Grown Woman

Grown Woman - Beyoncé

I've thought a little bit about womanhood in the past, although this month I put a little extra thought into it. I know we're technically in February and I should be moving on to a different theme, but I believe it's important to finalize what I want to say on the subject. To give an idea of how I proceeded in my exploration, here are some questions I used to guide myself. What is womanhood? Is it important to emphasize the use of this term? Could it simply be adulthood?

Firstly, I'd like to clarify the definition of this word that can sometimes be very vague to some. Womanhood means the state or condition of being women. It defines women as a whole, a collectivity. It also stands for women who are no longer girls. Basically, this word signifies maturity, aging and the responsibility of women in general.

Now that that's out of the way, let's carry on to our main analysis. Though, adulthood and womanhood are very similar in their form, I believe there should be a slight differentiation between the two. On one hand, we have a term that includes the world population. There's nothing wrong with that, except that women have a particular status in society that should be pondered upon more.

To me womanhood is about understanding the position of women in society and sharing our knowledge about it with others. It is a way of taking a stand against the unrealistic standards of our society and distancing ourselves from them by doing whatever we have to do. I see this concept as a informal solidarity group for women around the world. It serves the purpose of encouraging each other and uplifting ourselves into a position of fulfillment and richness. Therefore, I think transitioning into womanhood is very important, because it is like signing a paper saying: "I will encourage my peers and not feel subjected to follow all of our societies norms."

I would also like to particularly emphasize the idea of transition. Womanhood and adulthood is all about evolving and change, it isn't a level up in Mario Bros. It might sound obvious to some, but it wasn't to me at first. I often expect things to change drastically from one day to another without any effort, but that's unrealistic. If we want change, there is an effort that has to be put into it. That is valuable for anything in life. It's also something I'm working very hard on lately. Thus, to fully flourish in womanhood, one must await to put energy into it. Miracles are rare.

On a last note, i'd like to share an observation I would of never thought about if it weren't for this article by Junot Diaz. It shows probably one of the only advantages there is to be placed second in society. To paraphrase what he says in his short text, Junot says women have a bigger point of view on society. We are born into a world were we are taught the mentality of white, cis-gender, heterosexual men (WCHM). Consequently, everyone outside that category has the advantage of having both the experience of the average WCHM and their own. He develops his point of view through literature, saying women create more refined characters because of their larger acknowledgement of what surrounds them. Basically, this is a great example that shows that it's possible to use our disadvantages to elevate ourselves.

All and all, being a woman can be amazing if we learn to work in solidarity, and if we encourage each other to take a stand in a world where women are still seen as unequal to men. I would also like to add that this idea of unity is applicable to any group of people who face inequality in this world; people of color, transgender people, Native Indians, you name it! Be curious and discover what others have to say about their experience in society.