本篇是往年舊報，但依舊貼切、依舊發人深省。歡迎大家在過節之餘也和身邊的人以及本公號多交流自己的觀點，祝大家婦女節快樂！
另：本文有刪減與修改。
What a ‘Girls’ Day’ says about a woman’s place in China
從“女生節”看中國女性地位【上篇】
“I will be your breadwinner.” “Girls studying biology are my type. Older women I don’t like.” These are just a few of the examples of messages emblazoned on banners hanging across Chinese campuses on March 7, an informal “Girls’ Day” invented by college students supposedly to celebrate the youth of women. But these public banners are sexist, not celebratory. And the bullying of those who rightly protested the messages is an ominous sign for gender equality in the world’s most populous country.
“我來養活你。” “生物女我的菜；大齡女我不愛。” 這些是見於3月7日“女生節”時懸掛在中國校園的橫幅上的一些例子，而該日是大學生美其名曰為了慶祝女性青春而創設的非正式節日。但是這些公共場所所見標語不是在慶祝，反是性別歧視的體現。而義正言辭批評這類標語的人反遭打壓，反映出了性別平等問題在這個世界人口最多國家中所呈現的不祥態勢。
breadwinner
=a person supporting a family with his or her earnings 養家餬口的人。
這個詞專指一個家庭中主要提供財政支持的人，本身不太存在性別歧視的涵義，但對於進行免費家庭勞動工作的人來說還是有失偏頗，使用時需注意。給大家一個《大西洋月刊》的例子以供強化：
- Couples in the U.S. continue to idealize and privilege a family structure with a male breadwinner anda female homemaker.
- 男主外女主內的家庭結構仍然是美國夫妻所希冀與珍視的。
emblazon
= decorate (sth) with prominent markings 醒目裝飾。
blazon指的是常見於王族盾牌等處的那種紋飾，加上前綴em也就有了做出那樣裝飾的意思，隨後進一步也就有了“頌揚、慶祝”的意思。來看一個《福克斯新聞》的：
- A New York City man who also was wearing a hat emblazoned with Trump's signature campaign slogan was attacked on the subway.
- 一名戴著寫有特朗普標誌性競選口號帽子的紐約市男子在地鐵上遭到襲擊。
ominous
= threatening 不祥的。
本詞可修飾名詞，也可以直接做表語。各舉一例說明：
- Behind him, he heard an ominous click.
- 他聽到身後響起不祥的喀噠聲。
- Hallways are dank and ominous.
- 走廊潮溼且不祥。
Girls’ Day has been around for years. But at its heart, it is a public festival showcasing no more than male hormones. Though its origins are unclear, some believe that Girls’ Day is derived from a risqué saying: “There’s just one ‘day’s’ difference between a girl and a woman.” And so on March 7, women celebrate Girls’ Day – but the next day they celebrate the International Women’s Day.
女生節已經存在多年。但從本質上講，女生節這一公共節日展示的卻只是雄性激素。儘管該節日的起源不詳，但有些人認為女生節是來自於這個有傷風化的說法：“女生和婦女只有一日之差”。所以，3月7日女性慶祝女生節，3月8日就過國際婦女節了。
at its heart
=in reality or fundamentally 內心裡; 基本上。也可以說at its core.
下例出自《赫芬頓郵報》：
- At its heart, Facebook is a social networking site, not a mobile company.
- 從本質上講，臉書是一個社交網站，而非移動公司。
risqué
[ˈrɪskeɪ]
=bordering on impropriety or indecency 有傷風化的。
從拼寫、讀音上就可以看出是個法語詞，和risk的意思有關。
Every year, debates over Girls’ Day captivate Chinese internet users, with prominent opponents to the festival becoming the subject of sexist cyberbullying. Online, many college students – male and female alike – defend the banners as sweet gestures of affection or love. Some women have even proposed replacing Women’s Day with Girls’ Day. Feminists have advocated for boycotting Girls’ Day and embracing Women’s Day instead as a far better way to empower young women. And sporadic counter-sexist banners celebrating the independence and rights of women do exist on some college campuses. But such banners are few and far between.
每年都有關於女生節的辯論吸引著中國的互聯網用戶，其主要反對者往往遭到性別歧視類型的網絡欺凌。網上許多大學生，無論男女，都會為這些標語辯護，將其作為充滿愛意與甜蜜的表示。一些女性甚至建議將“婦女節”改為“女生節”。而女權主義者則主張抵制女生節、力挺婦女節，認為正視婦女節才是賦予年輕婦女權力的更優方法。在一些大學校園裡確實也懸掛著慶祝女性獨立與權利的橫幅，但這樣的標語少之又少。
sporadic
=occurring at irregular points in time 偶發的。
這個詞從詞源上來說和spore“孢子”有關，大家可以聯想一下孢子零星散落的情形來記住sporadic這個詞。從意思上來說，sporadic也和下面這個短語是近義詞。
few and far between
= not happening or existing very often 稀少。
給大家一個NASA網站上出現的：
- Ground based rainfall stations for weather forecasting and climate monitoring in the southern Appalachians were few and far between.
- 在阿巴拉契亞南部，用於天氣預報和氣象監測的地面降雨站很稀少。
This year, a young woman burned two Girls’ Day banners on the campus of Beijing’s China University of Political Science and Law. Photos of the banners on fire spread like wildfire online. The protester later explained her intentions in a private WeChat post: “My goal was to prompt the public to question and reflect on Girls’ Day. International Women’s Day is to commemorate the 1910 Chicago garment workers’ strike demanding equal pay, divorce rights and abortion rights. It’s not a day for you to fucking exploit gender stereotypes. Some stupid women even think that they are raking in the benefits of being a young female.”
今年，一名年輕女子在位於北京的中國政法大學校園裡燒燬了兩條女生節橫幅。標語著火的照片像野火一樣在網上傳播開來。抗議者隨後在一私人微信帖子中解釋了她的意圖（詳見圖片）：
prompt
= cause or incite (sb) to do sth 促使或激勵。
prompt這個詞詞性很多，可以是形容詞prompt reply及時的答覆，也可以是名詞prompt screen提示屏，而我們這裡是動詞“促使”，再給大家一個nbc新聞的：
- The failure of that austerity policy has prompted calls for alternative solutions.
- 緊縮政策的失敗促使人們尋求另外的解決方案。
garment
= (fml or joc) article of clothing 衣服。比較正式的說法，比如說服裝行業，the garment industry就是很標準的用法。
rake in
= earn a lot of 大量掙錢。
rake本身指的是耙子，大家想一想用耙子摟穀子過來的效果是不是和撈錢很有異曲同工之妙。
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