I came across a reel on reproductive health issues and feminine energy shared by gree_yogabhyasi. I was nodding when she spoke about how feminine energy gets impacted by the pressures women face in trying to balance, achieve, and be perfect in everything that they do. I should have stopped at that, but I scrolled through the comments section. It is appalling to see many women's aggressive comments and the misconceived notion that feminine energy equals cooking 4 meals a day for the family. It is such a narrow, biased view that our society has brainwashed women with, in the past 2-3 decades.
The corporate workplace requires a certain aggressive mindset to push yourself (and others if you are leading a team). It also needs a competitive mindset to thrive, "belong", contribute and be visible in the male-dominated culture. This mindset would imply being proactive in taking up new initiatives, getting your voice heard in meetings when strategic decisions are made, and putting in long hours. Women also tend to take on a lot of mundane operational work that others are hesitant to take up - sending meeting notes, coordinating between teams, and project planning, though these may not be part of her KRAs.
If someone is content with having a job that pays without much ambition to rise the ladder, there may not be much of a pressure.
But for women who are ambitious by nature, there is a lot of self-inflicted pressure, expectations from others, and multiple responsibilities that will help them rise in their careers.
The feminine qualities of empathy, care, active listening, collaboration, balance, and creativity aren't valued much, especially if you are in the male-dominated IT sector. This in turn forces women to adopt masculine traits such as aggression, competitiveness, and power-seeking behaviors to be on par with men.
The responsibilities at home continue to be predominantly on her shoulders (though she might get "help" from her spouse if she is lucky). When child care and elderly care categories get added to her list of responsibilities, it is natural that her inner energies will get into a state of conflict, which then manifests into reproductive health issues.
Having gone through hormonal imbalances/PCOD and reversed the same, I strongly believe in the role of feminine energy that needs to be protected and nurtured for the sake of her well-being. Yoga plays a pivotal role in realigning and balancing our energies, along with changes to overall lifestyle and embracing feminine traits without any guilt.
Feminine energy is not about cooking and taking care of the family. Let's get away from such a narrow mindset.
Our role is way beyond that. We have the power to shape the society through our inherent qualities.
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