♡Grrrl Power♡

Hiya guys :)

So this post here is one for me when I was younger. It's also for young women now, it's for all women! Yes, it's a tad bit lengthy but I believe it's a really important read.

This is a post that I wish I had read when I was younger, it's also how I wish I thought when I was in the middle of my teen years.

Society has tried to make us women fit in certain boxes for pretty much all of history. I am not 100 percent sure why but a part of me thinks it's because of fear.

Fear of what us women can do. 

We are powerful, we really are and, yes men are great too but I think the male leaders of the world from both the past and the present fear our capabilites.

We have the ability to juggle and do so much.

We can be mothers.

We can work hard.

We can work damn hard.
We are compassionate and passionate.

We have strong thoughts, desires and beliefs.

Yes, men and women should be treated as equals but not equally.

Women and men are different and those differences need to be addressed, instead of the needs of women being ignored and without us being told that we're 'not good enough' or that we should change certain aspects of ourselves so as to be what society wants us to be.
My mum would always say this to me growing up, "You are beautiful on the outside, but more importantly, you are beautiful on the inside," which I loved hearing. She tried to put a lot more emphasis on who I was as a person rather than what I looked like as I was growing up, which was great.

Women, you are all beautiful.
Heck, if you want to be ugly, in a non-destructive way, then that's ok too! Ugly isn't necessarily bad, it's just we live in a society that is obsessed with beauty.

You should love every bit of yourself and I mean that.

I have have seen so many young girls hurt so badly due to ridiculous expectations that have been put on themselves because society has drowned them with thoughts, images and expectations pretty much as soon as they were born and it is something I have experienced personally too.

We can complain about these things but change has to start with us.

Be loud.

Be passionate.

Stand up for yourself and women everywhere.

Ignore medias expectations, ignore mens expectations, ignore anyone elses expectations.

You are you and that is great!
I could go on forever here but I think I'll stop now before I become even more passionate.
Remember, there is no shame in being who you are, liking what you like, eating what you like and wearing what you like.
No one has the right to make yourself feel ashamed of who you are, not even yourself.

These are some excellently beautiful quotes I have come across, definitely worth a read:

"I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists. Maybe some women just don’t care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word? Feminism always gets associated with being a radical movement – good. It should be."

Ellen Page from her Guardian interview “Why are people so reluctant to say they’re feminists?”

"Apologize to your body.

maybe,

that’s where the healing begins."

Starting, Nayyirah Waheed

“I swear to god I will lose my mind if I hear the “sex sells” fallacy one more time. Sex does not sell. If sex sold, we would see penises where we see boobs. Naked men would be on everything that naked women are on. Sex isn’t what they’re selling you. They’re selling you an impossible, pornographically fueled misogynistic idea of the perfect woman.”

“The fact that you’re struggling doesn’t make you a burden. It doesn’t make you unloveable or undesirable or undeserving of care. It doesn’t make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human. Everyone struggles. Everyone has a difficult time coping, and at times, we all fall apart. During these times, we aren’t always easy to be around — and that’s okay. No one is easy to be around one hundred percent of the time. Yes, you may sometimes be unpleasant or difficult. And yes, you may sometimes do or say things that make the people around you feel helpless or sad. But those things aren’t all of who you are and they certainly don’t discount your worth as a human being. The truth is that you can be struggling and still be loved. You can be difficult and still be cared for. You can be less than perfect, and still be deserving of compassion and kindness.”

—	Daniell Koepke

"How to talk to your daughter about her body, step one: don’t talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Remind your daughter that the best thing she can do with her body is to use it to mobilize her beautiful soul. Don’t say anything if she’s lost weight. Don’t say anything if she’s gained weight.

If you think your daughter’s body looks amazing, don’t say that. Here are some things you can say instead:

“You look so healthy!” is a great one.

Or how about, “you’re looking so strong.”

“I can see how happy you are – you’re glowing.”

Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.

Don’t comment on other women’s bodies either. Nope. Not a single comment, not a nice one or a mean one.

Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself.

Don’t you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don’t go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don’t say “I’m not eating carbs right now.” Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Encourage your daughter to run because it makes her feel less stressed. Encourage your daughter to climb mountains because there is nowhere better to explore your spirituality than the peak of the universe. Encourage your daughter to surf, or rock climb, or mountain bike because it scares her and that’s a good thing sometimes.

Help your daughter love soccer or rowing or hockey because sports make her a better leader and a more confident woman. Explain that no matter how old you get, you’ll never stop needing good teamwork. Never make her play a sport she isn’t absolutely in love with.

Prove to your daughter that women don’t need men to move their furniture.

Teach your daughter how to cook kale.

Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.

Pass on your own mom’s recipe for Christmas morning coffee cake. Pass on your love of being outside.

Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants."

—	skoppelkam on Wordpress

xx