I have to begin this post by acknowledging my dad – this one is for him, and any other dads out there who raised their daughters to be firm and stand their ground.
If my previous sentence didn’t give it away, I consider myself a strong woman. By strong, I mean physically, to an extent; emotionally; and mentally. I certainly don’t mean to sound cocky, and if that is the impression I am giving you, please know it is not my intention – I despise arrogance and try my best to avoid it at all costs.
I can thank my dad for instilling some seriously valuable life lessons in my sister and I from a young age, and I’m beyond grateful for his guidance. He raised my sister and I to, in his words, not take shit from anyone, and I firmly believe his teachings throughout our youth, in combination with being a woman working in the agricultural field, have shaped me into the woman I am today.
Aside from Blaine, my dad, and other male family members in my life, I would imagine that most men who are strangers would label me as loud, aggressive, blunt and a bit on the masculine side in regard to my personality and interests. And I’m fine with that – label me as whatever you so please, but abstain from judging until we have had a chance to familiarize ourselves with one another.
In regard to me being on the louder side, I am, and I think I’ve become this way because I’ve had so many people, mainly men, talk over me in an effort to silence me. My aggression could be linked with the need to be assertive with men growing up to prevent any unwanted advances or inappropriate behaviour. As for being blunt, this arguably stems from the need to stand my ground and not fall victim to mansplaining, and my masculine tendencies could run parallel to the fact that being involved with farming since I was a child morphed my interests with a masculine touch – farming is a male-dominated industry, although there is a shift occurring in recent years.
This post isn’t to shit talk men, but rather bring attention to the idea that the main force behind assertive, strong women is oftentimes propelled by a strong, assertive male figure looking out for his daughter in a man’s world.
Photo by Shreshth Gupta on Unsplash
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