As women, we are shaped and pruned in peculiar ways. The forms are many, and while some have their benefits–they all serve to constrain at some point. On the other hand, being entirely shapeless is not necessarily in one’s own best interest.
Men suffer their own societal pressures, and that should not be overlooked. Today I sketched from the female perspective, because that is the one I have lived. After I completed the sketch, I realized “strong” should be in the pill bottle on the right. Funny I would leave that out, but not really.
In the end, we are free to choose what we need, from either bottle, and at any given time. We spend too much time becoming that which ends up fitting poorly. Then we feel compelled to jump the fence to the other extreme, and so on and so forth, until we are exhausted and confused. From there, we spend a significant chunk of time unbecoming.
This unbecoming, and clarifying what and who we are, can be harrowing. Each person has the right to choose how far they will go on that journey, and at what pace. In the meantime, I would like to propose a short game, and that is the crumbling of rigid constructs–bit by bit, and day by day. Of this, I assure you, we are all capable.
