Let’s start with cars
According to experts, a Ferrari is just a magnific car. An impressive piece of engineering. It could be part of a Formula 1 race, just parked on the street or sleeping in a garage. A Ferrari won’t be missed. The very particular look and shape of this car is captivating. Every piece in the design, from the powerful motor to the incredible sound of the engine, among other things, makes it almost impossible to not turn around in its presence. There are several models, and everyone can have their favorite, but for sure they are all valuable and really expensive.
I live in Montreal, and before the Covid pandemic, the city used to host every summer the Montreal Formula 1 race. That week people from all over the world came to visit and participate in the prize celebrations. The city was a full party of racing cars, and Ferrari was always a top pick. I remember how exciting it was to listen to the sounds all over the island. Some companies were renting a Ferrari for a one hour drive downtown. A crowded downtown where you can’t go faster than 20 km per hour. Even really slow, driving a Ferrari was a worthy, expensive and unique experience for some people.
We can also go further and say that maybe an owner will never drive the Ferrari and just want to keep it in the garage. Maybe the owner doesn't like music and decides to change the music player and install a fancy drawer to keep the valuables safe while driving. The owner could also remove the iconic horse logo from everywhere, but no change will make a Ferrari less special or valuable. I mean of course, if you destroy it, it won’t exist anymore and will lose its value. And just this idea of destroying such an expensive vehicle could give goosebumps to some people.
I always smile when I remember a homeless person just downstairs my previous office holding a piece of cardboard asking for money with the message: ”I need money to buy a Ferrari” and smiling. After giving a few coins I asked “red?” and he said “no, pink, I want to make everyone mad at me”. Even a pink Ferrari, it will be noticed, commented and celebrated. And even a person without money for food knows about Ferrari and its value.
I want to call out that I’m not an expert in many things, including cars. Considering that this is a blog, I took the licence to freely write about a subject that I barely know about, like cars. I hope my comments won’t be offensive to car lovers. It just came to me as a nice analogy and intro for the real subject: being a woman!
Now, let’s talk about women
Being a woman is just fantastic. Authors like Ashley Montagu and Melvin Konner have written books demonstrating the magnificence of the female body. According to both authors, anatomically and physiologically womens are just amazing. And I do agree.
In my humble and biased opinion, being a woman is just great. Despite being discriminated against pretty much during all of human history, we have great power associated with our being, different from any other gender. I embrace the non-binary gender approach, meaning I believe that there are more than two genders. I also believe that to be a woman the person just needs to want to be one. I agree with Simone de Beauvoir, a woman is “not born, but rather becomes”.
I’ve decided to experience my womanhood pretty much in all the expectrum. I’ve been a tradicional, radical feminist, moderate feminist and my own style of feminist. I’ve felt the ugliest ever, tried to get surgery to be accepted, felt the dancing Queen, and fell proudly in love with the reflection on the mirror. I’ve beeing pro-life and pro-abortion. Single, married, divorced, involved in serious relationships and enjoying one night stands. I rejected motherhood as an option and later became a devoted mother. I’ve worked in traditional feminine roles and also in male roles, constantly being the single woman in large meetings. I’ve been discriminated against and not promoted for being a woman, and also had a better salary than most of my male identifying colleagues. In summary I feel that I’ve experienced being a woman in a vast range of experiences and options.
And based on that, I think that being a woman is fantastic no matter what. Like a Ferrari, the accessories, the condition, and the decisions do not matter. A Ferrari will always be magnificent. It is the same being a woman.
And just to use one exemple I want to talk about motherhood.
It hurts me really hard when I meet women ashamed of not being a mother, having doubts about their womanhood. Having a uterus doesn't mean that we have to use it. Why do people doubt the womanhood of women that choose not to be a parent? Maybe it was their decision , maybe it was not possible for several reasons. A woman is much more than a womb, like a Ferrari is more than a race.
I feel the same about mothers ashamed of stopping their career in favor of taking care of their kids. Having professional options doesn’t mean that we need to curate our job path as everyone else. It’s terrible to me that some people doubt women's professionalism just because they decided to stop a few years to enjoy their kids' first steps.
We are complex human beings. Each diverse and personal option is just great.
Dear woman,
It doesn’t matter your location, shape, options or decisions, please remember that you’re perfect and fantastic just the way you are. You are way better than 100 Ferari.Inspired during a delightful conversation with my friend Suzanne
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