I’ve always claimed to be a feminist. Growing up, I continually expressed a profound pride in my gender and worked to defend the honor of womanhood in various debates and personal stances. When a topic of sex comes about in our communications classes, most heads shift towards my direction while the girls prepare to cheer me on and pump their fists in triumph and the boys cringe, bracing themselves for the vocal lashing they are about to endure. I truly believed that I was a ruthless defender of the advancement of women, and my passion for my gender’s success was rooted in belief of what females could do to truly better the human race.

Then I learned, I wasn’t fully comprehending the concept.

I wasn’t supporting women, because for years I have been embarrassed to be one. I claimed to be in love with my gender, while consistently denying it throughout my early adulthood.

Let me explain.

I have tainted, abused, and overused the phrase, “I’m not really a girl.”
Or, “I’m not like most girls.”
Or, “I’m not a girlie girl.”
Or, “I’m one of the guys really.”

Because to me, the term “girl” was an insult. It indicated weakness and emotion and high maintenance personalities. I would stress to those around me that I wasn’t anything like exactly what I was created to be, because somewhere along the way I was taught that being a girl was something to be ashamed of. Our society has so ingrained these undesirable attributes with being female which has resulted in turning us against our own biology.

This moment of realization hit me during the Super Bowl of this past year in between commercials of Coke and Budweiser, when an advertisement released by Always appeared on the scene. The commercial was titled “Like A Girl” and if you haven’t seen it I strongly encourage you to find time to view this incredible endorsement.

Within this ad, Always presents us with a profound idea that “Like A Girl” is a phrase we as women have the freedom to define. When older girls were asked how to perform a certain action, even they displayed behaviors by mocking the phrase. When, “like a girl” was tagged to the end of a phrase it immediately suggested the action must be tainted with weakness and inability. When these attitudes were called to attention, they realized they had assimilated to our culture and allowed their gender to be an insult. In contrast, the commercial displays young girls that are asked how to hit like a girl, or run like a girl, or swim like a girl, and each girl performs each action to the best of their ability.

The take away message was this, at some point in our adolescence we begin to believe that being a girl is something we should feel guilty for. But as women, we have the right and even responsibility to define “like a girl” however we see fit. As a girl, I can associate myself with strength and power and success, whenever I decide.

In light of this tremendous discovery within my own life I decided to make a list of things I love about being a woman. Five things that are specific and special to our gender, that I hope we never lose sight of. These things give us power. They give us a role. They give us a voice.
They make “being a girl” a mighty thing.

1. We fought to get here.
I realize this probably seems like a stretch. Obviously I never wore a rights button or staged a protest or participated in a riot. I would like to believe that I would have been quite the suffragist, in my head me and Susan B. Anthony would have been great friends, but unfortunately I was not able to participate in the actual movement. Fine. But it is still a part of my heritage. As a woman it is within my history, thus a part of my story, that I was once an object of oppression but enough women had a passion for womanhood and a yearning for equality that they chose to stand up against the traditions of their time and demand better treatment. Let’s also keep in mind that this movement was not completed over night. It has taken years of women ruthlessly pushing against the social norms to move us into the position of equality that we benefit from today. With this privilege, I believe it is important to appreciate this freedom as there are woman across the world that may never experience it and our responsibility to keep it in place for ourselves and future generations.

2. We get the best of both worlds.
Because of ground we broke in the workplace, it is completely possible and even plausible for women to become successful lawyers, brilliant surgeons or aggressive CEOs. If we choose a career we have the opportunity to climb ladders and lead in whatever capacity we are qualified for, giving us a good eight hours each day of freedom from gender specifications. With that being said, there is also a beauty in being able to return home to your boyfriend or husband and let down that authority role. While relationships are certainly a partnership and the roles transform and respond to the specific relationship, it is nice to have a man love on you. Men want to feel needed, and there is a part of all women that wants to be taken care of. We have this unique role within our workplace and a completely contrasting one within the home, that I think creates of beautiful balance.

3. We can do it all.
It is no secret that woman are expert multi-taskers. At any given time I can guarantee you my mother is somewhere getting roughly nine things accomplished at once. Science has proven that most men are not born with the ability to do multiple tasks at one time or switch quickly between organized actions. Not that this is indicative of all men, but as a whole woman are just better at doing several things at one time. While juggling is a difficult undertaking for most males, a majority of women are currently driving to work while talking on the phone, applying makeup, and comprising a grocery list for tonight’s dinner. Personally, I have no idea how anyone gets through the day without marking at least seven things off their to-do list before noon, and most being achieved simultaneously.



4. We can choose to be alone.
Not to harp on the inabilities of men, but most young men have no idea how to perform regular and necessary life functions. I can’t imagine the number of guys that arrive at universities per semester with no idea how wash their own clothes, cook their own meals or manage their own money. More often than not, guys don’t really even attempt to master these skills, they just transition from allowing their mother to do these things to some girl they meet at college. As a woman, there is little that I don’t know how to do. I am by no means saying I am a connoisseur of these tasks, but I understand the basic techniques. If I want to be alone for the rest of my life, I am perfectly capable of doing that. In fact, I don’t even have to have a man present to have a child. I can create life within myself, through just a little science and really no help of a man whatsoever. I mean, that's pretty neat.

Again, this is a generalization, not necessarily true of all male individuals.

5. We can lead by support.
Digressing from the unintentional man bashing track, let me assure you that I really do love men. Personally, I don’t think I am capable of living a life without one and I truly hope there is a man within God’s plan for my life. With that being said, another lovely thing about being a woman is our ability to lead by support. With every great man is a phenomenal woman standing beside him. From the beginning of time we were created to be a gift of partnership and support for man. Adam was capable of running the world alone, he completed the tasks God gave him, but God saw that he was lonely and it wasn’t right for man to be without another. And once Eve was created her voice became the most important thing in Adam’s life, even sinfully so. As women, we have the power to immensely influence the way a man feels and thinks about most things. Adam was instructed by God not to eat a piece of fruit and all it took was a little persuasion from woman and he was chomping away. Adam needed Eve’s acceptance of him and wanted to please her within his own actions. As a woman, it is vital to remember that we have a role in affirming the Godly men in our life and that our voices truly matter to them.

All in all, I am more than thankful that I was created as a woman and I look forward to many more years of continually falling in love with my gender and the power it represents.
I hope all women strive to do the same.