FEMININITY IN QUESTION, PART II: WHAT DO WOMEN EXPECT FROM THEIR MEN?

In February, LIFE Spa considered traditional female roles in the family, and participants reflected on the functions they find themselves serving in their families. Central to the event's discussion was engaging women in understanding how they had come to their positions, and empowering them to consciously choose the roles that would best serve them and their families.

Participants of the March 18 LIFE Spa event "Femininities in Question, Part II: What do Women Expect from their Men?" extended the theme of February's event, exploring female roles in the family vis-à-vis male roles, probing the traditional dichotomy of male/female. Based on the premise that one can often better understand one's own role in counterdistinction to the roles of others, the ten women in attendance considered the binary of male and female through the lens of roles in the family, gaining insight into their own relationships with the men in their families.

Like February's "Femininities in Question: Are Traditional Female Roles Relevant for Me?", the March LIFE Spa gathering focused on women in relation to the family. After a short presentation, small groups discussed their expectations of men, what to do when expectations conflicted, and how they came to those expectations.

Vigorous discussion ensued as women shared their personal experiences with their fathers, husbands, and children, as well as their personal journeys of acceptance and growth in developing those relationships. Just as in the February event, LIFE Spa's goal was to foster a conscious awareness of each woman's roles in and expectations of her family as a foundation for effecting positive change.

SAVE THE DATE

LIFE Spa's next event, "Personal Journeys: Women Who Made a Difference," will be held on Sunday, April 22. Expanding upon previous topics centered on personal exploration and women in relation to families, April's event will focus on women as agents of change. "Personal Journeys" will be a discussion of what inspired women to impact their communities, and will serve as a springboard to help participants effect change in their own communities.