As luck would have it, on my birthday the Olympic flame passed through the town where I live: Muret.
My husband teases me with a smile:
Tu vas souffler une grande bougie aujourd’hui !
Christophe Javouhey, May 17, 2024.My personal translation:
You’re going to blow out a big candle today!
So, it’s a buzz and a day of celebration in town for this international event. I decide to go there to celebrate several events at the same time.
So May 17th is my birthday and also that of my twin sister Angélique.
Joyeux anniversaire, Angélique ! Sto lat! Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin!
Sonia Kanclerski, Pause-café chez Sonia, article My olympic birthday, May 17, 2024.
Happy Birthday, Angélique! One hundred years! All the best on your birthday!
May 17 is also the International Day Against Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. My thoughts of solidarity are with lesbians, gays and all those discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, as well as transgender people.
I am sad and bitter about the excesses of transactivist ideology that undermine women’s rights and seriously endanger the health of minors. It is not transphobia, nor is it extremism to want to protect vulnerable people against excesses and other manipulations.
Finally, in this Olympic year, 2024, I would like to point out that, for women, it is also the centenary of another event, this time a national one:
Les programmes de l’enseignement secondaire ainsi que le baccalauréat deviennent identiques pour les filles et les garçons.
Decree of March 25, 1924, FranceMy personal translation:
Secondary school programs and the baccalaureate become identical for girls and boys.
Another link with the Olympic Games? For women, taking the baccalaureate and studying in France was an Olympic challenge a hundred years ago because to study you also had to obtain your husband’s permission! I have a moving thought for you ladies! Gratitude 🙏
So it only took a few men to make this situation happen and therefore all women find themselves excluded from the world of studies and knowledge. For men who feel offended or uncomfortable at this memory, no collective of men, en masse, like for… celebrating the Olympic Games, rose up against this injustice which nevertheless concerned all women, your life companions. As for the right to vote. I am an engineer with 2 masters, one professional and one in research. I am more than pensive when I think about this event…
I share a digital album made with some personal photos taken during this day dear to my heart:
17/05/2024 : the reception of the 2024 Olympic Flame in Muret.
Across space and time, from the nearest to the farthest, from the local to the national to the international, from the past through the present to the future, across seas and mountains, the Olympic flame travels, and so for me it is a day of plural celebrations 🙂
I take this opportunity to address you in particular, gentlemen, during the Olympic Games, I invite you to observe carefully how women manage to do high-level sport, to appreciate the performances and prowess of sportswomen in their personal context and not to hesitate to confront people who minimize or belittle their accomplishments. Thank you in advance!
For my part, I note that:
Pour beaucoup de femmes dans le monde, les épreuves olympiques, c’est tous les jours.
Sonia Kanclerski, Pause-café chez Sonia, article My olympic birthday, May 17, 2024.My personal translation:
For many women around the world, the Olympics are every day.
To finish this article which celebrates my birthday, I share the photo of a rose from my garden:
