10 Lessons for Women by Women: A Woman's Choice

Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge.  ~Andrea Dworkin

The first thing I thought of when I read this quote is a story I remember hearing some years ago.  I don’t know how true it is, but apparently if you put a bunch of crickets in a jar and put the lid on, at first they keep jumping as high as they can in an attempt to escape.  After a while, they find that escape isn’t possible and there is pain involved in hitting their heads on the lid each time they jump.  So they learn to jump a little lower in order to avoid this pain.  Soon, they are so well trained regarding what is possible and what isn’t, that you can take the lid off the jar and it makes no difference.  They won’t jump out because they don’t believe it’s possible.

It is true that women have been put down and taught that being a woman means that there are few possibilities.  But it isn’t what society teaches you that matters – it is what you give society permission to teach you; whether you accept the teachings as true.  You can, like the crickets, accept the fact that possibility is limited – you can use history and the experience of many others to justify the fact that your opportunities are limited.  Or you can use history to teach you what to do differently.  You can prove society wrong.  It’s all about what YOU believe to be true and what you’re willing to do about the status quo.  You can blaze a trail for all women – whether they decide to walk that path is their decision, but the trail will be there.