The Death of the Snake: Redefining Womanhood
The bible teaches that the origin of woman began with a rib taken from Adam
Apparently women are also responsible for the downfall of humankind since Eve took a bite
from that apple
Banished from the Garden of Eden, outsmarted by a snake, taking the weight of the world on her shoulders with her as she escaped to obscurity
If only the Garden of Eden was in Louisiana instead
Where she most definitely would have killed the snake, cooked it and shared it with Adam
And left that apple to rot on the ground
This could have changed the way that people see women throughout history
Webster's dictionary defines the term woman as “an adult female human being.”
Women are also defined as being able to bring humans into the world.
In the US, it is estimated that over 100,000 women have a condition called MRKH
Where women are not born with reproductive organs that make this possible
Last fall, I found out that I am one of those 100,000 women
This has made me think about the question “what defines a woman?”
Am I less of a woman because of the absence of my uterus?
What is the rest of my life going to look like with this condition?
Some of the comments I received after I told my family about my condition were that I could always adopt or that I could get a uterus transplant
Well what if I don’t want that?
Having religious people in your family while having this condition is very mentally draining because you don’t meet their standards or you feel like you aren’t following what you’re entitled to follow
Every month when my friends talk about periods and cramps, I can’t relate.
As a 16 year old, a million thoughts go through my mind
Friends tell me that they are there for me
People tell me they understand what I’m going through
But I’m sure that they have no idea what I’m going through
It would be easy to be upset knowing that I won’t be having a mini version of myself in the future
The future weighs on my mind when I think about these things
And honestly, some days, it’s a lot for a sixteen year old to come to terms with
But I’ve learned a lot since then
This condition, MRKH means something new to me now.
M stands for motivation
To be the best version of myself that I can be and not let anyone hold me down, no matter who the President is
R stands for Resilience because after what I’ve been through, this experience taught me that I am stronger than I ever imagined and nothing can stop me when I put my mind to it
K stands for knowledgeable and I always want to learn as much as I can about myself and the world around me
Having empathy for others and understanding their perspective as well as my own, despite what FOX news tries to tell me
H stands for Heroes: women in my life who have taught me to be strong and believe I can do anything
My great aunt who battled a stroke
My Canadian grandmother who is a cancer survivor who lives life to her fullest capacity and goes to the gym every day at 75 years old
My amazing aunt in Canada who laughs every day despite having MS
My cousin who is going to be a teacher
I learn I belong to this group
I am defined by what I do, not what I lack and I know I would’ve killed that snake
