Spelling women with a plus sign is intentional to highlight that women+ is inclusive of different identities pertaining to gender. So, women+ entails trans women, femmes, genderfluid people, cis women, and more.
Women+ face limitations from society, the inner community, family, friends, themselves, and more throughout history and today. There are still issues with women+ being judged on what they wear, how they look, what they say, what they believe, who they date, how they identify, what they do for a living, etc. Another difficulty women+ face is being compared negatively or in competition with each other, instead of fostering encouragement or collaboration. With this in mind, brainstorm what could mindful encouragement entails (thoughts and actions) for women+ with being inclusive, equitable, and socially justice?
From my experience as a cis black woman, it is essential to reframe what I was told from society, inner community, family, and friends to determine who I am as a cis black woman and how I strive to thrive in different spaces. My sense of women+ is not stagnant; it adapts through growing pains, life experiences, stages of self-love and development, and more. My experience is only one experience though, so it essential to consider diverse narratives of women+. Take a moment to ponder what narratives of women+ you need to learn, unlearn, and relearn for your to be more inclusive and supportive?
The ranging difficulties for women+ are evolving. Nevertheless in 2019 womxn accomplished some great things. Click these links to learn more:
https://time.com/5751515/historic-firsts-women-2019/
https://www.ellevest.com/magazine/disrupt-money/wins-for-women-2019
https://medium.com/@UN_Women/fifteen-defining-moments-for-women-in-2019-c723caf57edc
The links that feature women+ accomplishments in 2019 are not comprehensive of womxnhood beyond the binary. This implies that the representation of diverse women+ is needed where the celebration of different women+ are seen, heard valued, and more. Which raises the question, what can companies, schools, and people (individually and collectively) do to advocate for diverse women+ proactively that centers mindfulness on shifting needs and intersectionality?
Here are three suggestions with follow-up questions!
Recognize and unlearn values, ideas, and actions that limit and dehumanize diverse women+.
Questions for Unlearning:
What values, ideas or actions do you buy into that cause women+ to be perceived and treated as less than?
Why are those values, ideas, and actions harmful?
How are the values, ideas, and actions influencing the oppressive way you view/treat trans women, femmes, genderfluid people, or cis women?
Learn about different perspectives of women+ and how needs are adapting based on the context and intersecting identities.
Questions for Learning:
From what you learned about different perspectives of women+ and adapting needs, how can you proactively reframe your limiting values, ideas, and actions?
What goals check-ins can you set for yourself?
Who will be your accountability partner, and how will you foster a brave space for unpacking shame and growing pains with them?
Work with community members to build support for women+ issues and foster equitably intentional resources for various needs as well.
Questions for working with community members:
How are you identifying where you start and end regarding working with community members?
What are you doing to check-in with community members about what they need for support?
Sources
Ellevest team. (2019, December 19). Celebrating wins for women+ in 2019. Ellevest. https://www.ellevest.com/magazine/disrupt-money/wins-for-women-2019
Glaad. (n.d.). Glossary of terms - transgender. https://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender
Human Rights Campaign. (n.d.). Glossary of terms. https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms\
Shewan, B. (2019, February 19). Are you femme?: What femme isn’t and what it is. The Affirmative Couch. https://affirmativecouch.com/are-you-femme-what-femme-isnt-and-what-it-is/
Thomas, S. (2019, March 20). What does it mean to be cisgender? Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a25253578/cisgender-meaning-definition/
Thomas, S. (2017, April 19). What it means if someone is gender-fluid. Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/04/150470/what-is-gender-fluid
Time staff. (2019, December 27). These 28 women broke major barriers to become ‘firsts’ in 2019. Time. https://time.com/5751515/historic-firsts-women-2019/
UN Women. 15 defining moments for women in 2019. Medium. https://medium.com/@UN_Women/fifteen-defining-moments-for-women-in-2019-c723caf57edc