Here's to all the STRONG WOMEN out there...

In the spirit of International Women's day I thought I'd take the chance to send some love and light to my amazing ladies (and the great guys behind them who love, encourage and support their strength). I shared this photo because it captures the message that I want to get across today. It took a lot to get me to the point where I could share a photo of me in my bathers without fear of being judged and I find it somewhat empowering to do so.

We have come a long long way in terms of women's rights and equality but we still have a long way to go. Sexism is still evident and prevalent everywhere, although some more implicit than explicit. The fact that we even have to address feminism shows that there is still work to be done.

I have always been a feminist at heart but it has been hidden deep down because of men in my life who saw it as me being a dramatic girl with too many entitlements. I was not the strong woman I envisioned and being part of a culture where men reign supreme didn't help either. I was being told what to do, what was expected of me, what I should wear and how I should wear my hair. I was given guidelines of who I should be and how I should live my life based on men who couldn't care less about me and I hate myself for following it.

I believe we all know our value and our worth deep down and we start off radiating this positive light and energy. What happens is we step out into the real world where society imposes their stereotypic beliefs and judgements on us and that starts to crumble. I don't think I know of any woman who can honestly say they have never experienced sexism in any form personally, and the "Me too" movement clearly showed that all women have either experienced sexual assault or harassment or know of someone who has experienced it, which is honestly frightening. I refuse to think of my nieces and daughters growing up in a world that is still like this which is why I am coming out of hiding and saying FUCK THAT. A huge screw you to anyone who has ever tried to dull my shine and take away from my self worth. I am who I am and I refuse to let any man control my life or my beliefs.

Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of males out there who support the feminist movement too, and I am lucky that my partner is one of them. If you are one of these men, I salute you. You should be supporting equality for women because we consist of your mothers, your sisters, your daughters. Your fathers, your brothers, family members, and friends were all brought to life in this world by women. By supporting women's rights you are shaping the future for your family to come. So that your daughter doesn't have to go through the pain and trauma of being put down and abused by males.

We, as women, should love and support ourselves and each other, because it is together that we are stronger. It is together that we can make a difference. We like to point fingers at men saying that they are oppressing us yet we don't realise that we tear each other down over meaningless gossip and drama. We talk about the negatives of other women more than we talk about their positives because that's more acceptable in social groups. We don't compliment other girls because we fear being judged for speaking out. Why do we worry more about artificial appearances rather than a girl's dreams/successes/beliefs? Why don't we care about who they really are on the inside? We pit women against each other as if it is a competition and we take away from other women's successes by justifying that it wasn't deserved. Why can't we all succeed and grow with like minded individuals? We have enough men tearing our success and power down, why are we doing it to ourselves? If we just directed our attention to building and empowering women rather than tearing them down there is nothing that we can't achieve.

Let us help each other, inspire each other and empower each other to be the best woman we can be. Compliment each other and bring attention to successes that deserve to be acknowledged! Spread love and kindness to others, to yourself and to your body. Do what YOU want to do, SPEAK your mind, let your voice be HEARD.

We are strong, we are intelligent, and we are beautiful.

xx Ana