Hey gyns, I wanna tell you about the one thing that basically destroyed my dysphoria and gave me so much confidence in myself, my body, and my womanhood: doing difficult manual labor with other women.
In high school and the first part of college, i was very dysphoric and thought I was non-binary because I thought I “wasn’t like other girls” because I didn’t fit in with misogynistic stereotypes. I couldn’t escape libdem ideas and always felt claustrophobic. Classic. I also was severely depressed and had an eating disorder that landed my in the hospital and almost got me removed from university. I had no self confidence and felt disconnected from other women.
Then, right after college I landed a job on a wilderness trail crew with the US Forest Service. By some stroke of luck I ended up on a four-woman crew. They were some of the most amazing, strong and hard working women I’ve met.
We spent the days using crosscut saws to remove fallen logs from the trails (think old-timey logger two-person saws), chopped smaller logs with axes, moved huge boulders with our bodies, and hiked 10-12 miles a day carrying about 60 pounds of gear each. It was amazing. Over one summer we cleared about 300 miles of trail, just the four of us.
It was an awakening for me. While I’d done manual labor growing up, it was always in the presence of men. With men, they insinuated I wasn’t as strong, tried to do my work for me, or showed off, etc. With my crew of awesome ladies, the environment was so different. We were strong, yes, but we met difficult tasks with effective communication and creative use of our body mechanics, instead of “brute strength.” There was no derision, no judgement, no mind games that there would have been if men were present.
Throughout the summer I stopped thinking of myself as non-binary. I stopped feeling shame in being a woman, and began to feel connected with my body for the first time in years. I started believing in myself again.
Doing manual labor with women honestly changed/saved my life, and I encourage all women to find a similar experience. I understand not everyone physically can do physical labor, but I guess my message is this: regardless of what the task is, do hard things with women. Learn, cultivate skills, work, and work hard with other women. It will teach you, fulfill you, and truly empower you. Seek out opportunities to complete your work away from men and you will flourish.
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
prguitarman
titsay
2087
