🧀 Soul Snacks

Dear Snacker,

I am a girl and I have power, but don’t ever refer to my power as “Girl Power”. Though many girls do indeed “rock”, in the name of true empowerment, do not smear the phrase, “Girls Rock” across one more fucking t-shirt. These slogans, however well-meaning and seemingly innocent, patronize us under the guise of female empowerment and do nothing but separate us from men in ways that tell the world that our power is not that same. It is a blatant suggestion that the world views us as the underdogs, and underdogs we will be so long as we wear shit like that. What are we to tell our little sons who are innocent to the ways in which women have been undervalued historically? “Well, honey, there are no t-shirts that say ‘Boy Power’ because that would be wildly sexist and unfair to girls, who still need a leg up in this world.” Fuck that.

The truth is, many of us are still catering to a deeply ingrained societal deference to men, myself included. Especially when I was a new mom, I put massive pressure on myself to excel in areas that women are traditionally supposed to be “good” at – a well-kept home, martyr-like behaviors in my mothering, a gracious hostess, and a good cook. Aside from the martyr-like behaviors, none of that stuff is “bad”, but it depends on your “why”. Is it intrinsically fulfilling, or is it to present an outward image? When you walk into an untidy home, has anyone ever blamed the man? Incidentally, many of those aforementioned “skills” are the exact things that have made it possible for men to go off into the world and take more power. Women who are good at those things attract men, because it helps them on their path to success, and we have been taught to admire and defer to men with power, so we strive to please them, and so on and so forth.

I love being a woman. I think we are mystical, rousing and indescribably strong, but I don’t want a t-shirt that feigns the supremacy of women. I don’t need a pedestal. I want to be viewed as someone to contend with, fair and square, as an equal in the game of life. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m at a point where I refuse to be afraid of what my power might look like to others, men or women, and I won’t need a t-shirt for you to see it, that’s for shit sure.

Happy International Women’s Month.

— Caitlin

• THE PLAYLIST: For Tha Gurlz

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  3. Sheet Pan Cobb Salad, if you’re feeling adventurous. This one takes just 5 min to prep and 20 min to cook.

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