It seems that culturally, we like to divide people, things, words, and everything into categories. Probably something to do with our biology or an evolutionary need to determine if things feel "safe" for us to eat or interact with. 

Strawberries = safe ; Juniper berries = Poison. 

So it makes sense that we would want to put people or things into other categories. But sometimes those categories are limiting and we need to push out against their limits.

Happy Girl/Lady/Woman/Womxn

Happy is often a trait that we associate with women or feminine behavior. How many times, as a woman, have you heard, "If you just smiled more, you'd be more approachable/prettier/have a partner" or been shouted at to "smile" by a man on the street?  

Ugh, right?! Why is it that women are the ones expected to light up a room or put a smile on to make other people feel better?

Happy can be fierce too. It can be masculine and it can be powerful. Just think about how much power those smiles must hold, if people are asking for them all the time?

How much power that feminine smirk of Mona Lisa's has had over the art world for centuries?

Happiness isn't a sign of femininity, it is a sign of the power we have to hold ourselves open and embrace who we are. 

Rebellion Belongs To Women Too!

When many people think of rebellion, they think of masculine energy, the color black, and anger. The whole point of Happy Rebel is that we are NOT angry rebels. We may experience anger, but our rebellion comes out of a place of banding together, not creating more differences or divides. 

Anger isn't masculine. Women have been feeling anger (and often stuffing it down) since the beginning of male-dominated societies. 

History has shown that women can get angry, get rebellious, and create the change we want to see in the world. 

Raise a fist today, Happy Rebels of all genders, identities, and abilities.

You are the change. You have the power. Use it.