I want to start this blog by recognizing the men in my life, whose love for me has inspired me to be my truest and best self… OMG did she just start a blog titled the empowered woman by giving credit to MEN?? Yes I did and I give equal credit to my mother and my sisters whose impact on my life has been just as significant. I do not believe the empowered woman aspires to a gender; I believe she aspires to the qualities of kindness, compassion, strength, humility and love. I believe it does not matter to her to be greater than or louder than, to argue her point or to compare her worth because she knows it already. She has a love of self so fierce that no thing or being can disturb her peace.
Empowerment does not require justification or validation; empowerment is not angry protests or division, it is not who is right and who is wrong; empowerment is self-love, inner peace and unity. I recognize that many women use the term ‘I am an empowered woman and therefore I do not need a man’ and ‘empowered women empowering women’ this insinuates that women who have any kind of relationship with a man are not empowered. I haven’t yet heard the saying ‘empowered men empowering women’ or ‘empowered women empowering men’ yet we know that without each other, human kind cannot survive; we have equal importance to the reproduction of human kind. Empowered woman need men, empowered men need women.. yes, even if you don’t plan to reproduce because of course without man or woman you wouldn’t even be here.
A world without males
I lost my grandfather and my father before the age of 5-years old, still their short time on earth with me taught me some valuable lessons that carry me through life. My grandfather was incredibly patient, humble and kind, he was the first person I knew I loved and I wanted to grow up to marry a man just like him; he taught me that love is patient, humble and kind. My father was funny, even when he was in a wheelchair and bed ridden by cancer, he was always smiling and doing cheeky things to make me and my siblings laugh; he taught me the importance of laughter, even in the face of incredible hardship. These males were the only males in my world, and I lost them. I have been in the presence of women insinuating a desirable world without males; I can tell you my world without males was scary, confusing and emotionally painful. Equally I was raised by very determined, independent women who taught me the importance of standards, hard work and resilience. Because I was raised by these incredibly strong women who seemed to manage life well on their own, I was of the view that I too was an independent woman who did not need a man. I met my current partner in my early 20’s and despite my initial stubbornness and resistance, I eventually learnt that I can be incredible empowered and independent in an equal relationship with a man; far more so than when I was a single woman (refer to my blog The Power of the Right Relationship).
Sadly, there are many patriarchal societies where women do not have the privilege to live a life of their choosing, but rather a life that is determined by the men who surround them. These women do not have a voice but if they had, may very well argue that life without males would be one of bliss and freedom. However if they were given the choice to completely eliminate males or to make woman man’s equal, I highly suspect they would chose the latter. When a man and women work together as equals, in any aspect of their life (relationships, employment, sport, raising a healthy child, world peace etc.) the consequence will be more powerful, consistent and positively effective.
Women’s Rights
The Women’s Rights Movement echoes that all men and women are created equally and therefore we should live in a world where all men and women are treated equally. It was never meant to be a vendetta against men, in fact the very opposite; it is about equality and bringing men and women together. It concerns me that some women are using feminism and women’s rights as an excuse to encourage a divide between men and women; to generalize men as controlling, greedy and coercive. The women’s right movement is not about berating and belittling men, it is not motivated to make women more powerful than men or more worthy. Women’s rights should not be fueled by hatred toward the collective male because of a bad experience with the minority male chauvinistic. In my experience, men generally dislike this type of man as much as women do. In the face of such a man, the empowered woman will not be offended or enraged, she may decide to give him her time to encourage a more enlightened perspective, dependent on the sophistication of his naivety. Either way, she will remain humble and at peace within herself. The empowered woman is fierce and passionate when she speaks; she is receptive and patient when she listens, she has a studios mind but has no desire to argue her point, her inner peace is too precious.
Let’s be honest…
The empowered woman is whoever the hell she wants to be but this is who she is to me!
dare2Bme 