Raising daughters is a huge responsibility. I want my girls to see a world that is open for the taking, but also for them to understand the obstacles that women and girls often come up against. Not to make them feel like victims before they’ve even started, but so that they are not discouraged when they encounter a setback. I want uphill battles to make my daughters feel more determined, instead of defeated.
Today is International Women’s Day, and as I often do with holidays that involve a hashtag, I’ve been trolling Instagram for my favorite memes to commemorate the day. I was looking for positive sentiments that both inspired me and ones that I would want to share with my daughters. If not today, than maybe one day.
Here are a few of my favorites:
1) The future is not only female, it is fierce.
2) Don’t marry a doctor or a lawyer. Become the money maker yourself.
3) Just like saying someone runs or throws “like a girl” has been recently stripped from our vernacular, so should the idea that doing something brave means that person “has balls.” And while we are on the subject, ever wonder why being “a pussy” means you’re acting like a coward?
4) The person you are with does not determine your worth. Focus on yourself first.
5) There isn’t just room for one woman at the top anymore. Successful women support and work together with other women.
6) Every woman should be proud to call themselves a feminist. And if you’re not, maybe you don’t understand what being a feminist means.
7) It’s much easier for a man to call a woman “a bitch” or “difficult,” than it is for them to take a look at themselves, examine the issue you are fighting for and enact real change.
8) Instead of looking towards others to stand up for us, we should all stand up for ourselves. We can make a bigger difference than we think.
9) If someone knocks you down, get up and try again. Do it with renewed determination and an even larger sense of purpose than before. The biggest changes in our history were made after many failed attempts.
10) If you feel defeated, try looking at things from a fresh perspective. Superheroes never have it easy. They come to power by overcoming obstacles and adversity.
11) When women of all colors, sizes, ethnicities, religions and cultures stand together, we all rise together too.
Happy International Women’s Day to all the women (in the past, present and future!) who inspire our daughters to grow up believing in themselves and fighting for their dreams.
To all the mothers currently holding the baton—- WE GOT THIS.
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Did you see any other quotes or memes that inspired you today? What words of encouragement do you tell your daughters? Leave them in the comments below!
Love these memes. Thanks for sharing. I try to tell my four year old (although she’s too young to understand) to pay attention to the things that make her really happy, to remember how it feels to do things she really loves, and that someday, if she works hard, she can turn those things into a career and that mom and dad will be there to encourage her. Right now those things include playground slides, being Rapunzel with short hair and a rock star. The other day she insisted I flip through Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls until we got to Joan Jett’s page. She’s mesmerized by the drawing of Joan Jett in the book. She loves to get out her little plastic toy guitar, jump, sing and rock out. I hope I can stay tuned into the person she really is and the things she loves, whether it continues to be music or turns into something else. I hope I can help her stay true to those things so she doesn’t lose herself to what she thinks other people or society says she should be.
Number 7 really speaks to me. At my daughter’s kindergarten (she is now in 5th grade) parent-teacher conferences, the only complaint from the teacher was that she told other kids when they weren’t doing what they were supposed to do. Something along the lines of you shouldn’t be coloring now it is reading time. I congratulated my daughter for finding a future career path as a teacher!!!
All great points! Encourage, nurture, love – building blocks for empowerment.
I really appreciate this. I think it is important to show the girls out there that it doesn’t matter what gender you are. You can be what you want to be, do what you want to do, say what you want to say, and make a difference in this world.