What does it mean to be a strong woman?
I want to say that the strong woman is the one who stands up and fights for justice because that's not easy to do. So she must have a certain kind of self-confidence and strength necessary to take on such a role.
And I want to say that the woman who lives only in her miseries and doesn't do much about it is not at all strong because, naturally and as humans, we are prone to resisting (in whatever small or big ways possible for us) whatever is unjust to us. So if she fights for herself to be treated justly and well, then she's strong; if she doesn't, she's not strong.
BUT it can be argued that the woman who stays in unjust situation is strong because it takes a certain kind of strength to submit like that.
The kinda person I am, though, I refuse to believe that the woman who seems to be deferring to unjust situation is in actuality submitting, sitting there doing nothing about it. I've learned that they're always resisting if they're unhappy, but this resistance is not recognized because it's not the kind of resistance we're used to seeing (e.g., becoming a public figure, giving speeches and lectures about what's wrong and why and how it should be fixed). We need to understand that this is not the only way a person can fight for justice and there are several alternatives. We can't and don't understand what all goes into the women's hearts and minds who are unhappy, or are experiencing injustice; so just because we don't understand their situation doesn't mean we can pass judgments such as "they're unhappy and aren't doing anything about it, so we don't have to help them" or "they don't deserve our sympathy because they're silent." No, they're not silent. They're always involved in "subtle" ways that is different from what we might see normally in societies where women have more social, economic, and/pr political support. Perhaps they have cliques in the community for other women just like them, or for all women and some of those women say things that empower the ones who are living unjust lives. Perhaps they do certain activities, whether individually or collectively with other women/people, that give them the strength required for carrying on so that what seems to be injustice to the observer is experienced and interpreted far more differently by those to whom it's happening.
And so . . . I don't believe that whether a woman is strong or not "depends on the situation." It doesn't. No human just sits there and lets injustice eat her/him up every minute of her/his life. But even if humans did do that, nothing justifies why someone should just sit there in an unjust situation and not respond or react -- if injustice is really taking place; otherwise, it is my impression that it's not injustice. And in this case, I don't at all think that the women who just sit there are strong. Not at all... but then again, refer to my idea of human resistance and the different forms it comes in.
I want to say that the strong woman is the one who stands up and fights for justice because that's not easy to do. So she must have a certain kind of self-confidence and strength necessary to take on such a role.
And I want to say that the woman who lives only in her miseries and doesn't do much about it is not at all strong because, naturally and as humans, we are prone to resisting (in whatever small or big ways possible for us) whatever is unjust to us. So if she fights for herself to be treated justly and well, then she's strong; if she doesn't, she's not strong.
BUT it can be argued that the woman who stays in unjust situation is strong because it takes a certain kind of strength to submit like that.
The kinda person I am, though, I refuse to believe that the woman who seems to be deferring to unjust situation is in actuality submitting, sitting there doing nothing about it. I've learned that they're always resisting if they're unhappy, but this resistance is not recognized because it's not the kind of resistance we're used to seeing (e.g., becoming a public figure, giving speeches and lectures about what's wrong and why and how it should be fixed). We need to understand that this is not the only way a person can fight for justice and there are several alternatives. We can't and don't understand what all goes into the women's hearts and minds who are unhappy, or are experiencing injustice; so just because we don't understand their situation doesn't mean we can pass judgments such as "they're unhappy and aren't doing anything about it, so we don't have to help them" or "they don't deserve our sympathy because they're silent." No, they're not silent. They're always involved in "subtle" ways that is different from what we might see normally in societies where women have more social, economic, and/pr political support. Perhaps they have cliques in the community for other women just like them, or for all women and some of those women say things that empower the ones who are living unjust lives. Perhaps they do certain activities, whether individually or collectively with other women/people, that give them the strength required for carrying on so that what seems to be injustice to the observer is experienced and interpreted far more differently by those to whom it's happening.
And so . . . I don't believe that whether a woman is strong or not "depends on the situation." It doesn't. No human just sits there and lets injustice eat her/him up every minute of her/his life. But even if humans did do that, nothing justifies why someone should just sit there in an unjust situation and not respond or react -- if injustice is really taking place; otherwise, it is my impression that it's not injustice. And in this case, I don't at all think that the women who just sit there are strong. Not at all... but then again, refer to my idea of human resistance and the different forms it comes in.
i fell women have this immense source of patience within them, but when that source runs out, it all trouble (for the injustice causer) and nothing else!
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