“If you are the girl, the woman who feels like she is never enough, that she will never be as strong, as good, as capable, I am here to tell you that you are enough. I am here to tell you that while it shouldn’t have been your burden, you can write a different story.”
The title of this book stands for everything within it; you truly do feel stronger when you have finished it. Poorna Bell covers many incredibly challenging topics that the majority of women either have or will eventually face in their lifetime, focusing on equalities and inequalities that surround us as women, from hers and many others’ own experiences. Bell discusses the topic of fitness and strength and how women can do these things without it just having to be for weight loss, but rather for the mind.
She also raises the fact that because we are women, this doesn’t mean we aren’t as capable of being just as good at sports and fitness as men. Exercise should be a time for our mental health and our physical wellbeing – not another place to be discriminated against based on our gender. We are allowed to call people out for being sexist towards us; we are allowed to do things that men do and not have to be belittled because we are female; we should be able to do something and be praised just like a man would.
Bell highlights some of the gender issues within sports by mentioning that when she was at school, she was told she had to wear short skirts, yet the boys could wear shorts. Even today, this is an issue for women – earlier this year, during the Euro 2021 Tournament, a Norwegian women’s handball team was fined due to their refusal to play in bikini bottomed uniform during the game.
Bell dissects the unfair and sexist challenges that we as women are taught from such young ages, including the concept that women cannot do certain things because we ‘aren’t as strong as men’ or because it’s a ‘man’s sport’, which instantly seeps into our minds as young women, making us believe we are unable to do something before we have even tried. Bell transforms these concepts and shows us how to unlock our inner strength to be our strongest both physically and mentally, by ourselves.
She goes even further by sharing the stories of many other women regarding topics such as race, age and social background, which completely shatter these outdated, traditional beliefs about women, replacing them with the truths of being able to find strength mentally and physically. Women don’t just need to do sports simply to lose weight, but rather to enjoy themselves and stay strong and healthy, regardless of your size, race, age, background or gender.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
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