But what I knew for sure is that in most cultures, women are the “afterthought” while men are still the default. “Wo-man” is based on “man”. “Fe-male” is based on “Male”. God created Eve to provide Adam with a mate. There’s a W in “WNBA”, and we watch “Women’s football”- we don’t watch “Men’s Football” and we don’t say the “MNBA”. Why? Because we are not the focus, we sit outside the central system, forced to fit in and around it.
Unfortunately, “man” is still at the centre of the default settings for our society, despite everything we are doing to challenge the status quo.
But in observing the system, it is important that we keep our vision clear. I’ve realised that I don’t want to move toward the centre of default expectations. We don’t have to be like men to succeed.
There is beauty in diversity, and nature comes with balance. Women are not men. We will never be men- and, I for one, don’t want to be treated like one. I want to be treated like my own woman.
There are perks to not being central to the “default” expectations of the system. I prefer being an “afterthought”. Being overlooked gives us room to be an alternative; the freedom of creativity. And I firmly believe that creativity is a power like no other.