For some reason we like to categorise things and put everything in a box. All my life I tried to fit into different ones but nothing felt comfortable. I am a very strong personality, but I cry all the time. My greatest passion is music and all creativity, but I also happen to love math and logic. Some days I want to dress like the ultimate business woman and on others like I raided my husband closet. Being a wife is one of my greatest joys, supporting my husbands and learning what true love is, but I'm also very independent and need my own space and things going on. I've stopped to apologise if I don't fit the pre-made molds I'm expected to live in. It's just so much more fun to use all the colours in my palette.
Being a woman is not always that simple. For us to be taken serious, we are expected to dress, act, talk and live in certain ways. If we decide to be different, we're easily labeled as difficult, bossy, superficial, slutty or moody. Feminism has received a negative ring to it and a lot of people, even women, wrongly perceive it as a club of man haters. Quoting Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie the definition of a feminist is: "…a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes." You can find her whole speech "We should all be feminists" on Ted talks, I whole heartedly recommend it. The feminist movement started already decades ago and even though a lot has changed we still have issues to tackle. But instead of trying to fit into a mold created by a society ruled by men, why can't we take over by being exactly who we are? For me, being a feminist does not mean trying to be a man or thinking I'm the same as a man, because that would just be putting me in another box. So why do I try to compete with rules set up by men? Isn't it time to change them? Isn't it time to use humanities full potential and not only the blacks and whites, when there's a rainbow of colours available?
I'm a woman. I dress like a woman, talk like a woman and walk like a woman. I like pink lipstick and sassy heels. I'm also an advocate for abolishing modern day slavery.
What we identify as strong, world changing or leadership material is for us to define. But it requires people to take the risk of embracing who they are and accepting others just the same.
Are you ready for the challenge?
xxx
Photos by Adriana Dobrin
Cropped hoodie: Urban Outfitters
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Boots: Dr. Martens
Jacket: Somewhere in CA
Leather tote: Zara
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