Circumspecte

Dear Ladies, So yesterday at the bus station, I asked a young lady whether I could borrow her phone. She lent me her phone and after my call, she asked: "Can I ask you for some advice?" and then proceeded to tell me how many people in her life - and especially at work - whisper behind her back saying she looks like a man, she is too dark, is she sure she isn't a guy, she's not good looking, blah, blah, blah. Mind you, I had just met her. Obviously, the issue was really bugging her! My first impression of the girl was "nice lady in braids, beautiful big eyes!" Anyway, we had a good conversation and it hit me that these are the real things we don't talk about even though we all experience it in some form or another: feeling insignificant or not [insert word] enough. Ladies - you cannot let people get into your head to the point of eroding your confidence and/or belief in yourself. "Beauty" is only skin deep. Sure, life might be relatively ...

What does it mean to be a woman? That question might seem out of the blue, but given the whole gender saga concerning South Africa's 18-year old 800m athlete Caster Semenya, I think it's a pretty valid one. Many women would have numerous responses to that question, as would many men. It could range from descriptions of a woman's physique "...It means you have curves, breasts, annoying cramps, etc..." to observations on the emotional state "...Women are sensitive, emotional, caring, loving...", to allusions to women's roles "...She'll most likely have children one day, be a wife, take care of a household...", or it could come down to qualities "...She's strong, dignified, compassionate..." I googled "what does it mean to be a woman?" and came across some responses on Yahoo Answers (I absolutely love google and yahoo answers lol). Here are some of the responses: - From cloeen: "To love people! Help teach my ch...