💛 What Is International Women’s Day, Really?

Every year on March 8th, brands roll out pastel graphics and “you go girl” slogans like clockwork. And while it’s sweet to celebrate women, the truth is… International Women’s Day (IWD) wasn’t created to be sweet. It was built out of fire, fight, and solidarity.

Let’s talk about what this day really stands for—and why it still matters so deeply.

✊🏽 The Radical Origins of IWD

International Women’s Day has its roots in labor movements and working-class women’s activism. The first official observance happened in 1911, inspired by a 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York where women demanded fair wages, shorter hours, and voting rights.

That’s right: not brunch. Not gift boxes.
The beginning of IWD was about women refusing to be silent in the face of exploitation.

Over time, IWD became a global day of action for women’s rights—not just in the U.S., but across Europe, Asia, and Africa. In many countries, it’s a national holiday, complete with protests, rallies, and public demands for change.

🌈 Who Gets to Be a Woman on IWD?

Let’s be blunt: trans women, nonbinary femmes, and gender-expansive people belong in this conversation. Period.

If your feminism excludes queer and trans people, it isn’t feminism. It’s PR— performance. Virtue-signaling.

At Cozykins, we celebrate every person who lives in a body that’s been gendered, policed, underestimated, or erased. That includes trans women of color leading mutual aid groups. Nonbinary parents building better systems for their kids. Disabled femmes running businesses out of bed. Every person who says, “I deserve to be here”—even when the world says otherwise!

Founder Alexis Berardi-Hawley, by Tyler Ishee 2018.

🧵 Why Cozy Does Not Mean Quiet

There’s a misconception that softness is silence. That compassion = compliance. That plushies are “for children,” and that we must stay small if we want to be gentle.

We call BS.

Cozy is not weakness. Cozy is resistance.

Cozy means building something warm when the world feels cold.
Cozy means creating safety, softness, and weird joy even when you’re exhausted.
Cozy means choosing connection over cruelty.

That’s not passive—it’s revolutionary! And this is exactly the spirit of International Women’s Day: honoring those who create, protect, and nurture in a world that too often punishes them for doing so.

Cozykins is proudly queer-woman-owned—built from scratch, with grit and gratitude— while parenting, advocating, and fighting for community care. We believe in raising our voices in the face of injustice, and in wrapping those we love (and those most marginalized) in something that says: You’re safe here. You matter. You’re not alone.

As you reflect on IWD and beyond, ask yourself:
🧡 Who has made the world softer for you?
🧡 Who are you showing up for in return?
🧡 And how can we keep choosing a future where care is loud, not hidden or evasive?

Because being Cozy means slowing down, offering reciprocal support, and remembering that care work is revolutionary.

🐾 How You Can Show Up—Today and Beyond

This International Women’s Day, go beyond the hashtags. Here's what actually supports women:

• ✅ Buy from women-owned, queer-led, and parent-run small businesses

• ✅ Push for paid family leave and accessible healthcare

• ✅ Don’t just praise women—protect them

• ✅ Center the voices of those most excluded: BIPOC women, trans folks, disabled women, and neurodivergent femmes

• ✅ Speak up when someone talks over a woman, steals her idea, or dismisses her story

And finally?
Believe survivors. Listen. Uplift. Make room.

🧸 Cozykins Is Woman-Built, Future-Focused

This brand didn’t come from a corporation—it came from a woman with a baby in one hand and a sketchpad in the other. It came from community care, queer joy, and a whole lot of messy, magical resilience.
Cozy is power in softness.
And every plushie we create is stitched with the spirit of that fight.

Happy International Women’s Day, besties. Let’s make every day one worth marching for!
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