Just Who is the Empowered Woman?
Female empowerment means a lot to the feminist movement as a whole. But, just as there are so many subsets of the feminism itself, there are just as many (if not more) views on what defines the truly empowered woman.
Some believe it to be the golden example of feminist values. This would be the born leader who never kowtowed to what society deemed “women’s work”. That big, bold middle finger to all things patriarchal.
Then there are others – myself included – who see the truly empowered woman as someone with the grace to admit her humanity. The truly empowered woman should be inspiration to all, accept her missteps and make the past be lessons for the future.
A Rea
l-Life Role Model
The woman in my life that I consider to be an empowered woman is my dearest friend. She is the one I’ve turned to when things were tough, giving the best advice on relationships or parent issues or any other problem I might have. For that, I’m eternally grateful.
But I’ve always tried to be a good friend back to her and to hear her struggles. As a result, I witnessed the amazing woman she has grown into over the years. That is where I am most proud of her. I have watched over the years as she moved from struggling college student to budding entrepreneur. I watched her become more confident in her body and in herself, which further inspires me.
In addition to her growth in self-confidence, I find myself admiring that she continues to learn from the past. She admits her screw-ups and doesn’t paint her past as perfect. She also takes the time to boost women up and to advocate for social justice.
Empowering Others to Succeed
We aren’t these ideal feminists – nor have we ever claimed to be. But it seems that, with Ali by my side, I have the drive to keep growing as a person. She inspires me to claim my past and use it to bring about change for the future.
Someone I see as an empowered woman wants to spark those same successes in other women. This is a woman who sees other women as her equals, not competition to cut down. And that is Ali 100% – she has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders. And I am hers – I want to see her fulfill her dreams and I love that I get to be there as she works for them.
Female empowerment doesn’t always mean running around in red lipstick and screaming “girl power”. Ali has shown me that loving yourself plays a major part of it. Female empowerment means finding what makes you happy and Ali showed me that she gets just as much from watching loved ones succeed as she does with her own successes.