Can I Get An A-Women?

“Amen!” This word is used as a declaration of agreement. It is an ages old way to say, “so be it,” or to emphasize a truth at the end of a hymn or prayer. It originates from the Hebrew language and is found throughout the bible, both Old and New Testaments. And while Amen has mostly been used in religious contexts, it has also leaked into the current, pop culture vernacular. Saying Amen has cropped up beyond the walls of churches, synagogues, and temples. 

Lately hearing this word in the age of #MeToo, as women are claiming their rights and stepping up to challenging the male dominated world order, it got me thinking. A-men represents a very male oriented religiocentric world, as well as being composed of the word “men.” Now, I don’t want to step on the toes of anyone who worships at services where Amen is the practice. Amen fits well. But in the secular context, it just seemed too hard lined with a no-questions-asked feel about it. Why does it have to be men? Why couldn’t we proclaim and declare with women?  

How about including an option that brings us into a new millennium and the 21st century? Everything in 2020 has gone awry and topsy-turvy. We are in a major transition the likes of which hasn’t been experienced since the prior turn of the century. Women were struggling for their rights then, especially the right to vote, to own property, and to be more than property themselves. The plight of women as we progressed into mid century was to demand equality, but still within a male dominated environment. As we tried to take on more equal partnership with men, we had to operate under the directive to act manly, otherwise you were deemed “weak,” (almost a synonym for the word “feminine”). My sisters who went into the work world had to wear power suits and at all cost, not express an ounce of emotion. This would bring up the proverbial “time of the month” comment. No matter how women have tried to prove themselves, it has usually been based in resorting to act from the model of masculinity.

 But we are navigating a chance to question the usual order of our existence. It’s hard and painful and messy. Has the old order really worked that well? Hasn’t controlling, warring, forcing the hand, and oppression contributed to disharmony, division, racism, poverty, and environmental degradation? I’m not against the flow of a free market, but how much hoarding of money does any one person really need, (especially at the cost of the backs on which that money is made)? Can I get an A-women to including a more caring and nurturing approach? I’m not suggesting kicking masculine contributions to the side, but we need balance. It’s about realizing how much depth of strength there is to femininity. And therein lies the probable issue of why we have had to endure this level of masculine imbalance – the fear of feminine strength. 

I have struggled with my own internal masculine and feminine sides. Whether male or female, we all have these two sides within us. I bought in to the masculinity as strength mentality and acted from that pump me up muscle approach. I even worked out to get guns like Sarah Connor in Terminator 2! I learned how to “act like a guy.” But over the years, I realized that only focusing on that type of strength was one sided. It took years of inner work to appreciate and bring my feminine side more to my awareness. Then I finally succeeded in bringing these opposites into an harmonious relationship. Feminine strength resides deeper in my body – more in the root and pelvis. This has also allowed me to cultivate a connection with my intuition, a feminine attribute that increases listening skills and compassion.

 So to optimistically herald a potential world shift, I spritely chime in, “A-women!” when I hear people using “Amen.” It usually gets a chuckle. It’s good to apply good-hearted humor during dark times. Unfortunately, the struggle between a masculine top down, head driven, iron fisted approach and a feminine intuitive, inclusive, nurturing approach may be long and drawn out before balance can even be realized. 

 Does this tickle your feminine bone to try using A-women, whether you identify as male, female, or gender neutral? Say it with playfulness, but with conviction. Language also contributes to transitions. Look what #MeToo began. The more we create new ways to express ourselves, challenging the old style, the more we can define our path that has a chance to finally build a world based in greater equality for all.

Can I get an A-women to that!?