We all have a picture in our head of a side-show strongman. He looks like a hairless gorilla with huge pecs and arms. (Incidentally, the strongman in my head is also wearing a tight red wrestler onesie and has a huge package out front that says “Hello Baby” when I stare at it. That is a whole other article).
We think of strong men lifting heavy things, carrying guns, working night shifts and breaking rock in the hot sun. Those are the traditional images of strength. Women’s strength is more familiarly rooted in the act of silent forbearance. The expected strength of bearing up under widowhood and often the tolerance of a bad situation makes people say “She is so strong”.
I don’t know, but I think in all of human history that by now we could come up with something a little more reflective of what it really means to be strong.Finding the strength to get through life is so much more complex than carrying heavy things, working night shift or burying your husband and then keeping up with the rent.
Some might say that true strength is making an appointment with the gynecologist and showing up.
