Happy International Women's Day!

I hope you've taken a moment to think about your womanhood--about what you love and hate about being a woman, about how you enact your ladiness (or don't) and about the plight of your fellow double x-ers.

On such an important day, this woman is contemplating her vagina. It's not necessary to do this in order to fully enjoy I.W.D.

Seriously, though. This is a painting by one of my favourite Canadian artists, Alex Colville. It is a picture of his wife when they were younger, and it hangs in the AGO beside a more contemporary picture of her.
Her hair is grey. She is rounder in the belly, and looks to be retirement age. But you can feel her strong presence through the tempera on particle board (or whatever it is). It's quite obvious that he loves her and that she loves him.
But heterosexual romantic love is also not mandatory in order to enjoy this day. Have a good one!