I don't think I could emphasize enough the powerful effect this movie has had on me. Life works so beautifully this way. You never know what's going to come your way and change your life completely, in this case, for the better. Nevertheless, this one stand-up show made me realize two things. One, it's okay to be mad, really mad, but most importantly, her stand-up taught me that it's okay to seek and create new ways of being a woman that does not require smiles, sweetness, "rolling over" and being of service to all, always. I don't need to behave like a sweet puppy or be "lady like". I don't need to come across non-threatening, and especially, I don't need to behave this way whenever I encounter a man who has insecurity issues. Please understand, that I am by no means advocating roughness or some version of a mainstream rendition of the "angry feminist"; the opposites of anything is never a solution, for like a pendulum, when pushed it comes back to hit you back on its return.
Yes, the issue lies in that there are very few already-established paths for women to follow. Joseph Campbell, whose videos about the Hero's Journey I devoured as a young adult , apparently believed that women are not part of the hero's journey. Yet, I question that assumption, for women have only been recently been allowed to have stories. Just a few generations ago women were not able to vote, drive, own land, marry other women, divorce....on and on and on, etc.... so I say yes, women could also follow the hero's journey, but first we have to write it, for it has barely begun to be written.
So what does a woman, young adult or girl in this new world look like, act like and think about? First, she'd listen and respond to your words and expect fully for you to be able to handle criticism; handle your shit, essentially. She'd move around her space perfectly comfortable in her body. She'd walk into a space never thinking on how she's perceived externally. She would trust herself explicitly. I have had the opportunity to play with these new ideas myself lately and I have to say it feels so light being able to walk around only worried about what's going on in my own damn head and not carrying so contradictory and unnecessary thoughts all the time. Women, especially young ones, have a tendency to always worry about what others are thinking of their words, movements, clothes, tone, etc, rendering them fully at the mercy of their observers. Imagine a world where we see women become their most genuine selves and our younger generation absorb the strengths of these older women and grow to be even stronger, more confident with each generation. Our community, our country, our world can only win from the wisdom of women.
