At the shop I work with a lot of women. All of my co-workers and most of the
customers are women. As anyone who has
ever been to girl’s camp knows, there are drawbacks to being around that many
females at once. I’ll admit there are
times when I see women at their worst.
But most of the time, I see women at their best.
The nature of women never ceases to amaze me. There is a natural kindness and affection in
women. Most of the women in the shop
have included me in their groups despite the differences in age or
circumstances. Almost as soon as I
started working there I have felt like I was working with my aunts. They have treated me like one of their
families. I have also seen their
generous and giving natures. They
generally put others before themselves whether it is just letting a customer go
before them in line or making a quilt for a friend that is going through a
tough time. There is a natural tendency for
women to nurture others that extends to nearly everyone in there sphere of
influence.
There is a trend in today’s post feminist world to believe
that women, in order to get the same rights and respect as men, have to become
more like men, adopting traits that are stereotypically male, and perhaps, not
their best traits. The trouble with this
is that it denies the worth that women already have in and of themselves. Now, in saying this, I do not wish to come
across as anti-feminist. I sincerely
believe that women should have the same opportunities as men, but I believe women
can be anything and can do anything that men can while still maintaining those
qualities inherent to women.
In one of my theater classes in college my teacher told us
that the secret to success is not in being better than everyone else, but in
providing that quality in ourselves that is unique to us, something that no one
else can have. No one else can be you as
well as you can. We need to cultivate
our own particular qualities. In doing
this we can fill a niche that no one else can.
I believe that this is the case with women. There is something we as women can provide in
the work place and in the world as a whole that no one else can. Our own natures do not need to be suppressed or
altered in order to be equal. Indeed, it
would seem that this struggle to be equal and to have equal worth has erased
the worth we already had.
