Female empowerment and my experiences

So you've come here to learn more about female empowerment or maybe you're already quite clued up on what it is and how you feel about it... Well either way, I'm here to share with you my story and what female empowerment means to me.

Okay, so for those of you who aren't quite sure about what I mean when I say female empowerment, it is in short, the individual belief or group movement in support of female equality. Gender equality is more important than ever and I personally don't think it should even be an issue that we have to fight over anymore. Empowering yourself includes gaining a new expertise in independence, success, strength, and enlightenment. If you already knew that then great! You're here for the right reasons. If not, that's okay too. I'm pretty new to it myself but it's something that sparks a fire inside of me and that I'm over the moon to be here talking about it.

My first taste of female empowerment was being brought up by my mother who had to be a single parent for all of my childhood and awkward teenager stages. My dad was in the picture but he played a less dominant, more laid back role and I didn't get to see him that often. From a very young age, I was aware of people around me and their judgements on me and my mother. On countless occasions I would call them on out on staring or whispering, I was very defensive over my family and still am. I think it was due to being raised in a house with an incredibly strong woman. It is from her that I gained my courage, and my passion for traveling and creative arts. 

As soon as I hit high school I first started noticing the differences between the roles of men and women, it was in sociology, geography and religious education that I became accustomed to the stereotypical roles thrust upon women. This was the time when I first became aware of Society's expectations because up until then, my mother did everything and took upon herself all the roles. Since then, I have witnessed it and unfortunately fell victim to it all. And by this I mean the stereotypes, the dominant males who think it was their god given right to overpower you and everything in between. I've had men belittle me, force themselves on me and mentally silence me, but I've also had this from other females who think that they can mentally control you and hold you back. From my personal experience, I regularly get pre-judged my men and women on my mental abilities just from the way I look, they assume because I look young, and make an effort with my makeup and hair that I'm not very smart and a bit ditsy. This can often leave you feeling weakened and your confidence undermined.

I think it's extremely important for us females to realize our inner strength and the extent of our abilities. Women's empowerment is vital to sustainable development and the realization of human rights for all. We are living and growing in a new age, an age of advancement and acceptance for all. We are finally being recognized as one, the human race, instead of being labelled, by race, colour, gender, religion or sexually preference. 

I hope that you have felt inspired or if only got to know me a little bit better from this post. Just before I go I'm going to recommend an amazing woman right now to follow. She is new on the music scene but I'm in love with her confidence and morals, at such a young age of 17 too! Lorde's approach to society is "I'm only human" and it's "okay to have flaws". This is exactly the type of woman you want to be following in the footsteps of. So what she isn't skinny, or perfect, or tanned, or has the hottest boyfriend. She is real and she owns her individuality, which makes for great inspiration. 

Until next time, stay safe, stand proud, and keep shining. You are a beautiful, strong woman.

Siân xo