Yep, I can get quite symbolic! I see it every day so it’s a wonderful reminder of welcoming harmony into my day, every day. I chose my upper right shoulder because it’s aligned with my heart. Complimentary elements in a spiral of yin and yang, ongoing motion. The yin is of fire and the yang is of water. For those of you who have met me, I have a yin and yang tattoo on my upper right shoulder. So why this haunting question that distracted me (apparently!) from men’s health advocacy? Not only maintained but genuinely believe. What is going on here? I’m getting caught up in the men VERSUS women trap that I’ve so successfully maintained a harmonious position toward. This question haunted me! My God, was I becoming a feminist? Was I becoming a women’s health advocate? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Ultimately, the question that plagued me is, “What is a truly empowered woman? Really?” That ideal that feminism and woman strive for? Or if she wasn’t thinking “how do I make sure I’m a great wife (to a husband and by societies standards), a great mother (in the mother-father dynamic), a beautiful woman (in men’s/societies eyes and compared to other women). How would a woman describe herself if she wasn’t putting men in the picture?īy that I mean, if she wasn’t thinking she had to “develop masculine traits to get ahead in business”, for example. What question was I being prodded with? This is it. My gut and my mind were being prodded with a question, another line of thought that had me questioning my focus and energy toward men’s health advocacy. Over the last 12 months, I’ve been somewhat haunted during my process of doing men’s health advocacy. Yes, PEOPLE, regardless of gender ultimately. Especially so that productive actions can come into play and harmony between people. I’m all for raising awareness and understanding of men’s normal and natural way of seeing life, of operating in life and in relating to people around him. Sometimes it is, but I was actually referring to women in this case. You’d be forgiven for thinking that I was referring to men in those last few sentences. We may not intentionally look to do this, but it happens anyway! As though one has to supersede the other, come out on top or looking “better”.
Unfortunately, this all too often becomes a men VERSUS women comparison. Men compared to women, similarities, differences, strengths and limitations of each. In my near 9 years as a men’s health advocate, a common comparison comes up.