Written by Daz Burns
“Even when I’m a mess
I still put on my vest
With an ‘S’ on my chest, oh yeah
I’m a superwoman”
-Alicia Keys
A few disclaimers before we start…
First Disclaimer: Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Alicia and this is nothing about her fricken amazeballs lyrical genius!
Second Disclaimer: I thought (up until today) that the only time ‘Superwoman’ and ‘Syndrome’ were put together was in movies where ‘Syndrome’ is the bad guy getting his ass kicked.
Third Disclaimer: I always like to know definitions, so here goes (an amalgamation of several dictionaries including Webster and Word Hippo):
- SUPER: Very good; especially; high grade or quality; powerful; better than average; wonderful.
- WOMAN: (I personally find this one particularly controversial and fast-evolving around the gender korero… but for definitions sake) – Adult female human being; feminine; wife; girlfriend; female; lady; skirt.
- SUPERWOMAN: Exceptional physical or mental ability; performs well in all her various demanding roles; A woman with superhuman powers.
- SYNDROME: Group of signs, symptoms or behaviors that occur together to characterise a particular abnormality or condition; set of concurrent things, such as emotions or actions that form an identifiable pattern.
So.
It turns out this ‘Superwoman Syndrome’ is legit.
But, to be honest (I know my protest is nothing new) what a load of bull shit!
Apparently ‘Superwoman Syndrome’ is when a woman puts herself last on the priority chain because she wants to be able to ‘do it all’ and stretches herself too thin.
Umm, WTF?!
A ‘superwoman’.
Nay.
A WOMAN puts herself last on the list because who the hell else is going to ‘do it all’ while she takes it easy?!
Her nanny?
Her driver?
Her cleaner?
Her cook?
Her PA?
Her gardener?
Hell no!
A woman knows if she doesn’t do it.
It will still be there waiting for her!
In a worse state!
The overwhelming washing pile will grow.
The weeds will grow to vagina height.
The cobwebs will be so big they’ll catch children in them.
Things will be forgotten and missed.
And a new level of chaos and stress will be unleashed.
It’s not a fucking ‘syndrome’!
It is just bloody life.
There are some serious barriers that need to be broken here team!
First.
Stop calling LIFE ‘Superwoman Syndrome’.
‘Syndrome’.
That just wreaks of adverse bull shit, right?!
That is literally setting us up to have ‘another thing’ wrong in our lives.
In truth, you have all the signs, symptoms and behaviours of a fully functional woman doing the best you bloody can with what you’ve got.
Secondly.
It is true.
We do all have the same amount of hours in the day.
But, we don’t all have the same support systems in our lives.
So, keep your feet firmly on the ground when comparing your ‘superhuman’ abilities to someone else’s.
By labelling someone a ‘superwoman’.
It can not only be judgemental on her.
But an unintentional opportunity to put yourself down.
And you and I both know you don’t need any more negative self talk happening, so let’s get sunshine vibes flowing!
Thirdly.
One thing I do agree with is that ‘superwoman’ is in fact, not real.
(Which is a real shame, because Batman and Superwoman could really have had something really magic together).
I hope that savage dose of reality didn’t crush any dreams out there!
But seriously, ‘superwoman’ isn’t real.
But women.
Strong women.
Busy women.
Hearty women.
Determined women.
Worried women.
Caring women.
Passionate women.
Driven women.
Loving women.
Powerful women.
Resilient women.
They are real.
So fucking real, that some muppet felt the need to make it a syndrome.
Nothing is wrong with us and we are 100% real.
(At this point if you are still not sure, please pinch yourself for effect).
So, I would like to propose two things today:
- Tell ‘superwoman syndrome’ labellers to piss off.
They suck and have no clue. - That we develop a new definition of a ‘woman’.
Because, let’s be honest, no ‘woman’ is average.
Therefore, better than average doesn’t apply.
Because, we are all fricken’ awesome in our own ways!
So my conclusion today is my suggested definition of a WOMAN:
WOMAN:
She might have boobs, she might not.
She might have it all together, she might not.
She might be eating takeaways, she might not.
She might be smiling, she might not.
She might work full time, she might not.
She might have children, she might not.
She might lose her shit sometimes, she might not.
But at the end of the day, there is nothing ordinary about a woman.
She is exceptional, successful and powerful in the face of all the challenges and demands that cross her path. ❤️
