"Women Rising"

WITH SITES LIKE WORLD PULSE we are definitely on the rise!

I personally have been rising for several years - I didn't feel I had anywhere but up to go anyway (see my previous ramblings).

We are able to rise mainly though friendship. Individual female friendships have been my saviour, and collective friendships (like World Pulse) have made me feel powerful.

I no longer think of myself as destroyed by men. These days I am more than ready to fight back. A few years ago, when a man opened a door for me I blushed - because I knew what was coming.

Nowadays I'm happy to smile and say Thank You because I respect MYSELF. When he follows up with the unevitable comment, I'm able to brush it aside (unless he is persistent) and move on.

And THAT to me is one of the powers I've gained through personal and collective friendship. We MUSTN'T feel single and powerless when men pay us empty compliments and follow them up with awkward questions. We all suffer them.

But in other ways too we are on the rise - women are in powerful positions throughout the world. We may not agree with politics and sentiments they put forward - but at least they are able to say those things, and other women are able to argue with them. The world isn't at the mercy of men with pin-striped suits and rolled umbrellas anymore.

And we can all feel pleased about the individual things we've gained. Everything - be it the chance to govern a country or to gain an extra stall in the Ladies Toilet - is a victory for feminism and proof that we are no longer to be walked over, expecting men to speak up for us.

Becasue they won't - and don't.

(Written in response to the "Women Rising" request.)