From the beginning of time, there has been a sort of stigma attached to being a woman, sets of expectations. But not every woman is the same so it is not fair to expect every woman to be the same. There are many aspects of myself, as a woman, that may be categorized as "a womanly thing to do or be," but there are so many more that are not.

I am not a housekeeper, but most importantly I am not your housekeeper.

If we are living together-- married, roommates, whatever the circumstance-- I am not your personal housekeeper. Men and women alike are extremely capable to clean up after themselves and the messes around them. If you make a mess, clean it up. If I make a mess, I will clean it up. The common misconception here is that women must stay home and take care of the household chores such as laundry and cleaning up the house. Sure! I will do that if it is my laundry or my mess in the kitchen, but you are completely capable of cleaning up when necessary. I have no problem helping you out, but do not expect me to just do it all for you.

I am not a stay-at-home mom.

I am not going to be forced into being a stay-at-home mom by anyone including society. It is occasionally expected of women to leave the workforce upon starting or expanding their family. If I want to be a stay-at-home mom, I will decide that when the time comes. But I most certainly will not be oppressed into being a stay-at-home mom by society or any social figure in my life.

I am not a damsel in distress.

I do not need someone to come save me. I am not weak. I may struggle sometimes, but I do not need saving. It is like the quote, "I do not need you to save me. I want you to stand by my side as I save myself". I got this, just give me a chance.

I am not craving marriage.

When the time comes, and the right man comes along, I will be ready for marriage. I am not actively seeking out someone to take care of me because I can certainly take care of myself. I have so much else to be focusing on in these next couple of years that marriage can be put on the back burner for a little (lotta) bit.

I am not your lesser.

Men, I can do everything you can do but better...and in heels. No, not really but I am certainly not less than you in any sense just because I have different anatomy. There is no reason I should be getting less pay for having the same education, position, and hours as you. I am not your lesser in any sense. I am smart, I am strong, I am independent, I am strong willed, I am dedicated, I am determined, I am hard working. These descriptions are not a description primarily of a woman or a man, they are plainly descriptions. We can all be smart, strong, independent, strong willed, dedicated, determined, hard working-- anything we want to be.

I am not a bad driver.

I pride myself in my driving ability. Just because one woman cut you off one time does not mean that we are ALL horrible drivers. Granted, of course some of us suck at driving. But so do some men, so it is not fair to single out one sex.

I am not my emotions.

Yes, I am extremely emotional, sensitive, all that good stuff but that is not because I am a woman. It is because I am human. I have feelings, I have hormones, all THAT good stuff. It is normal. My emotions do not determine who I am today or tomorrow or any day. They may affect me for the day, but they do not make me who I am, or make me a woman.

I am not all that complicated.

Everyone has something about themselves that is more complicated to understand or grasp since we are not that other person. What is not fair is to single out women as being complicated and not able to be understood. Sure, many things about my personality are complicated and you may never understand them, but I am not that way because I am a woman. I am h u m a n.

I am not a man hating feminist.

Yes, I am a feminist in the sense that I believe that women are the exact equals of men, in most senses. But with that, I do not hate men because they seem to have gotten the better end of the stick. There is nothing productive by hating the opposite sex.

I AM a woman. I am proud to be a woman. I am not proud of the expectations or ideas attached to my sex. Every woman, and every man for that matter, have a choice in how they want to be seen and viewed by society AND what they are and are NOT willing to do based primarily on the expectations of their sex.

*Disclaimer: This is MY view on things. I do not mean to offend anyone by my stance.