Any Sex and the City fan will recall that scene in the second movie where our four girls belt out one of the great female anthems in an Abu Dhabi karaoke bar. It is one of those definitive girl-power moments where you can’t but help get more than a little filled with the belief in limitless possibilities! Their performance gets the crowd to sing along (even the hunky Australian rugby team) as they declare:
“I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend!”
So on this, the 8th day of March 2011, we celebrate International Women’s Day and it is with these lyrics in mind that I write, in tribute, to the female of our species.
The ‘hear me roar’ part got me thinking about the females of other species… It really is a woman’s world in the animal kingdom!
With their history of female monarchs, I’ve always thought the Brits to be quite progressive, that is until I realised bees bow down only to a queen. Along with bees, females rule many other colonial insect species. But only the Queen Bee is truly fabulous!
Moving on in size, a truly giant female figure rules the Elephant world. Elephant societies are completely female-centric and the matriarch leads the herd in all aspects of life; through drought and the rainy season, birth, attack from predators and she also leads them in mourning after a death… a real modern woman!
On a more feminine, feline note, the lionesses has well, the lion’s share of girl power! Even though the dynamics are a little old school when it comes to ratio of males to females, the lionesses do the hunting and are successful because of their ability to work as a group and communicate (girls I know you are nodding your heads knowingly). They also have the ability to reprimand the males, the picture says it all ladies!
Perhaps the most odd, hilarious female in all the animal kingdom is the Hyena. Not only do the females prefer younger males in mating (the inter-species term cougar applies) but they also have the ability to make their genitals resemble the male’s ‘equipment’. This takes power dressing to a whole new level!
So, whether you are a career gal donning a suit to assert yourself, the mother who walks for hours to collect water for her tiny village, a feisty feline in leopard print out on the prowl or the wise and wonderful head of a family, Rhino Africa salutes you on Women’s Day!
With my foot still tapping to the girls and their karaoke, the final lines of the song seem only fitting:
“I am strong,
I am invincible,
I am woman
Oh, I am woman!”
Listen to ‘I am Woman’ for your dose of female power!
Lyrics to ‘I am Woman by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton