Nujalik Gddess of Hunt (Nicole Cutts)
Is feminism sexy?
My boyfriend and I went to see Beyonce the other night and I got to thinking…does feminism turn men off or on? One thing I really appreciated about her show, aside from the great show-womanship was her shameless empowerment of women and girls…LOVE the all girl band! As I’ve moved on this journey of my Vision Quest many of the women I have encountered have told me how important they think my work is because it empowers women. It’s funny but I never really thought about this when the Vision appeared to me. I just knew that I wanted to live my own Vision and that I wanted to inspire other women to do the same. I really did not think of it as empowerment of women.
As synchronicity would have it this notion of female empowerment is floating all around me. On the train the other day I was talking to two young women, one Euro-American and one African American. They both talked about how important it is for women to lift each other up. Then I go to the Beyonce concert and am treated to her brand of feminism and start contemplating my relationship to girl power. I became aware that sometimes in relation to men I may downplay my feminism/support of women and wondered at this…do I think men will find a feminist unsexy? Is feminism a dirty word? Do some of us shy away from it for this reason? Of course there may be some men who will be turned off by a woman who is a feminist or who feels strongly about supporting other women but a real woman can’t worry about that.
Beyonce alter ego Sasha Fierce
The next day a man I know professionally asked me if I thought that feminism was obsolete! I don’t see how the notion that women are fully human can be obsolete, but maybe he meant is the need for feminist ideology obsolete? (Of course there are many different definitions of feminism and many different feminist ideologies and this blog is not really the place for the depth of discourse that would be required for a thorough examination. I am really musing and inviting readers to do the same.) I don’t really think about it often but if pressed I would say I am a feminist. I guess my idea about female empowerment is just that I think women are very powerful. I see myself as powerful and do want to encourage other women AND men to take up their own power. I think we are all powerful and to me that is what living one’s Vision is about…taking up your power and living your life fully. Man or woman…what really could be sexier than that?
If you are a Woman (21 or older) please take the Vision Quest Survey
Vision Quest Survey Report: as of today, 127 women have completed it! My Goal= 1000.
