We live in a world that  tells women we can have it all. We can keep a young, sexy body for way longer than nature intended, we can have impressive and fulfilling careers and we can somehow find time to raise well-adjusted, capable and confident children. There may be some superwomen out there who are capable of such a superhuman contribution to the world, however I fear the feminist movement and current societal pressures have left many women feeling more exhausted than empowered and more overwhelmed than liberated.

I do consider myself a feminist–I am one who believes that women are equal to (not the same as) men and that we have the right to equal political, social and economic opportunities. Of course I believe that. However, I fear that society’s attitudes towards women have made us rather ill-equipped to choose well. We feel a pressure to do everything, and to do it perfectly. When we get right down to it, every one of us knows that is impossible. And when we fail in some aspect of our over-loaded lives, we feel guilty, discouraged and often depressed.

I am a proponent of a new brand of feminism. A movement that believes in the equality of women and men but also acknowledges and celebrates the unique qualities that are so often inherent in women. A movement that encourages women to choose well, to evaluate what is most important to them and invest everything into it. I want a movement that teaches women to learn to recognize the true voice inside themselves rather than striving to measure up to the impossible expectations of our world.

This, in my mind, is empowerment. And these kind of women can and do change the world.