Instagram has recently taken on a new challenge with the hashtag #womenempoweringwomen.
Like many challenges and hashtags to raise awareness, this one was co-opted and removed from its original meaning. From what I can gather and what I read, it is tied to the femicide of Turkish women. There have been conflicting posts, and if I find a source, I will update this blog post with that link.
Do not misunderstand what I am going to say next. I am not saying that challenges like this shouldn’t exist. Instead, what I am saying is I feel critical about the word empowerment and, in my opinion, would like to do away with it in conversations around liberation.
Empowerment denotes the need for permission by someone else to act or move differently. It is about being granted the authority to enact power. I’ve looked at this word often, and even in my searches to find a new word, still find synonyms like permit, allow, warrant, or authorize. The google definition has an example of making someone stronger and more confident.
I see the term empowerment serving the ruling class. By which I mean, those who have access and privilege feel that their job is to empower others. However, when someone experiences an injustice, I believe the most important thing is to remove oneself from the situation as not to impede their agency. It is not my job to tell someone how they should act, instead, it is my job to be in solidarity with the choices this person makes And by solidarity, I mean to examine the ways the system has privileged me and understand that this person’s solution will require me to be uncomfortable in that.
Empowerment to me is synonymous with being in the way of someone actualizing their power because it is about creating a binary of people who have power and do not.
What has happened to me is that I was made to believe I did not have power. That my power must look a certain way or come from a specific place, and thus, empowerment will always lead me to look toward the very systems and structures that marginalize me to validate me.
As I read today on Marata Rose’s Instagram account, @neuromergent_insurgent, my identities are not afflictions. I am not disempowered, I have been gaslit and abused by these systems to believe I should shrink my power to belong.
Belonging is political. When we are harmed, we will do anything, including betray ourselves and our needs to belong. I do not fault anyone for this. I am still learning how to no longer betray myself. However, we cannot wait for permission or authority to claim what has always been ours. I was made to believe I was unworthy, but this has always been a lie to keep me from realizing my potential. It’s a useful tool of the oppressor.
No one can give me power, because I have that within me. It is an innate part of my human experience. I do not need permission for what I already know is mine. Instead, I need the conditions around me to change. I need people who are willing to relinquish the ways they are comfortable in this current world. I need people to get out of my way. I am not someone who needs saving.
When I heal and love myself, I actualize my power. When I recognize I have nothing to fear but everything to gain, I see the entirety of my power.
I validate and honor myself because no one has control over who I am. If we didn’t already have this power within us, why would people try to beat us down? No hero is perfect, but Cesar Chavez’s quote resonates with me; “you cannot oppress the people who are no longer afraid.”
I don’t need your permission. I need you to get out of the way.