Girl Power

**I wrote this back in January, when the women's march happened. I didn't feel like publishing it then because it was a heated topic and I didn't want to just jump on some bandwagon. I finally went through it and am hitting the "publish" button for anyone who cares to read it and can respectfully share their comments and opinions.**

When I first heard about the "Women's March" I was like "Yaahhhh Girl Power!" Then I saw people dressed up as women's body parts yelling "we hate the president" and "it's just tissue," and I was disgusted with how wrong it all went. I felt embarrassed by the way "supporters of my gender" were acting. Many (not all, I know) participants of the march were dressing in ways that didn't demand respect, and saying things that didn't promote peace. The march even came off as hypocritical because all beliefs didn't feel welcomed.

Despite the above mentioned disgrace, I am glad the women's march happened. It made me stop and think about what it means to be a woman, and what my role is in standing up for the rights of myself and others. I read a lot of opinion articles, sorted through the facts, organized my thoughts, and now it's time to express myself. This article isn't necessarily a declaration as to where I stand with every issue, but more about my beliefs as to how to make our present issues better.

The fact is: women are not treated as equals in too many situations, and it does need to change, even in the United States. Those meme's going around about middle-Eastern women making fun of American women complaining about  how bad it is here- those memes need to stop. In our country, men get promoted quicker, paid more, harassed less, judged by their bodies less, targeted less. I know that comparatively, women in the land of the free have it pretty good. I am grateful to be living here, BUT- just because other nations unfortunately have it worse than we do, doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to make our soil safer. If we could get our act together in this area, America could serve as an example, and as a better refuge.  Let's focus on changing our nation first. I believe that in order to change our nation, we need to look inward at our families and ourselves. What can we personally do to make this world a better place for women, and in turn, a safer place for families and communities?

I'm sure there are hundreds of answers to that question! I have thought about it a lot and there are two specific answers that I keep coming back to. One is to love your neighbor and the other is to redefine beauty. I'll elaborate.

1) Love your neighbor. What if the commandment to "Love your neighbor" is meant to be more literal than we are giving it credit for? Everyone (literally everyone) has a neighbor that is deserving of love. By "love" I mean the action word of kindness, service, and empathy. If everyone took it upon themselves to love their neighbors, no one would go without the need to be loved. Everyone would be accounted for if every neighbor took it upon themselves to be their neighbors' friends.

2) Beauty redefined. I could write a whole blog post just on this! Through my past job, I was able to attend a devotional put on by the "beauty redefined" organization. I've shared my love for this program with plenty of you already. Their whole campaign is based on how the world defines beauty vs. the value of our souls. Besides some of my habitual slip-ups, their program has completely changed my perspective on talking about "losing weight" and "looking like her." I have recently recommitted to complimenting others based on who they are and not how they look.  If I do compliment looks, I want it to be because I appreciate the light, uniqueness, or talent of the person I'm complimenting. It is seriously ridiculous how much the world has intertwined the looks of a woman and the worth of a woman. They are not the same thing, people! I believe that if we change the culture around the way we talk about women and their looks, it will have a rippling effect, leading to more respect for women across the board. It's this topic that made me want to join the march!

*I'd like to add in that a healthy lifestyle is a great thing! We should be eating healthy and exercising in a way that is respectful to our bodies, not as a punishment for the way we look.
*I'd also like to add in a note to the world: please do not tell me when you think someone isn't pretty. It doesn't make me feel good about myself because I naturally assume you are having those judgmental thoughts about me too. If you're having those thoughts about someone else, it only makes sense that you are looking at me with those same eyes. If you are looking at me in a better light, please use that same heart and set of eyes to look at the person you just degraded.
*Last add-in! Most compliments, even when based on looks, come from nice people with good intentions. I'm not offended by compliments because the world needs more nice people who are willing to give them.

The main reason I like to write and publicize my beliefs is the accountability factor. So world, (and by world I mean mom & best friend cuz I don't know who else reads this haha) call me out when I'm not loving my neighbor or redefining beauty. Those are my current goals. Thanks!

I'll end this with a quick note to the organizers of the march:
Kudos to you! I am willing to bet that we only agree on a handful of issues, but I am still impressed by the fact that you wanted to make an impact and you did something about it. Seriously, that's awesome. Even though I (strongly) disagree with some beliefs the women's march stood for, it made an impact on me for the better.

Love,
Madi