What is something you wish someone had explained to you about being a woman before growing up?
What is something you wish someone had explained to you about being a woman before growing up?
r/AskWomen
What is something you wish someone had explained to you about being a woman before growing up?
Comments
I’m 24 and I feel like I have finally learned to really trust and believe in myself. Basically, I would say that your inner voice is there for a reason and it is there to protect you.
That your worth isn’t tied to your appearance or how others perceive you.
There is so much more to life than the pursuit of thinness. Your appearance is not your worth.
That men will say anything for sex. Anything they think you want to hear.
Don’t chase love, you lose parts of yourself that you’ll never get back
Once you give yourself your own approval, the rest of your world will fall into place.
Strong is a million times better than skinny.
That for many women, periods happen every month for yearrrrrs. Every month. …Years!!!
If someone- man or woman- makes a comment about your gender that makes you angry, it probably is sexism. It’s usually a lot less explicit than you think.
Post Title IV girl grew up in the early ’70s: The idea that girls were equal to boys is still total BS.
That male validation isn’t necessary for life to feel good.
That it’s not your job to take care of your siblings, you are also a child and that’s an inappropriate amount of responsibility.
That people will constantly try to rope you in to being an endless carer and giver of your time/money/energy/body/emotional+physical labor, for others (not just relationships, but also in families and even in school/group projects), simply based on your gender – however you are NOT responsible for others in this way. It is okay to say no. As a woman being bombarded with the pressure of living for others, it can take a real mindset shift to learn to care for and prioritize yourself, abd have the opportunity to explore your own life on your own terms, as men are more often socialized to do by default.
That you need to have a good relationship with yourself before you try to start a relationship with someone else.
That you have to be the best advocate for yourself when it comes to dealing with medical staff, they will always try to brush off your pain and invalidate your concerns. I think this applies to everyone but women sure do suffer from a lot of serious medical problems that many doctors and nurses tend to dismiss as “period cramps”. Defend your needs, even if it seems like no one is listening, because I’ve spent so much of my life just accepting the pain, it isn’t worth trying not to be the burden
Relationships with men in particular but this could apply to relationships with women. Don’t get stuck in a relationship where you don’t ever get an opportunity to make decisions for yourself and have your me time and don’t be afraid to disagree with your partner on strong held beliefs and values. Nobody should be telling you how to dress, what to buy, who to vote for, where to go for fun, what to study, or what to believe in. I don’t know what you call that but I hated seeing friends get totally dominated by their partner to the point where it was hard to get to talk to them without their partners butting in and telling them what to order for food or what kind of drink they should get
You can say NO.
Never chase the wrong people; if someone shows that they can’t handle you and/or are an a**, believe them.
There’s a lot of really good life advice here, but I’m going a different direction. I wish someone had told me that our bodies change constantly. Not just at puberty or the beginning of womanhood, but constantly. I’m in my mid 30s and even without weight fluctuations, I feel like my weight redistributes into different places every few years and I have to learn what feels like a new body. You just gotta take it in stride
That while you may be taught of the values of equality, equity, and feminism it’ll be bittersweet to face how prevalent misogyny and internal misogyny still is.