Having a bad day? Check out these awesome posters on the site of Because of Them, We Can. Pretty cool huh? It’s more than heart warming to see these young girls emulating the women who have done so much for them (and me!). It is a good reminder to all of us to recognize and thank those who have made our current way of living possible.
The women depicted in these posters have each provided us with an example that we can strive to become and improve upon. They had to machete a path through the wilderness so that we could try and follow. I think the import of their actions is not always fully appreciated. They were the 1st, the beginning, the ones to achieve something so the rest of us could point to them and say: “Women can do that? I want to do that!”
When we are young we absorb what we see before we are able to discern why we see what we see. As adults we still operate on some of the assumptions that our childhood brain understood as fundamental rules of the world. It is very difficult to figure out what those assumptions are sometimes.
Once example I stumbled across in my own psyche is this: I never EVER considered for even a SECOND a career in automobiles or construction. As a kid I was fascinated when I watched “This Old House” and “New Yankee Workshop” with my father. I still enjoy watching those kinds of shows today. So why as a child didn’t I ever once consider for even a second a career in home construction? Because I knew it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t a conscious thought I can ever remember having, but it was there in big bold letters. CONSTRUCTION IS NOT FOR GIRLS (PERIOD) I didn’t know or see anyone who was a woman in construction, so my brain never considered it as an option. Hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know if I would have pursued a construction career if I watched a show like Bridgett the Builder (compared to Bob the Builder) growing up, but something tells me I probably would have contemplated it at one point.
I can only speak for myself and from my own experience, but I challenge you to look over the span of your life and identify some of the assumptions you have based your decisions on.
Want to keep up with Her Story Arc? Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
Her Story Arc 
I went to a small private religious school where gender presets ran very strongly though everyones psyche. The girls took Home Ec. and the boys took wood shop in preparation for our future rolls in the commune.
My dad was a carpenter and as a child I went to work with him many times. I loved the smell of saw dust, the sound of a hammer hitting a nail and the snap of the measuring tape as the roll contracted. I wanted to work with wood and be a carpenter like my dad and Jesus.
One problem. I am a girl and in our world girls did not work with wood. I had constant affirmation from my parents, teachers and pastor that women where home makers and had babies and that was their only roll.
I had just turned sixteen and kept telling my dad that I hated Home Ec. I had no urge to cook, fold towels perfectly or iron my future husbands shirt. I talked to the pastor, the principle and the wood shop instructor about me taking the wood shop class instead of Home Ec. I received many smiles and pats on the shoulder of reassurance they were considering it. I hung around the wood shop and watched the boys work on projects, helped out, set glue slates and cut boards for them. The teacher liked me and gave me lots to work on until an elder asked why a girl was in the shop. I was kicked out and barred from entering again.
In the end I was told,”Many other girls have asked to take wood shop but we don’t think it’s a good idea. It might damage your hands.” Their collective concern for my safety and wellbeing seemed false to me. But I had to abide by their ruling.
If I had gone into woodworking perhaps you and I would have ended up working together on a construction project.
Tina
LikeLiked by 1 person
How interesting that we both were drawn to carpentry! I did take wood shop and home-economics in middle school as both were required by both genders. We did a variety of things, like screen printing and building a lamp. I really enjoyed the class. Ironically, my home-economics class brought me to tears because I messed up so horribly working on a hooded sweatshirt project. I really disliked that sewing class. Thanks for sharing your story!
LikeLiked by 1 person