Have you ever wondered how or why you became the woman you are? I don't. The origins of my feminism are very clear to me.
One of the first memories I have is of standing in my grandparent’s living room as if I were in front of an audience. Parts of the memory are fuzzy and faded – almost like a dream – I couldn’t have been more than three or four years old. I look around the room, taking in the faces of the adults watching me: my Uncles look at me amused, my Grandma claps her hands in encouragement; my Grandpa leans back in his leather chair, lights a Lucky Strike and rolls his eyes. The face that I fixate on, though, is that of my Mother – with her big brown eyes and long blonde hair – she nods at me as if to say, “Go ahead.”
I seriously raise my little kid fist in the international sign of solidarity above my head and in a clear voice begin to sing:
“I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore;
And I know too much to go back an' pretend.
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again!
Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain;
Yes, I've paid the price,
But look how much I gained!
If I have to
I can do anything!
I am strong,
I am invincible,
I am woman!”
The fact that Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman" was the very first song I ever learned to sing – before even the Alphabet Song, I believe – isn’t shocking if you know my Mother. I imagine that she had been singing songs of protest such as that to me as lullabies even while I was in the womb. I credit much of the person I am today – a sassy ass, outspoken, independent, strong, thoughtful woman – to the example that my Mom provided me from the moment she knew that I had the potential for existence. The bravery, kindness and strength that she exemplified in living her own life, as well as in guiding those of my brothers and myself, is the template that I have tried to follow (in theory) as I grew into an adult.
When I was invited to write a weekly column for DollyMix I immediately started thinking about what angle I wanted to take in the topics I covered. I thought about women in pop culture, women in technology – perhaps writing about my experiences as a 30-something “geek grrl of the world” – but, time and again I just kept coming back to thoughts of my Mom. I thought of the lessons she has taught me, experiences she has provided me with; the amazing amount of wisdom she has passed to me through simple actions which one day I hope to pass to a daughter of my own.
Then it hit me: I’m sure that there are tons of women just like my Mother who I – and, you – could continue to learn lessons from. Those are the stories which I hope to discover and bring to you via this weekly column, those of the amazing women who don’t necessarily make the history books; those women who can teach us so much about bravery in the face of true adversity, strength, courage, hope and living joyful lives: the Femina Potens of the world.
Literally translated from the Latin, femina potens means “woman of power.” Translated into the modern lexicon it might be taken to mean “girl power.” Girl power is a phrase which is somewhat more familiar to us all – the Spice Girls having brought it to the forefront of pop culture to be emblazoned on t-shirts and such in the 1990’s. Another way of saying it could be the battle cry of “Towanda!” (Taken from Fannie Flagg’s 1987 book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.)
Yet another way could be, “You GO girl!”
While writing this column, I did a little digging on ye olde Internet to determine the exact origins of the phrase. It interested me to find out that in classic literature that the term “femina” is associated with the concept of “feminine weakness;” whereas, the word “potens” is used to distinguish authority and (obviously) power.
It’s fascinating to me that these two diametrically opposite concepts – weakness and power - are combined into a phrase which, to me, encapsulates an ideal which I strive to live my life by: the powerful woman, the strong woman. It is somewhat fitting, though, as we all know that the world – our world – is not always easily defined, categorized or explained. There is so much to explore and so many people to discover. I hope that you are as excited as I am that DollyMix has given me a place to do as such.
Kate Kotler is a loudly opinionated writer who lives in San Francisco, CA. She currently writes the blog Adorkable Grrl (about the daily experience of being a “30-something geek grrl of the world”) and is studying journalism in the hopes of one day supporting herself with her loud opinions. Kate loves punk rock, robots, politics, the Chicago Cubs, sushi, her dog and her family: especially her Mom – Dr. Nancy Padak – who has always encouraged her to use her voice as a writer for good, not evil. Please send comments, concerns, praise, suggestions for interview or op-ed topics and tasty recipes involving ramen noodles to kkotler@gmail.com