International Women’s Day at SXSW and the Power of Taking Up Space

By the time I made it to the SXSW International Women’s Day afterparty, Austin already felt electric.

The day had been full, and the night carried that familiar SXSW mix of music, movement, branding, ideas, and bodies trying to keep up with it all. Still, there was something special about entering a space created around women, wellness, and celebration.

International Women’s Day can become a slogan if we are not careful. Tonight reminded me that it can also become a room where women breathe a little deeper.

Women Deserve More Than Inspiration

I love a good inspirational moment. I truly do. However, women need more than applause and affirmations.

We need access. We need rest. We need funding. We need safety. We need healthcare. We need childcare. We need rooms where ambition does not require apology and softness does not get mistaken for weakness.

That thought followed me through the evening. It connects with the heart of what I often write about in women and rest. Women are allowed to be powerful without being constantly exhausted.

Wellness Can Be Joyful

The Sweatlife House had a wellness energy, but not the stiff kind. It felt social, bright, and alive. Sometimes wellness spaces become too serious, as if caring for the body must always look disciplined and perfectly lit.

Tonight felt more playful.

That matters because joy is part of wellbeing. Dancing counts. Laughing counts. Getting dressed up and walking into a room with other women counts. A night out can refill something too, especially when it lets us feel present in our own bodies.

Taking Up Space Is a Practice

Women are often taught to shrink in small ways. We lower our voices. We soften our asks. We over-explain our confidence. We make room for everyone and then wonder why there is none left for us.

Tonight felt like a gentle refusal of that habit.

There is power in entering a room without disappearing inside it. There is power in conversation. There is power in laughter that does not ask permission. There is power in choosing visibility.

I kept thinking about the women I have met through travel, work, education, and community development. Their leadership rarely looks identical, yet it often shares one thing: they keep going, even when the room was not built with them in mind.

The Travel Side of a Big Festival Week

Major festivals can be thrilling, but they can also drain you. I try to pack with comfort in mind, especially when I know I will be walking, standing, dancing, writing, and moving between events. Some of my travel basics live in my Amazon storefront.

When I travel to festival cities, I also like to build in one slower local experience. GetYourGuide is useful when I want to compare tours, food experiences, or something grounding outside the main event schedule.

For longer travel, especially when I am moving between cities, I consider coverage through SafetyWing.

What I Want to Remember Tonight

I want to remember that women need celebration, not as a distraction from serious work, but as part of it.

The world asks women to carry so much. Some of us carry families. Some carry businesses. Some carry communities. Some carry grief, desire, debt, dreams, and responsibilities that nobody sees.

Tonight, women gathered under music and lights. We talked, laughed, moved, and occupied space. That may sound simple, but I know better.

Sometimes taking up space is its own form of truth-telling.