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Popular marketing and brand strategist Lebo Lion has highlighted the dangers of toxic femininity in hindering progress at women empowerment events.
Speaking at an event to launch Women’s Month at the historic Lower Houghton Heritage building in Houghton, north of Johannesburg, Lion added that often attendees do themselves a disservice by not showing up to women’s powwow events as their authentic selves.
“When we go there with the expectation that we must all get along and that it’s going to be a cute, nice experience, we miss out on the opportunity to have meaningful, honest and authentic conversations,” the 33-year-old said.
“When we come to women empowerment events with the expectation that it’s meant to be a bed of roses, we fake our personalities and are not genuine to who we are because we don’t want to stand out. Women-centred spaces are an opportunity to have tough conversations where we can truly connect and empower one other.”
At the beginning of her session, Lion broke the ice by having guests rise to their feet, set their phones aside and recite affirmations that they were worthy and belonged in such spaces. Up next, she ruffled some feathers by encouraging guests to sit next to someone they met for the first time.
“We are more alike as women than we think, and we have had similar experiences with other women. Both good and bad. That’s the experience of womanhood,” she said.
Addressing toxic femininity, Lion says it disengages how women interact with one another as it pushes them to be competitive with others and passive-natured.
Reflecting on her life journey, Lion testifies to the power of having women in her life that moulded her to become who she is.
“The power of being around other women and trusting that they have my back has helped me become who I am. I’m standing on stage, representing all the women who made me who I am and did what they did so I could be here today,” she said
“Women are complicated beautiful creatures and toxic femininity limits our ability to express that. Have the audacity to be authentically you when you enter such spaces. Working and trusting in other women will always benefit you more than not.”
Lion shares her tips on how women can create authentic connections with other women at their next women empowerment event.
Centre yourself
We must centre ourselves if we want to create a safe space for ourselves and other women. We do this by prioritising ourselves and making our world about us rather than others. When we are centred, we learn how to trust ourselves and we can trust the experience that we have with other people.
Be vulnerable
Being vulnerable means that we allow things to unfold naturally regardless of what the outcome will be. This will take courage and strength. However, when we are not vulnerable, we miss out on having genuine interaction with people we don’t know and are closed-hearted to learning about things that we might not be well versed in.
Anticipate connecting with other women to be tough
When we interact with other women, we are asking them to trust us and be vulnerable with us and that is not an easy thing. Expect making a connection with other women to be a challenge, but not impossible.
Know your why
Many of us don’t have a strategy and a reason why we are attending empowerment events. Know who you are, what you are about and why you are attending this event with other women. Not every space will be a right fit for you. Seek to have meaningful connections that go beyond the reason of let’s be friends and go out for lunch because everyone in the room will have the same way as you. Women’s connections are meant to be intimate and have an impact, not just for vibes.
