Two days ago I had a lovely coffee date with my friend and our chat contained everything from politics to what it's like to be a mother (she just had her second baby, and what a little cutie he is!). She shared an incident she witnessed on the playground not too long ago. There was a kindergarten group out at the same place and they were all playing and screaming, aka being kids. The group had equally boys and girls but instead of addressing the whole group, their leader told the girls to be quiet and behave, because apparently that's what's expected of girls at all times.
Ever since I was young I can remember being called bossy, pushy and stubborn. I definitely embodied those traits and I feel bad for those who had to follow my rules on the playground… I guess this is my apology! But being labeled that way, made me feel like they were something I needed to change about myself and things that didn't have any value. There's been more talk about how girls and boys are treated differently from a very young age on, simply because of their gender. Don't get me wrong, I do think there are differences between male and female which is only a strength to mankind, but we have built our opinions on restrictive stereotypes that stem from a history of repressing women. Lately there have been multiple movements addressing this issue that we all thought was already fought for in the 70's by bra burning activists, and yet it is still well and alive in our modern society. I was 21 years old when I was asked to lead a group, because my superior was convinced of my natural leadership skills. I was baffled. Up to that point, I had often felt like that side of me was too loud, too big and needed to be contained. What I didn't realise, was that those very qualities could be my strengths when harnessed well. Too many women diminish their calling and desires, because they're afraid to step out of our culturally defined "woman, wife, mother" box. In the past I didn't want to be associated with being a feminist, but it was simply because of my narrow-mindedness and wrong perception of what feminism truly means. It still is a loaded word and causes a lot of mixed reactions, because some have used it to get revenge for their broken and hurting hearts. I'm not mad at men and I do shave my legs. I also want to see women reach their full potential, without any external restrictions holding them back and I think that's exactly what feminism is about.
If I had been a boy on that playground, I would have been most likely called ambitious, strong and a leader instead. It's time for us to set aside mindsets that rob half of the worlds population from pursuing freely their ambitions. Not all women have a desire to lead, but all should have the freedom to make that choice for themselves. If you think that women are unfit to lead, you've probably been fooled to believe a very restricted view on leadership. To this day, leadership skills have been defined by the men in charge, but a dominantly male leadership only represents half the truth. Differences have always seemed scary to human minds, whether it's been about race, gender or beliefs, but diversity is truly what brings forth the best in our world. Utilising the whole variety of our toolbox, instead of trying to do every job with a screwdriver, is just much more effective.
This post contains maybe a few percent of my thoughts on this subject but I feel for you, my dear readers, and won't overwhelm you with too much writing even though I could go on and on... Please feel free to comment below, if you feel like discussing this further :)
xxx
Ever since I was young I can remember being called bossy, pushy and stubborn. I definitely embodied those traits and I feel bad for those who had to follow my rules on the playground… I guess this is my apology! But being labeled that way, made me feel like they were something I needed to change about myself and things that didn't have any value. There's been more talk about how girls and boys are treated differently from a very young age on, simply because of their gender. Don't get me wrong, I do think there are differences between male and female which is only a strength to mankind, but we have built our opinions on restrictive stereotypes that stem from a history of repressing women. Lately there have been multiple movements addressing this issue that we all thought was already fought for in the 70's by bra burning activists, and yet it is still well and alive in our modern society. I was 21 years old when I was asked to lead a group, because my superior was convinced of my natural leadership skills. I was baffled. Up to that point, I had often felt like that side of me was too loud, too big and needed to be contained. What I didn't realise, was that those very qualities could be my strengths when harnessed well. Too many women diminish their calling and desires, because they're afraid to step out of our culturally defined "woman, wife, mother" box. In the past I didn't want to be associated with being a feminist, but it was simply because of my narrow-mindedness and wrong perception of what feminism truly means. It still is a loaded word and causes a lot of mixed reactions, because some have used it to get revenge for their broken and hurting hearts. I'm not mad at men and I do shave my legs. I also want to see women reach their full potential, without any external restrictions holding them back and I think that's exactly what feminism is about.
If I had been a boy on that playground, I would have been most likely called ambitious, strong and a leader instead. It's time for us to set aside mindsets that rob half of the worlds population from pursuing freely their ambitions. Not all women have a desire to lead, but all should have the freedom to make that choice for themselves. If you think that women are unfit to lead, you've probably been fooled to believe a very restricted view on leadership. To this day, leadership skills have been defined by the men in charge, but a dominantly male leadership only represents half the truth. Differences have always seemed scary to human minds, whether it's been about race, gender or beliefs, but diversity is truly what brings forth the best in our world. Utilising the whole variety of our toolbox, instead of trying to do every job with a screwdriver, is just much more effective.
This post contains maybe a few percent of my thoughts on this subject but I feel for you, my dear readers, and won't overwhelm you with too much writing even though I could go on and on... Please feel free to comment below, if you feel like discussing this further :)
xxx
Photos by Eino Manner
Sweater: Zara
Jeans: BikBok
Booties: H&M
Earrings: Zara
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