Power is a wonderful thing
and you should absolutely want it.
If you want to be part of a community of women that conspire together to create the lives that we want, join us!!!
I recently did a case study on Cleopatra’s life and realized that she wanted power for herself. That got me thinking, why do we shame women who explicitly want the full spectrum of autonomy and control over their lives and well-being?
You know that an overwhelming majority of our male politicians and leaders are inadequate and incompetent. Those politicians’ only plan is to acquire, retain and use power to push their agenda.
Why do so many women not want power over their lives, (and yes, the lives of others?) Why is female power seen as something unbecoming and an anomaly?
I remember how so many people came up with the idea that Hillary stayed with Bill, through all his cheating scandals, because she was pathologically driven for political power.
Unfortunately, according to her documentary on Hulu, it was something more nefarious: She loved a stupid man.
However, what is wrong with Hillary wanting power? She did not ask for special accommodations (She is arguably the most tenured and experienced presidential candidate in recent history). That ruthless pursuit of success would be lauded in men. We would applaud their conviction.
Why do we denigrate women for that same belief?
Let’s try to understand this!
What is power?
Power is the ability to influence, control, and make decisions that shape the world around us. It means speaking, and your words having an impact. Power means not being at the mercy of other people or circumstances.
Female power and autonomy is under constant attack from the state, religion, and male violence.
The worst part is that even when we point this out, women immediately shrug it off, often in service of male attention. It like a lot of women subconsciously know that their relationship with men is predicated on their subjugation. Without their submission, this union would collapse. And marriage has been the knot that holds society together.
Undermining the power dynamic between the sexes would require that we rethink all aspects of society. Everything from marriage laws to domestic labor, and political leadership would be up for debate.
But from the life of Cleopatra, we know that this real love required MALE SUBMISSION and FEMALE POWER.
In order for a woman to get anything that she enjoys, she must have power.
A man cannot love a woman he doesn’t know. A man cannot know a woman who doesn’t know herself.
A job cannot value an employee that slaves for it. An employee cannot value herself if she doesn't think that she is worthy.
A person cannot support a friend who barely shows up for herself.
The foundation of any successful union is respect for the other party. Respect is predicated on the ability to walk away. You have the power to leave when the operation stops serving you.
Hold on to that power. Do not let it go.
You come from a great legacy of women who used acquired power, in fact, loved it. The wielded that power in service of their self-proscribed values. They did not let sexual mores define them. Neither did they back down under public scrutiny.
Women need power. Women like power. Women love power.
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I just binge watched some of the late Ayesha K. Faines' youtube videos and something she said reminded me of this article; "A seductive woman is the best thing that can happen to a man." Historically speaking, we can see that this is true. We need to keep this in mind when leveling up and in our dealings with men