I believe women are powerful creatures. We are more powerful than we fully realize. Actually, we’re more powerful than we’ve been allowed to realize. This isn’t just a tired old dyke talking here; I’ve lived long enough to see the handwriting on the wall and heard some male asshat tell a woman to clean it off.
Women who are strong and going places get there by playing the game, following men’s rules. Look at Hillary Clinton. The woman is amazing: smart, strong, powerful, resilient… she knows the rules set down by the good old boys and she follows them closely (much to their chagrin, I’m sure. Good ol’ boys HATE girls who follow the rules).
But what if women collectively said, “Fuck that shit, I’m writing some new rules;” what if women took back the power men insist they lost in some ancient garden? Men have done worse things, yet they’re allowed to stay in power. We chat up a snake and we’re fucked forever.
A man will listen to his mother because he knows there is power in her words. Her love is what keeps him going, yet he is also taught that he must “take care of” her. But what if that care-taking is also smothering, holding back, keeping her from reaching HER full potential? What if her full potential is not complete with raising children; what if that potential only begins with having children, and once they are on their own, she can again move toward a different goal? She will still love her children; after all, we women are quite capable of a great deal of love, even when we’re doing something other than sitting around thinking of our offspring.
What if that potential was the very thing that saved the world?
What if women stopped stepping aside to allow the men folk to “take care of things” for us? What if we stopped waving our feminine wiles just to get what we want, or worse, what we need? What if we started looking after ourselves the same way we look after our children? What if we became so protective of our own well-being, (physically, mentally, and emotionally), that we stopped allowing others to stand on our shoulders?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for supporting one another, but there is a limit. Or there should be a limit. I’ll support you long enough for you to get a foothold on the next level, but I expect you to help me get up there, too. Then, together, we can keep climbing.
What rules would you make?
I could write a whole post about this subject. Despite the inroads the feminist movement made (mostly in the workplace, mind you) I feel that we still live in a fairly patriarchal society. This is especially prevalent in government, corporate business and in families. I know very few families where the father carries as much of the load as the mother with regard to work, children and domestic issues. Most of my friends who have children and work are completely exhausted because they do EVERYTHING while their partners swan around pretending their jobs are so important they have no time to pick up their kids from school. It irritates me quite a lot. I know heaps of women who aren't living up to their potential because they have no time.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the issues that prevents change in this area is that society still places a monetary value on a person. And because women with children often work either less hours or in lesser paying jobs they are seen as contributing less financially so they get no help with the workload. You would think in modern society that such a backward attitude wouldn't exist, but it does. It frustrates me no end. I can see why some women turn their backs on men completely. We do it all anyway. If they weren't there we probably wouldn't even notice.
IMO, Hillary should be the next president of the US. I don't know if she'll run again but she might be the only one who can really change things. I hope she will consider it in the future.
Great post, Karen. Sorry about the rant!!!
You pose an intriguing question... What rules? I'm not sure... Perhaps no rules, just guidelines... Some good food for much thought here. ^-^
ReplyDeleteAs for 'teacup humans', I can't take the credit... Eric, one of my fav vampires from Trueblood, refers to two kids this way... I laughed so hard, I snorted soda out my nose & have taken to calling Triston my fav teacup human as a result (of the amusement, not the soda spewing...)
Hoping you're having a good week! ^-^
XOXO