When I use the term “21st Century Amazon” I don’t want you to think that I’ve got some kind of anti-man feminist agenda, or that I want to populate an island with a race of she-hulks. When I picture the tribe, I simply picture a community of strong and confident women coming together with a goal of self-sufficiency.

Self sufficient is the best way I can sum up what a modern amazon should live. I means that you are smart enough, strong enough, and skilled enough to deal with whatever life throws at you. My shtick here is mostly going to be about strong, as in physically strong. I’ll talk about picking up large heavy objects and eating to fuel the effort involved in picking up large heavy objects. Sometimes I may go off on a tangent though, and talk about the evils of debt or how to raise your youngins’. Please bear with me, it’s usually only temporary.

There has been a big swinging pendulum in the world of women in the last century, and I think we’re still coming to terms with it. Though we’ve cast off the “shackles” of our homemaker grandmothers we are still very much told or shown what a woman should be. Not a person, a woman. There are some things that the modern world is telling us women that just don’t make sense. Imagine you are an amazon warrior, and you are suddenly transported right here, right now. How would you view some of the things that women do, or don’t do?

For example; why is it that it’s appropriate for a woman to enjoy running, or spin class, or yoga, but the weight room is still a male-dominated zone? Why is the barbecue so often a man’s cooking tool? Why are we supposed to eat salads while the men eat steak? What is with the media image of a woman who has no control over her spending habits when it comes to shoes? Women don’t have the willpower to resist chocolate? Really? I didn’t realize that was all dependent on having a double-X chromosome.

On the other end of the pendulum I think we’ve discounted some valuable skills because we link them to our past opression. I’ve met women who brag that they don’t know how to cook. How many women toss a perfectly good pair of pants out when they loose a button? The lack of skill in these things doesn’t make us better, it makes us stupid.

A self-sufficient 21st Century Amazon is:

Smart enough to make wise choices. It also means being accountable for your choices, good or bad.

Strong enough to meet the physical demands of life. That means boring daily things like opening jars and carrying groceries, as well as preparedness for an emergency.

Skilled enough to meet the necessities of life. It’s all about DIY ladies. Having the skill to change your own tire doesn’t mean you have to do it, just that you can.

So ask yourself this: was there a time this week that I made an effort to be smarter, stronger, or more skilled?