Feminism?

I read this article today while my hot pink toes were drying in the nail salon as I sat next to two 16 year old girls with fake tans, acrylic nails and bare midriffs.

Go ahead, take a moment if you haven't already.

This article is the universe speaking to me a bit-my path lately has involved a great deal of female self-esteem, positive self-imagery and other similarly hyphenated terms.  Synchronicity.  Or whatever you call it when you buy that great new pair of shoes and suddenly everyone else is wearing the exact same pair...

I've always rejected the idea of feminism.  In my head it's this antiquated bra burning that ostracizes more than it unifies this gender of ours.  Recently at what my friends and I refer to as the "Naked Lady Spa" an older woman imparted the idea that all we women are built exactly alike: two knockers and a bush.

I rather like that idea.

It's not perfect but it gets to the core.  We are not so different, you and I.  And being on the same team doesn't mean that we are BFF and sharing two halves of one necklace but rather that we refuse to tear each other down.

And we should refuse to tear ourselves down.

The woman in this article is all of us at one time or another.  She is me when a fellow student mocks my singing and calls me ugly, she is you when your high school crush didn't know you were alive. She is every one of us who has pulled and primped and tried to perfect.

Instead of getting angry at the male in this article (I mean, what's the point?) I felt instantly empowered by the author.  Her refusal of this rejection was instant and refreshing.  I am my body. THIS is me.  I will not pour ketchup all over my long-cooked meal just to make it palatable to you. You either like it or you don't.

More importantly-I WANT TO LIKE IT.  I want to like ME.