Growing up in a family of strong women, I have always been interested in women’s empowerment. But, just in the past few weeks, I have been investigating emasculation. It is the other side of the coin which I have not really been very sympathetic towards.

It all stemmed from an argument I had with my husband several weeks ago when he was feeling unseen and under-appreciated. It hurt me so much to see how true this was for him. At the time, I was in a state of overwhelm with work and admittedly had not been emotionally as engaged with him as normal.

So, like the personal growth junkie I am, I took total, 100% responsibility for the part I played in this. I also spent some time becoming more aware of how I and the society around us emasculates men. Becoming conscious is truly the first step to be able to make any kind of change.

The first thing I noticed in my own house is how we would make fun of boys being boys and how “icky” they are. (Mind you, these were conversations with my 8 year old daughter). What seems so innocent at first, when you are more aware you notice how frequent such comments are being made, even by men. The first thing I did was to bring this to my husbands attention and shortly there after I overheard him talking to my daughter and letting her know that boys are awesome too! It was as if he took pride in it and took personal responsibility for a more global problem.

If men and women are to co exist, we need to find a place of true partnership. Men and Women are very different and we should seek to understand and celebrate our uniqueness.

I have also realized in the past few weeks that I don’t really understand men and I am wanting to open up more space in my heart for them. It’s as if I love the main male figures in my life, mainly my husband, father, and great grandfather and yet I inherently know that we are wired differently and I often don’t understand how they think or act.

I am committed to learning more about men so that I can connect with them more deeply. Isn’t it funny how this guidance is coming through a week before Father’s day.

So, my challenge for you is to notice where you emasculate men and automatically rob them of their strengths and greatness. I am shocked at how much I do this based on so much conditioning from my family and environment.

If I want to be the most empowered woman, then I must take a stand for men being the most empowered men. We truly do need one another and we all need to be loved, heard and seen.

#womensempowerment #transformationaltuesday #drkelly #consciousdating #appreciatemen #heartopening #pinktent #loveistheanswer #happyfathersday #allisonarmstrong