Womanhood is so special and unique to each woman, despite shared experiences and struggles. The women at Bookstr are no exception, and we each have our own take on how we approach and feel about being a woman. It’s difficult, rewarding, empowering, and so much more. Read on to learn more about our perspectives.
Feeling Empowered
Being a woman means feeling empowered to change the states of things that weigh down underserved people. Womanhood means being in tune with logic and emotions to help others overcome difficult situations. Being a woman means that I’m in a unique position with other women, to provide support to one another when the world feels heavy.
It means dealing with the physical state of womanhood and fighting for those rights to be protected when others don’t deem them worthy. Womanhood to me means fighting every day for the care, love, and respect we show others that we want to be shown to us. It’s a constant battle that we are willing to fight because women have a gentle and fierce spirit that is unmatched.
Kinsey Krachinski, Editorial
A Personal, Unique Experience
I think being a woman and being any gender, is a very personal, unique experience for each person. Society will try to tell you what that’s supposed to mean for you and how you’re supposed to fit into that mold, but ultimately, that’s not their choice, it’s yours. You decide who you are, and you live that out on your own terms to the best of your ability.
All that said, it’s hard to define what womanhood means to me, specifically. It’s just kind of who I am and who I’ve always been. But I think a large part of it is about taking up space. About persisting, persevering, and enduring, even when the odds are stacked against you and the system wants you to fail. It’s about the path others carved for you and the way you shape that path for the ones who come after you. It’s about being seen and heard on your terms, and uplifting the ones around you. (And, like many things, it’s also about the friends you make along the way.)
Phoebe Pineda, Editorial
To Love
What being a woman means to me is to love. I always try to be a shoulder for others to fall on, to be the arms that comfort another who needs it, to crack jokes, and remember what it feels like to laugh. It means to empower myself and those around me, in my community and globally.
Womanhood also means to be enraged, to feel anger, and to not always be in control of your emotions. It means to grieve and to cry together and to remember you’re not alone. It’s okay to not feel in control while everything else around you is chaos. There isn’t a single definition of what it means to be a woman; it means whatever you want it to mean.
Lauren L., Social & Editorial
Embracing Femininity and Freedom of Expression
To me, womanhood means embracing femininity and freedom of expression. In today’s world, women are often criticized for either being too feminine or not feminine enough. The truth is that womanhood is a vast tapestry of expression. There is no right way to look like or be a woman. We should champion our individuality instead of dampening it.
Womanhood isn’t always flower crowns and Carole King songs, though. The other side of my womanhood is made of perseverance, strength, and fight. I remember the women before me who fought for my rights, and I promise to fight for future generations, as well. The world will always try to tear us down, but we are stronger together. To quote Anne With an E, “Oh, how I love being a woman!”
Kaija Strong, Editorial
To be Strong
To me, being a woman means being strong. There are so many societal expectations for us, and there’s a lot of pressure to be perfect. There are only a few molds that we are expected to fit into, especially as the world changes, and if we try to do something else, we’re blasted and criticized. Standing firm to that pressure requires a certain kind of strength, which we must possess as we move through life. Because whether we like it or not, being a woman is present in everything we do.
Some parts of life are harder than others, and while life for women is far better than it was 100 years ago or even a few decades ago, there are still so many barriers we must overcome. We have to be strong just to exist.
Danielle Tomlinson, Editorial
Each woman’s experience is valuable and insightful. Hopefully, our experiences will continue to diversify — in positive ways — as the times change.
Click here for a roundtable discussion with Bookstr’s women.
Check out our Novels About Womanhood shelf on Bookstr’s Bookshop page.
