She Looks Like . . . the Empowered Woman?

by Tori Greaves and Kaylen Tanner

In Southern California, the way a woman dresses says a lot about who she is. Does she fit the businesswoman mold – expensive, trendy, and perfect? Or is she thrifty and creative? There are many different ways in which women can adapt or change their styles. The more options and freedom one has, the more empowered she is. At least, that is the common thought. But can empowerment truly be measured by what is visible? Can it be measured at all?

Those are important questions, today, as this generation aims to promote women’s empowerment throughout the globe. As one of the Millennium Goals, women’s empowerment is receiving a lot of attention and support. However, widespread action is meaningless if that action is not also relevant and complex, tailored to women’s needs in each specific context. Just as styles of dress vary all over the world and symbolize widely different themes, so too, empowerment of women will look different in different places. It is critical to recognize that fact and not oversimplify the problems and their solutions.

To begin to understand a little of this world’s incredible variety and the cultural differences in the way women’s dress is viewed, we interviewed a number of women with different cultural experiences. Examples from Germany, India, Bolivia, Taiwan, Spain, Japan, Tanzania (?), and the US give just a small sample of the ways fashion is used around the world. Yet even in such a small study, great complexity is revealed. If it is impossible for just a few to agree on what the empowered woman looks like, how could the world ever define her? What must we do so that the pursuit of women’s empowerment is never reduced to a simple answer?

the empowered woman from Kaylen on Vimeo.

Diversity and complexity is part of what makes this world exciting and beautiful. It would be tragedy to lose that in a mindless attempt to help the rest of the world look and function more like the “West”. Yet we cannot abandon the cause women’s empowerment just to be culturally sensitive. We must find a way to promote their dignity and worth in ways that are meaningful and specific to each context. The journey toward women’s empowerment is longer and more difficult than anyone can imagine, but in the end, hopefully we will not have to choose between diversity and equality, vibrancy and dignity.

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.