Is Femininity M.I.A.?
April 25, 2014 | by kate | 0 comments
ANZAC Day - 25th of April - one of Australia's most important national occasions.
Today it's a national day of remembrance that commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations". It's a time when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war. Including me. And what's that got to do with femininity, I hear you say? Keep reading…
At our children's school this year they held a fabulous ceremony that while remembering the soldiers, it commemorated their COURAGE and what Courage means on a daily basis.
This got me thinking about the Women and Mothers who were left behind as their husbands trooped off and how courageous they ALL must have been. Not only handling the change in family dynamic having their husband and father at war and what this meant for children and family but the responsibility that fell on the shoulders of women & the courage they must have shown running the house, bringing up the family single handedly and quite possibly heading off to work for the first time (this could also be the world of many single mums and dads that I take my hat off to too). A time of great courage and without doubt - fear. While I'm in no way minimising the enormity of those that actually went to war, I am recognizing the courage expressed by everyone, in their own way at that time.
This Anzac Day while remembering my Grandfather and the many other soldiers, I'm remembering ALL the amazing women who were left behind or in some way either involved directly or touched emotionally by war. Womens lives changed forever and possibly accelerated the many choices we are fortunate to have today as women. But at those times, the times of war, many women didn't have a choice. They courageously stepped into the male role as the 'bread winner' and chief decision maker while at the same time relinquishing a part of their femininity to achieve it.
Is this something that as women, we've traditionally carried on from our Mothers i.e. suppressing some of our authentic feminine selves, shutting down some of our femininity to continue operating at full capacity, to do it all and 'soldier on' - without thinking twice and because... 'that's what you do'?
But when I just think about expressing more of my feminine side or being more feminine - it feels good. It feels right, a little flurry of excitement stirs within me.
So how can I nourish my femininity more?
Being more feminine doesn't necessarily mean wearing more dresses and makeup (although it might), but for me it's;
- Enjoying being more creative and allowing space for this e.g. making fermenting foods, taking photos, working on new projects etc As women we are born creators.
- Working with others and creating community which as women we do effortlessly
- Feeling more comfortable sharing freely about how I'm feeling, honestly, authentically.
- Tapping into my personal energy. Does a situation or person deplete or energise me? And doing more of that which energises me. We are naturally intuitive.
Take a minute to check in with yourself. How do you feel about expressing your femininity? (And if you're a male too - why not)? Are your choices based on 'what you've always done' or what 'you think' you should do or are they based on what you 'instinctively (deep down) know is right for you and your personal energy? What do you want to role model for your children?
So if you're still with me... I'm not about to start burning my bras, but I do reckon if we feel like there's 'something missing' in our lives, it might be worth exploring if a bit more femininity is what's needed.
Lest we forget.
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