The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, "It's a girl."  ~Shirley Chisholm
 

(The following Editorial was written for the February 2007 issue of Power Exchange Magazine, if you would like to link to it or post it on your website please make sure to give me credit as the article is copyrighted. This article is not available for reprint!)

The Power of Women

I am women hear me roar

Words and Music by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

CHORUS
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

 When I first sat down to write this editorial I started off writing about Leather Women, after all that is what this issue is dedicated too. It didn’t take me long before I ran into problems, so here I sit two days before it is due rewriting the whole thing. That is where the idea came for me to write about the power of women, and of course my right as a woman to change my mind.

 Women are powerful, not just a statement but the truth, we are strong, resilient, emotional, and a force to be reckoned with. We are also feminist, right wing republican, conservatives, liberals, democrats, housewives, mothers, Christians, and every other religious order you can possibly name. We are lawyers, doctors, housewives, scientist, nurses, teachers, writers, actors, and every profession under the sun.  If all that wasn’t enough we are also the givers of life, if we so choose.  

 As women we did not always have the options to be anything we wanted to be, in fact there was a time when we had little option, and choices were made for us.  Yes, there are men out there that would still like it to be that way, so I rejoice in the fact that those days are long gone!!

 For those of us that are in our 50’s and 60’s, we had been raised by parents who were born during WWI and/or the depression. They expected us to live the great American dream, to get married, have 2.5 children, a nice home, and to be happily married. (I never could understand the 2.5 children; how you have half a child I have yet to figure out! ) The sad fact is many of us did this until a day came that we knew in our collective hearts that we could no longer live for our parents, we stepped out of the shadows and took a walk on the wild side of life. 

 The 1960’s and the sexual revolution were instrumental in helping us take that leap, and what a leap it was.  Erica Jong’s book “The Fear of Flying” showed us that marital sex was not the only way to fly! For those of us that were gay, we found our feet and decided that a life lived in a lie was detrimental to our sanity.  Our motto is “I am out and I am proud!”

 We should never forget the women that went before us to pave the way, they gave us a firm foundation to stand on and grow into the women we are today! They fought for the right to go to the polls and vote; they fought for equal pay for equal work.  Just in my lifetime alone I have seen women make advancements that were unheard of in my mothers’ time. In her time the choices for women were far and few between, you could be a nurse, school teacher, or secretary, of course there  were always the exception to the rule, a few women went onto become doctors, scientist, and the like, but as I stated they were the exception not the rule.

 Today my granddaughter can be anything she chooses to be, the choices that lay before her are astronomical, and I am sadden that I might not be around to see what she becomes. I think for me just knowing is enough!

 All this brings me back to Leather Women, for there was a time when even the Leather scene was majority male, but today the face of Leather is changing at a rapid pace. Women attending Leather events in their full Leather are a glorious sight for these old eyes.

 Women in power is not a new phenomenon, we have been around since Eve first took a bite of the apple and convinced Adam to do the same. Like the butterflies, we have emerged and taken on leadership roles in our communities. For many years at every major event in the country, women have been giving lectures, workshops, and presentations.  

 We are role models, guides, and inspiration to other women; we can no longer be discounted because of our femininity. For us finding the balance between being leather and being a woman and being a woman of leather, can sometimes be a struggle.  As a friend of mine just wrote; “There are times that I want to scream from the rooftops, I'm a girl! I have hips and curves and breasts and I want to paint my nails pink if I want to, do not discount what I have to say just because I don’t fit your "model" of what a woman of leather should look like, when you start closing off your mind to change you start to die as a person and your journey begins its end.”

 As Leather Women, we are Masters, Mistress’s, Ladies, Sirs, Daddies, Tops, slaves, submissives, girls, boi’s, puppies, and bottoms. We revel in our Leather and wear it proudly. We live by the same mottos that Leather Men live by, Honor, Integrity, Loyalty, Respect, and Family!

 The list of BDSM Leather women only groups throughout the United States is on the rise.  Although the corporate world is behind in its advancement of women, that cannot be said for our communities.

 The battle of the sexes has slowly changed when it comes to the BDSM Leather community, our male counterparts not only acknowledge us, but encourage us to push our own limits and become the best we can be.

 Although this issue is dedicated to Female Master in the BDSM Leather scene, I cannot forget our female counterparts in the Pansexual community for they too are important to the rise of women taking their place in the political arena of BDSM.    

 The question often gets asked would I still be a Master without a slave, my answer is simple “of course”.  The same goes for the slaves, you can not discount a slave heart just because they have not found the right Master yet.  It takes strength to continue the search for the right Master or slave, and at times the frustration level can go through the roof, but it is worth the search when you finally find that individual that fits.

 This year at Master Retreat more women were present then ever before, as women find their path in BDSM Master/slave relationships and as more and more of them take the dominant role the need for them to look for advanced education is on the rise.  Women that are receiving their Master Covers by their peers are also on the rise.  I am very proud of the women that stand beside me in the Sisterhood of Leather.

 The power of women is strength, wisdom, intuition, emotion, caring, love, tenderness, empathy, tears, pain, heartache, chivalry, control, sisterhood, heart, femininity, wisdom and indomitable spirit.

 In Leather Sisterhood

 Master Ces Williams

©2007 Master Ces Williams