I have to be honest, as a conservative, christian woman I have always been skeptical of the modern ideology of the word empowerment. It has somehow been twisted to being synonymous with loose and promiscuous, and like I mentioned above, I have a reputation to otherwise maintain. So being my stubborn self, whenever I saw or heard the word "empowerment" I always ignored it and deemed it unnecessary..until recently. Empowerment actually sounds like an appealing term, as it should be. Now how can I be empowered without
having access to needing birth control or having an abortion? I think I've figured it out.
So the last time I checked (and honestly it's been a while so if this is wrong correct me, please!) we have campaigned that all women are beautiful as they are: fat, skinny, black, white, Asian, short, tall, and everything in between. I mean One Direction even has a song about it! So if we are all deemed beautiful (which I believe is justified because we are) we shouldn't find our worth in our appearance. Now liberals want us all to separate our empowerment out by race, like just because we all come from different cultures that somehow empowers us to be treated differently accordingly. I don't believe we should allow society to justify how it treats us when we struggle. A problem is a problem, we all face them. But Jenny, you don't understand. It's harder for a ________ woman to handle ________. Oh really? I think women are strong enough to handle whatever is facing them, and differences in appearance shouldn't allow for justifications in unleveling the playing field.
I am so tired of the strange paradox society puts on women - that we are weaker than men so we need to constantly strive to be stronger than men, so that we can be equal to them? That sounds like a lot of work to not achieve something that frankly is impossible to do. Women and men have different roles as human beings. If we didn't, why would God make both? Wouldn't it have been easier on Him to just create humankind? But that's beside the point. I understand that there can be injustices in pay and job selection, I'm not discounting that, but why torture yourself for financial equality? If you find your worth in how much money you make, you will never feel worthy, especially if your basis of equality is comparing yours to someone else's. Everyone is handed unique circumstances in life and we also have free will to make our own choices, good and bad. Why not strive to make the best of your own situation? Find a job you love doing. I understand that you may have bills to pay and mouths to feed, that doesn't mean you've lost the opportunity to serve cheerfully. Don't think of reasons to complain about your job, you chose to accept it because it would provide for you in some way. Find ways to make the best of it. If you hate it and find it unbearable, then find something else, there's nothing stopping you from doing what you want. Are you going to let anyone get in your way? I didn't think so.
On another note, I am not a fan of encouraging singleness. This is a touchy subject because there are millions of unique situations, so I am approaching with caution. Single parenting is perhaps the toughest, most stressful job on the planet. Why? Because parenting wasn't created to be a one-person job, and it isn't a job you can ever quit. You have to constantly strive to provide for another human being as well as yourself and juggle everything else that comes your way. There is no shame in that. But there should also be no shame in admitting that you just can't do it all on your own and searching for a man that can provide for you and your child's needs. Oh you don't need a man? You must be completely satisfied in your situation and have no complaints. It's our natural desire to have a man to love and take care of us. That's what we chase after through our lives and we all deserve a life partner that will acknowledge and care for our worth as individuals. I'm tired of society convincing women that they can hit a point in life where they have exhausted their need to have a man and that they deserve something else. I'm not ashamed to say I need to feel loved and adored and that only a man can fulfill that desire.
I would argue that involving ourselves in relationships with other people is the most empowering we can do. We trust ourselves enough to recognize that we can't do it all on our own and that we need someone to support us. We also trust that we know how to identify that person when we find them through knowing our worth and who could complement it with theirs. I think we've lost our power through the years by settling for lazy men. We have become frustrated and rewritten the rules to fit our own desires instead of what we deserve. Admit it, you've convinced yourself a time or two that you can make a man like you. If you have to convince yourself that you have to convince someone else to like you, well then you don't like yourself that much and need to find your worth first. Guys go after what they want. So if he isn't courteous and respectful towards you, it's obvious he doesn't want you. Chivalry isn't dead, so don't settle for a deadbeat. No excuses, no exceptions. Empower yourself through holding yourself to a higher value. When you do that, others will recognize the difference in your attitude and your light will shine through to them. If that isn't empowering, I don't know what is. #LadySmarts #DontWasteThePretty
Also! I found this post that spoke to me and thought I should share it on here! Check it out!
http://myhighesttruth.blogspot.com/2012/06/personal-empowerment.html?showComment=1351176649308#c6976898340069453360
God Bless,
Jenny J
