I watched the new Wonder Woman movie last night and within the first two minutes I was crying. It was like this feeling of relief and joy and winning.
The opening scene is of a competition in the homeland of Diana and it is entirely made up of strong women. There is a giant arena and competitors in something that I imagine is like American Ninja Warrior. It’s intense and the women are intense.
It moved me. Their strength, motivation and sense of purpose.
Throughout the movie I studied Diana. The way that she responded to people, the action she took, or didn’t take. It took me a minute to realize what had really enamored me about her:
She knew who she was, she knew her purpose, and she was NOT AT ALL using her energy on what other people thought about it.
I grew up like most of you watching movies with strong white male characters. The women were side and supporting characters at best. The men had themselves and their purpose and mission clear and were not concerned with what others thought. They were allowed to be.
Seeing Diana in this role felt like winning because here is an example of a woman with power and freedom. Here is strength to be admired, in a woman.
It was inspiring. I have done so much work to dismantle patriarchal thinking (and by now I know this is just an ongoing process), but seeing this instantly moved me to tears. The little girl in me who was told to just sit and be pretty, to move gracefully, exist for someone else, got to watch a strong woman rise up and be more, to be a leader, to possess power and I cried tears of joy for her.
What I have been asking myself when I feel any doubts about myself around other people:
Do I need to care right now to be safe? Usually the answer is no.
And then, even if with shakiness, I do what I need to.
The truth is that obviously Diana is a fictional character, and none of us are perfect. What is also true is this: we all deserve and are capable of finding and owning our purpose, drive, and desire for life and pursuing those things with confidence.
We are capable.
We are capable of owning who we are.
We are capable of unapologetic action towards what we want for our lives.
Here’s to channeling our inner Wonder Woman,
With Love,
Christina
Life Coach
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