This Women’s History Month, I find myself asking a seemingly simple question: What does it mean to be a woman?
Seventy years ago, womanhood might have meant mastering the art of cooking a meal with a crying baby on the hip. Today, some say it is being a successful worker, wife and mother, having a strong work-life balance and maintaining perfection in both. The answer to this question may seem loaded, but to me, it’s simple — being a woman is strength. Patience. Perseverance.
My paternal grandmother, born in 1943, grew up in an all-girl’s orphanage. She did not finish high school; rather, she chose to marry at 17 years old and start a family, which was not uncommon for girls her age at the time.
In her late 30s, she obtained her GED while simultaneously working the first shift at a textile mill and raising two sons. This was one of her proudest accomplishments.
When I consider what it means to be a woman, my grandmother comes to mind. She persevered through adversity to start a family of her own, despite growing up without one. She worked hard at her jobs and loved those around her. Though she followed a path different from what many women choose today, the qualities of her character continue to shape my perception of womanhood.
Personally, my path has looked different. As the first woman in my family to graduate from high school and go to college, I have been given opportunities those before me did not always have. It is these traits of conscientiousness and resilience, however, that empower me in my pursuit of a career in the male-dominated field of government.
The more I mature as a young woman, the more I realize that what makes a woman isn’t the path she takes. It’s not about having (or not having) children, a spouse, particular degrees or jobs. These factors can vary across time periods and cultures, and it would be insulting to reduce womanhood to merely what a woman can build in her life.
More than anything, what makes a woman is the character she embodies throughout her life and her impact on those around her. I could not tell you whether Elizabeth Cady Stanton had a degree or how many children Susan B. Anthony had, nor could I list those details for many other women who have fought for the rights and opportunities we have today.
What we do remember is their hard work and courage and how they used them to change the world.
MacKenzie McDaries is a sophomore Arabic and political science major from Murfreesboro, Tenn.
