“So, to empower women, power must be given to them. Presumably by an entity that already has it. And that entity is the patriarchy. This also implies that women must be on the receiving end, waiting—politely—to be empowered.”
-Sallie Krawcheck
For the last few years I’ve been deprogramming and healing from the feminine empowerment movement.
Yes.. you read that right, I’m deprogramming and healing FROM feminine empowerment.
When I first got into coaching, I was working closely with the moon, womb energy, and the “divine feminine”.
This time in my life felt powerful, but looking back now, I can see that I had become incredibly disconnected to many other aspects of myself and many aspects of the world.
Don’t get me wrong… I am all for womxn building power, but I was noticing a not-so-empowering theme in the Feminine Empowerment Community.
It’s filled with spiritual white women, who are often ungrounded, lacking an understanding of their privilege, and praising a white-washed versions of Mary Magdalene, Lilith and Kali Ma.
The healing practices in the White Feminine Empowerment movement were incomplete and watered down. And much of what was going on was just replicating patriarchal systems and power structures.
Sure, I experienced moments of massive power, and YES my understanding of lunar cycles and my own hormonal cycle still impacts the work I’m doing today..
But the new age, love + light, goddess spirituality was lacking something essential.
I was craving raw, real, human-ness.
I needed to balance my water + earth energy with some FIRE + AIR.
I needed to anchor into movements for justice for ALL people…
So I moved away from Feminine Empowerment…
I returned to studying feminist ethics, I invested in the certification program with Energetic Justice, and dove head first into a movement for Collective Liberation.
I realized that in my search for a connection with “the divine feminine” I had actually moved away from the fullness of own humanity.
This process have been one of unlearning , healing, and remembering what it means to be fully human.
It has helped me get into this body, and honor the work that needed to be done here and now.
If you are feeling like the feminine empowerment movement hasn’t made space you your true healing, or like something is missing, you are not alone.
We can heal, unlearn, remember, + move toward collective liberation + build our power together.
Love + Liberation
Lauren Elizabeth