Claiming Your Voice: Speaking Up Without Apology

Please note: regardless of what it says on the invitation, this Meetup is always scheduled for Wednesdays from 5-6:30 PST. Sometimes the event is sent from another time zone and is not reflected in PST. Please ignore that—that would be incorrect. Please note this Meetup is ALWAYS scheduled for 5-6:30 PST regardless of what is written in the blurb.

Claiming Your Voice: Speaking Up Without Apology

For generations women have carried the weight of silence, playing a subservient role to the boys and men in our lives. For many of there has been accepted assumptions about our diminished status, much of it just taken for granted. Many times the “good girl” has won out, wanting so much to please. Even at the expense of our needs.

I assume many of you have your own stories of choosing to “fit in” to this culture, with the desire to belong being a much stronger desire than the desire to be your powerful self. Most of us got the message loud and clear that we were subservient to our male counterparts. For many, it was the woman’s movement where we began to re-think our many beliefs and subsequently, we began to challenge them. But still the voice of women is greatly discredited.

Fast forward to the present—now we are older women and our demographic in and of itself is a target to be marginalized. Society ridicules the little old lady and jokes galore about her frailty both physically as well as emotionally. (not many little old men jokes). Society has often tried to make us smaller, quieter or invisible. I remember recently a teacher of mine telling me about her being in a group with younger members, going around the circle each introducing themselves and she was literally passed by as if she didn’t exist, feeling quite invisible in that moment.

There are many ways we give away our power. For some, here are some:

-over apologizing –sorry I did that, I don’t want to bother you, this might feel stupid.

-minimizing our worth—I am not an expert in this, I’m probably wrong, it’s probably just me.

-staying silent to avoid conflict, letting disrespectful comments go by, laughing at inappropriate jokes, not standing up for ourself, failure to set boundaries

-prioritizing everyone else’s needs by putting others first, feeling guilty for selfcare, holding the emotions of others
-tolerating disrespect- feeling invisible, feeling like you are “too much” or “too emotional”

Asking for permission instead of taking the space—waiting to be invited or chosen or validated

Believing our self worth declines with age—speaking softer, hiding, stepping back instead of forward and the big one—doubting your relevance

Do you relate to any of these?

Well, the truth is, this is the time of our lives when, for all our years of being alive, we have gained wisdom as elders.

What we might lack in our body strength we more than make up for it in our perception and prospective about life.

This is not about becoming someone new but rather about remembering who we have always been. We all have tremendous gifts and talents though sometimes we don’t own them. This is our moment of clarity. This is our time to deepen our self-expression and claim the powerful woman whose voice is needed now more than ever.

Join us on Wednesday, November 19th from 5-6:30 PST to celebrate our empowered selves. (And if you don’t feel it, this week is especially for you).

*Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89494059358?pwd=y0pbzYvdtqVJBdI9S5CZwIKwCM4jTv.1*