Conclusions
I think I've been misunderstanding what it is to be a woman. Because yes, being a woman means being subjected to the patriarchy and all that comes along with it. But womanhood is also being told by a girl in a coffee shop that she likes your style. Or having someone to hold your hair back when you’re throwing up. It's having someone who will hold you after a breakup and let you eat all their ice cream. And it’s being empowered to insight change by challenging gender expectations. The thing about shared experiences is that they’re unifying. And for me, that’s the coolest part about being a woman. It's not defined by norms, expectations, or oppression; it's defined by compassion and empowerment.
Sometimes, I like wearing skirts. And some days I do like wearing makeup and painting my nails. But none of this makes me a woman. In fact, some days I don’t even feel like a “she” or “her”, I just feel like “me” or “Angie”. If being a woman means just being pretty and nice and docile and an incubator for men, then that’s not what I ascribe myself to. My womanhood will not be defined by the actions of, or treatment by any man. I find my place in womanhood in the drive we feel to insight change. Being a woman, to me, isn’t defined by the patriarchy, but by the empowerment to dismantle it. So yeah, I’ll still experience the repercussions of existing as a woman. But I will not stop challenging and questioning gender.