I have always been told that I was "strong". Strong-minded, strong because of everything I've been through and I'm still here. I used to hate it. "I'm not strong, I was born this way and I went through everything else because I was forced to." As I got older, I overcame my problems and was no longer connected to that word. As the fight for equality rises these days, as do women's marches around the world, strong women are taking over. But I started questioning myself: "I was strong because I went through painful surgeries. But I'm not a strong woman. I post about fundamental rights on Instagram but I don't go to marches because of my anxiety in huge crowds. I was told I couldn't attend shop class in high school because I was a girl but I never stood up for myself. I'm a fraud." But as I was asking around for quotes for this post, someone very nice wrote to me "As someone who is working on something you're passionate about, you're definitely a strong woman." We don't all HAVE to be labeled as strong women, but I think it's something I, myself, aspire to be called. And really, talking to all these girls about what their interpretations are really helped me see a bit of my self worth. Thank you to all the women who helped out with this article. It helped ME and I hope it helps some of you!
I asked multiple girls some questions and started with the big one: "What does being a strong woman mean to you?" And these are their responses:
Not being afraid to be weak or ugly- and owning the things I find embarrassing :P - Molly Soda (Twitter, Instagram)
"I won't put up with this anymore" - Jade
To me, being a strong woman means understanding your worth, even when others don't acknowledge it. In our society, women are devalued so often and it makes it easy to lose sight of your own potential. It's important to remember that this lack of acknowledgment doesn't mean that your worth and potential aren't there. And being a strong women doesn't mean you have to be tough and sturdy all the time, you're allowed to break sometimes, you just have to know that when you do, you can build yourself back up -Emy
It means being able to build other strong women up with me in a way that men can't (and look badass while doing it) - Natalie
To me, it's a state of being and that can mean being strong in many different ways for people. It means being able to get out of bed in the mornings and going to work in the morning when I mentally can't. It means being able to say no to others when you need to recharge. It's going to the gym and working outside of your comfort zone. It's things like this, a state of mind, that I think strength is. - Nicole.
When they know exactly who they are and what they want in life. -Michelle
For me, being a strong woman means being bold and fearless. I feel that sometimes women get looked down on and people think we can't achieve things...but honestly fuck those standards. - Laura
Being a strong woman to me means being comfortable with yourself in a sense that you are able to handle what life hands you. I'm still working on that whole self confidence thing but I do feel that to be a strong woman you need to feel somewhat comfortable. Also, you gotta be cool with other women succeeding. To be strong you have to love and celebrate other strong women. -Mavis (YouTube)
Being a strong woman to me means being comfortable with yourself in a sense that you are able to handle what life hands you. I'm still working on that whole self confidence thing but I do feel that to be a strong woman you need to feel somewhat comfortable. Also, you gotta be cool with other women succeeding. To be strong you have to love and celebrate other strong women. -Mavis (YouTube)
Being a strong woman means that I manifest humility. It means that I'm compassionate towards others and exemplify courage. Being a strong woman means I am able to endure social injustice with great fortitude. I am able to persevere in times of inquietude. It means that I don't give up. It means that I am passionate. It means I am able to express my individuality with makeup, fashion, hair color and style. Being a strong woman means sticking up for our rights, our bodies, and the equality we deserve. -Natalia
Who are your favorite girl singers:
My favorite girl singer is Sia. She has a powerful voice and I think her lyrics are beautiful. I highly recommend listening to her Spotify Sessions because you get a different understanding of the songs, if that makes sense. -Laura
My favorite lady singer is Alanis Morrissette. Jagged Little Pill is the epitome of anger and fuckboys and anger towards fuckboys and it makes me feel so powerful when I belt out "You Outta Know" in my car. But my favorite girl GROUP is of course the Spice Girls. Not only because of their songs, but because they preached equality whether it be on stage or on the set of photo shoots. Girl power all around. OH WAIT AND LITTLE MIX! They make me feel alive. - Megan
I am obsessed with a website called La Femme Collective and they were SUPER great and answered some of my questions to them:
1)What made La Femme Collective come to be?
"LFC came to be due to a frustration with the way women were being treated in STEM fields. I was doing research on the Grace Hopper Conference for Women in Computing and felt discouraged yet also inspired by the gender gap I was noticing through my research. I decided to channel these feelings of disappointment into something productive - an open platform for women to talk about their careers and discuss the highs and lows of being a working woman."
2) People can submit their own stories on the site. Have you ever been inspired by anything you've read?
"Every day. I love getting submissions so much - it makes me feel like what I’m doing is resonating with people. But to take it a step further, it also inspires me to hear stories of all of these women all over the world who are hustling hard to make their dreams come true, no matter what their dreams may be. Their hustle makes ME want to hustle harder and give more with LFC."
3)The word "entrefemmeur" is used across the website. For people who don't know, can you explain what that means?
"An entrefemmeur is a woman who chases what she wants career-wise and makes it happen! We coined the term to honor our features, who are all hardworking women working to make dreams happen. Small and big challenges alike, they’re all pushing boundaries and achieving goals they set for themselves."
4) What does being a strong woman mean to you?
"To me, a strong woman is someone who knows what she wants, how she wants it, and works every day to get one step closer to that even if it’s a small step. It’s okay if all of that changes throughout your life; in fact, it most likely will. But as long as you’re working towards it each and every day, that’s strength."
For a (VERY SPECIAL) treat, the awesome online shop, So Aesthetic, is sponsoring this blog and this post! They have a "girl power" shirt that is perfect for every girl (or guy!) who loves girls and their power!! Click this link ( x ) to find the shirt! They also have so many other things you guys might like, and if you use the code "hubrex" you can get 10% off! The more people buy things with my code, the more things I can get for blog giveaways!
***Thank you to all the women who participated in this really exciting post. I had an amazing time writing it and reaching out to others. Don't forget to share this post to other amazing people who would enjoy this post!!***
** If you'd like to follow this little blog, there is an email section at the bottom of the page or like my official Facebook page here (x)**
*And yes, this post was titled after Little Mix lyrics...I love them, okay?*
Megan you always put things out there to inspire different motives for me and I'm sure many others to be ourselves and be our best selves. Keep going with your girl power!
ReplyDelete