While our particular cultural and social environments influence us, we have a unique
personal identity and the right to develop, expand, and express it. The more we grow, the more
happiness we will have in life.
Besides, social pressures and expectations are not laws, and not conforming to them
doesn’t make us bad people. We have the freedom to accept, reject, or negotiate these social
pressures according to our thoughts, feelings, and preferences.
The starting point for a woman’s evaluation of her circumstances, goals, needs, and
wishes is the fact that her life is her own. Women are not objects or the property of others. Our
lives are our own, and this gives us power.
My message to women is that it is our right to make our own choices and to be respected
and accepted based on our determination rather than because we have followed someone else’s
expectations. Of course, this is easier said than done. Societal expectations come with attractive
promises of acceptance, belonging, and respect. However, remember that promises and
expectations are two sides of the same coin and grow in proportion to each other.
My message is also for men because undoing social pressures is everyone’s
responsibility. It is only from a foundation of freedom and equitable distribution of power
between men and women that a new and better world can develop.
I talk to women of all backgrounds, social classes, ages, and cultures, both
traditional and nontraditional. My message can also be useful for parents, partners, teachers,
mentors, advisors, counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists who want to support women in
developing a healthy personal identity.
References:
Lamberghini-West, A. (2019). Your Life, Your Way – Become Aware of Social Pressures Limiting Women.