The Woman That I See…Loves her feminity and values the unique contribution that womanhood brings to the table of life.
So, I am taking a cue from Lea and picking up my posts on my vision for womanhood, or “The Woman That I See.” This bullet point is just about being pumped to be a girl. Womanhood is so multifaceted and sometimes complicated. In my experience, it always tends to be defined in extreme stereotypes starting from a very young age. Not all of them are flattering. Consider: The sexy bombshell, the power-trip female boss, the mousy housewife, the good girl, the rebellious party girl, the smart girl, the athlete, the perky cheerleader, the moody drama queen…. the list could go on. Most of the stereotypes carry with them personality and character traits that are negative. The sexy bombshell must always be dumb, the smart girl must always be homely, the athlete must always be un feminine, the cheerleader must always be snobby, the housewife must always be boring.
Like it or not, the way that other people perceive us has a profound impact on the way we perceive ourselves. When we are contstantly told that we are pretty, smart, funny,crazy, boring, stupid, etc., we come to believe it to some dergree and even perhaps adapt our behavior to fit into some pre-defined expectations. I think that aspect of being pigeonholed and defined by the expectations of others has made some women uncomfortable in their feminine skin. Because many times expectations are unrealistic or the streotypes are negative, we (rationally so) come to resent them and seek to cast them off.
Unfortuantely, many of us think that casting off negative sterotypes or unhealthy identites also means casting off feminity. We may have come to perceive feminity interms of negative traits — weakness, cattiness, out-of-control emotions, superficiality. But femininity has a unique contibution to bring to the table of life, and it doesn’t involve any of these pre-conceived negative notions. What is it? You’ll have to tune in to the next post to find out the answer I uncovered in my own life — cause this one is getting WAAAYYYYY to long. Plus, I have a meeting!
Love ya’ll!
Kerri
LBxoxoxo