I wasn’t raised a feminist, nor did I have examples in my family of such a thing. Yes, the women were strong in some ways, but they followed gender roles, ones that were instilled in me. Asking me what I want to be, versus helping me attain that goal are two different things. In fact my mother, traumatized by the ups and downs of her own childhood (I think therapy will fix it) feels we deserve to be equal to, or lesser than her more often than not. Never wanting us to go too high. She’s resentful. Needless to say we have issues, I’m not an under the radar type of girl. I didn’t ask to be born and your job is to prioritize me, making sure you find someone who will treat me as their own, not ostracize me. All her and my stepdad told us repeatedly whilst doing chores, including everyone’s laundry, was if we didn’t do it right we were never going to find a husband. Our value was placed on serving men. Mind you my sister and I were being told this in elementary school.
Rebellious I found my voice to speak, started doing things my way. I decide who I wanted to become, not have it dictated to me by two never changing ignorant people. Yeah I’m domesticated, but that doesn’t define me.
History was my favorite subject in school, I excelled, getting a 98 on my regents exam. To this day I wonder what the one (or two) question(s) I got wrong was. How do you know where you’re headed without knowing where you come from? Historical figures are most fascinating, shaping the world we live in. Watching Queen Elizabeth ii, the most powerful woman in the world, whose husband had to walk behind her the entirety of his life, you could not tell me my worth was reduced to finding a husband.
She ruled when women couldn’t get jobs, she ruled when women needed permission from their husbands to change the locks, or open bank accounts, she ruled when beating your wife was acceptable. Her reign was fated. No one ever expected her to be Queen, but by a series of succession miracles she became head of state. And thank God almighty for it, without her and many other feminist icons, I wouldn’t believe in myself. I would have no one to look up to and who can be more impactful than a female monarch, when you live in a country that believes we’re too emotional to be President.
All you need to do is see to believe, like the Obama’s being in the White House, to believe you can be great, you can overcome hate, you can do anything. Queen Elizabeth’s passing feels like the Northern star was blotted out from the night sky, how do you navigate without it? How do you find home? Will my kids ever see such a sight? Reading about it versus experiencing it isn’t the same.
There was Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, who Queen Elizabeth beat by seven years, but when will this happen again? We lived in an iconic historical time due to her. She read my words and stopped affiliating with Anna Wintour, she read my words and got confirmation on her inklings regarding psychopath Mick Jagger (she’s met many rockstars and refused to be in the same room as him, or knight him), she refused to hob knob with the Kardashian Jenner West family knowing they’re gutter rats. She had standards and thank God for it. Rest in peace, thank you for be a guiding light for powerful women everywhere. I’m gonna get Mick for you, wish you were here to see it. Via: Getty Images