I Think Women Should Be More Violent

Now that I have your attention, don't clutch your pearls just yet, there's plenty more here to think about before you circle back to that conditioned reaction.

I think women should be more capable of violence, practiced in it. Obviously there's a time and place for it, and hopefully that's nearly non-existent.

But the thing that got me started down this rant was the fact that many cultures and society in general has this picture of what's polite, what's correct, what's acceptable. And it's making us sick and weak. " Be a lady", "If you can't do it with a skirt and headcovering you shouldn't be doing it", "That's suggestive" "What will they think" " It's not your place to make big decisions" "Be submissive" (caveat to that particular phrase because submission is biblical, but loss of identity/opinion/desires/aspirations/personality is commonly seen as a good thing for women in many circles) "Be nice", the list goes on and on and on.

Studies have shown that repeatedly repressing our emotions, "good" or "bad", actually correlates with higher levels of autoimmune sicknesses. Every time you push things down, fit in , just go along with it so no one else has to consider you, keep saying yes when really your plates too full, never learn to disagree respectfully or openly communicate..? That stacks up. Your fascia and nervous system holds every word and every pushed boundary, every inconsistency you saw but decided to swallow instead. You might be able to push it back for awhile but your body remembers, it will come out as anger, as overwhelm, anxiety, at your children in disconnect, at your husband in frustration, at your own immune system attacking itself, it holds on until you're ready to face it.

The complete abandonment of instinct and identity is not a requirement for salvation. Does God require us to sacrifice and lay our life down to truly serve as we should? I'd argue yes, but I'd also argue that He created us to function in truth and boldness and freedom. That extends from the soul to the body and mind and emotions. Don't water down your one wild life because other people have some inferior feelings about themselves and project that ceiling onto you.

Heal. Speak. Decide if you're willing to accept the responsibility for your own life, and start living like it. Worship. Stand in the confidence of Christ's blood.

The violence portion isn't even much of this, but this is for the shy sad sixteen year old version of me who didn't fully understand why the taboo subject of fighting felt like freedom, why getting up before the sun to hit the heavy bag for half an hour became a concealed staple routine. To me then, even a disagreeing opinion was categorized almost as violence. Now, I'd term violence as actual harm, and I think that's just as important a skill set as learning to disagree. There's something to be said for being able to walk into a room and knowing you're aware and capable. It's always going to be a journey to keep improving, but being out of shape and untrained is not an excuse to never improve. We were designed to run, to carry, to be loud and free and wild. This isn't some strange or far-out opinion. It's biology. We've been caged in skirts and society and systems and routines that rarely allow for full human expression. It's time to heal, be capable of protecting our children. Run. Howl and rage at the moon. Lift heavy. Grapple. Be honest. Cry. Come back to your family refocused and strong. Don't let yourself grow old having never experienced the extent of capability you were created for.

It should go without saying that men should be well versed in violence. There is no virtue in being a harmless man who cannot (note i said can not, not chooses not,) protect or defend. More on that later maybe.

Go lace your gloves up and hit something. Love ya.