“Men are socialized to follow their desires. Women are taught to fulfill their obligations.”
That astute observation comes courtesy of Shannon Watts, the founder of national nonprofit Moms Demand Action, which promotes gun-safety awareness and measures throughout the U.S.
The organization’s creation was inspired by the horrific Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and 6 adults were killed by a lone gunman. Watts, a stay-at-home mother at the time on leave from a career in communications, was galvanized into action by the tragedy.
She remains passionate about her work to eradicate gun violence in the U.S. – but now, she wants to do more than prevent tragedy. For her next act, she also wants to encourage women’s dreams, and help them explore possibilities.
Watts recently published a book, “Fired Up,” to that aim. In an interview with Fortune about it, she explained that her work building a movement out of grief and fear showed her what can happen when one breaks themselves free of cycles that aren’t working. “What I realized was, we transformed the issue of gun safety … but the issue also transformed” those of us working on it, she said.
She left both a line of work and a marriage that didn’t serve her in the years since starting up – and she felt firsthand how energizing and exciting it can be to pursue one’s bliss. Now, she’s asking women to ask themselves: “What do I want?”
And she’s not the only famous woman encouraging female introspection. Separately, tennis superstar Serena Williams has teamed up with healthcare company Ritual to urge women to take charge of their health. Specifically, she wants them to advocate for their needs, to speak up about pain, to ask as many questions as they have – and most of all, to trust their guts, in all senses.
“I want other women to know: You’re not alone,” she said in an exclusive interview with People. “Your body is always talking to you. Listen to it.”
Her new drive was inspired by her own health journey – in particular, her harrowing birthing experience, The experience taught her that women are not “supposed to feel tired or uncomfortable and just push through,” she said, while noting how easy it can be to remain quiet. “Even with everything I know about my body, I’ve had moments where I didn’t feel right and couldn’t get answers.”
Watts and Williams got us thinking: What do women need and want now? What are we hoping for, and dreaming about, amid the madness? What don’t we have, and what’s holding us back?
To be sure, there is much to contend with on a societal level. And thinking more personally… there is nerve-inducing vulnerability in articulating wants and needs – because doing so opens oneself up to hearing “no.” But we cannot possibly hope to reach our respective promised lands if we aren’t honest about what is wrong, or missing – if we aren’t honest about what needs to change in order for us to be more fulfilled.
So we’re opening up the floor to you. Yes, you – the woman reading this. We want to hear what this prompt inspires in you. This month, feel free to email me at [email protected] with any ideas or desires that you feel comfortable sharing. Your answers will remain anonymous, but will be used in a future article to paint a picture – even if an incomplete one – of what it is that women are hoping and yearning for.
Because as Williams rightly noted: “We deserve better.” So let’s figure out what we want and need in order to get it.
