Feminism in 2019

"I'm thinking of my mom who really sublimated herself to my father her whole life and in her 80s she said to me, 'I feel like I haven't accomplished anything.' And it was so not right, and I feel what I've learned through this whole experience is that women, we're nurturers. That's what's expected of us. We have our children, we have our husbands, if we're lucky enough, and our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, 'I can do that and I should be allowed to do that.'" Glenn Close

Glenn Close’s acceptance speech at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards made me reflect on my own experience as a working woman but also as a wife, daughter, sister…

I was raised with the idea that it is up to the women to do compromises, that women have to accept what is offered to them because they do not have the choice.

Although I did not totally abide by these rules by adopting a more liberal and what was considered at the time by my family as an unconventional lifestyle, my subconscious keeps reminding me till date, through an acute guilt feeling that I am not doing what is expected of me.

This feeling has kept me from finding personal fulfillment and peace with myself.

It was not the courage or the guts that were missing. I have accomplished many professional and personal successes and consider myself blessed with what I am and what I have.

What was missing was the idea that I am allowed to dream the dream and live it fully. That my dream is as good as my brother’s or my partner’s and I should be given equal opportunities to realize it.

But most importantly that it is ok to make mistakes and sometimes make the wrong choices. That it is ok to appear weak not because I am a woman but because I am human.

That failure and success are not gender dependent.

The feminist movement in 2019 should mean liberating women from the pressure of being perfect in all circumstances. It should give them the tools to strengthen their self confidence in their successes and their failures.

It should liberate them from the fear of judgement and empower them with trust and respect to allow them to live their dreams.