I used to equate femininity to characteristics like being small, dainty, thin, little, and delicate, as well as being dressy, girly, colorful, youthful, etc. You get the picture. I knew at a young age I never truly fit that mold; I was always a little boyish as a child, and through high school, I tried to dress nicely, but casual and comfy was more my style, and still is today. You can imagine how lost I may have been if it weren't for athleisure becoming so mainstream.
But it wasn't until recently that I rediscovered the beautiful, always present but sometimes repressed, sacred feminine within myself and present within everyone.
My feminine essence isn't just in my outward appearance (though I do want to say that it can be important to be femme appearing for some people, and having outwardly appearing femme characteristics is beautiful and something to embrace, not feel shame for). But on a day-to-day basis, I don't care what I look like. I don't worry about how I style my hair or get dressed. I am usually dressing for functionality! And the fact that I may not always look super feminine does not equate to the femininity I contain within myself.
My feminine essence is in my creativity, how I see the world, and how I want to show up in the world. It's in my caring and empathy. It's how I make connections to others and build relationships. It's my link to earth and nature. It's my connection to the universe/god/divine spirit. It's in the words that I write. It's in my touch. It's in my heart. It's in my body. It's even in my belly ~ yes, my stomach that isn't completely flat or toned, my gut that I have held restricted and felt shame for so long. But this beautiful belly is a storage site of nutrients. It protects my organs and insulates my body, and should I ever face a crisis, I will have energy stores to defend me. This belly can grow a human being, new life, expanding the universe. This belly, this body, is all divine. And so is your body.
To step into all aspects of your femininity means to embrace the softer parts of you, the emotions, the feelings, and the intuition that wants to guide you and show you the way. We all have it, whether assigned female or male at birth. And before masculine energy became dominating and forced the feminine to be submissive, there was a beautiful balance in the world, the way nature was intended to work. But now, most of the world is stuck in a masculine dominant frame of mind. The masculine essence, to be clear, is not innately bad. It's necessary to tap into all our masculine energy, for this is where action and movement occur. But action without thought, feeling, or emotional regard for others can be dangerous. And what the masculine lacks in emotional awareness and interpersonal connection, it can try to make up for in power and domination, only bringing one further from the feminine energy they need so badly.
And so, listen to what your body is asking of you. What parts of you have you kept hidden away? What parts of you do you feel aren't allowed or accepted by society? What parts of you seem like they would be "too much" for others to handle? Or are there softer parts of you that you haven't wanted to visit? Where have you been blocking or storing away emotions? Go there! Go into that suppressed, hidden part of you! See what is to be discovered. Find out what's hiding beneath the surface, waiting to be embraced, loved, and embodied by you, making you whole!
