee shop and I'm talking to my spouse or my friends, or my enemies for that matter, whomever, and I weave the things into the conversation that I want to grow, I.
Then I've normalized it, then it's there, then it's planted. It's a seed. And so plant as many seeds as you can on International Women's Day. Wear your lipstick. You know, get your guy to wear the lipstick. I mean, seriously, have some fun with it, but do something to celebrate it. It's a day for us. Don't let it pass without celebrating it somehow.
You know, Maya, Angela talks about, there's this clip of her [00:22:00] that I saw on Instagram, and she's given this interview and she talks about when she speaks or when she teaches, and she says that she brings everybody into what she does. Everybody that's gone before her that she's learned about and learned from, or heard or read or, and I thought about that when I thought about this.
When I don't know my history as a woman, when I don't have. My tribe that has gone before me or is rising up beneath me. You know, my, the age group rising underneath me that's coming up. I've learned so much from them. Then I just show up. I not only go alone, but I show up alone. I show up with my limited knowledge and my limited truth.
So what's really amazing [00:23:00] though is if you look, and if I look not you, you can do whatever you want to with this podcast. But when I look. I don't show up alone. I say this in my mugshot crew all the time. You know, we may go alone, but we never show up alone. We bring all of this, and why not? Why not celebrate that?
Why not give that? You know, what a better conversation than to have with your son, you know, and say, by the way, did you know this? This is cool. Do you ever think that? Wow, I don't know. It's just, it doesn't have to dominate the conversation, but just put it in there. But if I don't know the history, I can't have the conversation.
If I don't know about the women in Russia or Denmark or wherever and what they're doing, I can't have that [00:24:00] conversation. But I also can't draw from that strength. I can't draw from that history. If I shut out the women that are younger than me because they haven't gone through what I've gone through, then I miss what they're going through.
I miss that. So just really think about how much fun we can have with this day tomorrow. What are you gonna do? I mean, it is our day to talk about us. And again, big or small, but celebrate it because if I don't celebrate it, then I can't bitch about if anybody else doesn't celebrate it. If I don't change my language, how do I have the right to bitch about you changing yours?
I always talk about is being an HBIC, I need to clean up what's on my [00:25:00] side of the street and believe you me, there's a lot of shit on my side of the street and I'm not perfect, but I gotta clean up my side of the street and I have to plant the seeds for the garden that I want to grow. Nobody else can do that.
Okay? They, I need to do that, and here's a whole day where we can do that. And one thing I'm gonna talk about and then I'll let it go, but I'm gonna talk about the ERA as we're on the International Women's Day. I'm gonna talk about the ERA, the Equal Rights Amendment. And I'm not sure if you know, many may know that listening to this podcast, many may not know, but it remains unratified.
It is not part of our constitution. We have the states, but we didn't make that number until it was passed [00:26:00] the time limit, which if you look back through, I think it's probably, and I could be mistaken, but it's probably, if not the only amendment that had a time limit on it, and I could be wrong. So call me out if I'm wrong.
Um, but it's one of the few, and you need to get a certain amount of states. Um, I think it's 38. I'm not sure. But we didn't do that in time, so we got the number, but it's not in time, so it remains in ratified. No big deal, right? Like, no big deal. We, we, everybody's all for equal rights. We don't have to worry about that, but they're not constitutionally guaranteed.
Okay? It's not a constitutional guarantee. The other thing, not just equal pay protections, pregnancy, discrimination, protections,[00:27:00]
reproductive rights. All right? It's still state law now, or not, not it's still, but it is now. State law, there's no federal guarantee, and again, that's opening up a can of worms, but that's led to a lot of other things, not just . And it's not just abortion, it's reproductive rights in every woman. We're talking about a reproductive system here, okay?
It's not just about abortion, because our reproductive system is so complicated in our bodies protection against gender based violence.
You know, removing the ability to sue attackers in federal court.
I again, and I know people are gonna go way off and go, oh, well what about [00:28:00] trans and all this? Oh, I said the key word trans. I'm not talking. I'm just saying in general. In general, doesn't protect, not there, you know, workplace equality and sexual harassment protection. Again, applies to only 15, you know, employee environments with 15 PL plus employees, excluding many workers.
But feel free to look it up. And I may be wrong on some of those numbers, but it's not part of our constitution. So what I wanna ask you with regard to this. Is, how confident are we that this, that they're gonna do right by us? They society, men, women, and everybody in between?
And if it's not a big deal, then [00:29:00] why isn't it done? Why isn't it done? If everybody agrees on this, then why isn't done? So I bring that up just to put some thought into your head, because what I've found is the women that listen to my podcast really think about shit. We dig a little bit deeper because this is our life and we wanna be fulfilled.
So tomorrow, as you're going through your day, your day, it's your day. Put on your lipstick. Celebrate it. Find something to celebrate and talk about it. Talk about it with anybody and everybody. Learn something new, you know, find something new. Send me an email, send me a stat post something. Teach me something I don't know, [00:30:00] correct.
Something I misspoke on. Hell tell me I'm wrong. I'm okay with that, but do something with it. Again, if I don't do it, then how do I have the balls to tell you to do it? So tomorrow I'm celebrating, I'm talking and I'm gonna have a lot of fun and I'm gonna learn more. [00:31:00] [00:32:00] [00:33:00] [00:34:00] [00:35:00] [00:36:00] [00:37:00] [00:38:00] [00:39:00] [00:40:00] [00:41:00]