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Meera Atkinson
 In the last 50 years, Australian women have broken through a number of stereotypes: the baby-producing housewife, dowdy career-obsessed spinster, or libertine bad girl.
But somewhere along the line the joy of having life options morphed into an insidious and self-esteem eroding pressure to have it all — the successful career, a good relationship, financial independence, thriving brood, solid friendships, eternal youth and a fabulous wardrobe.
Unpack the issues...
The average married Australian woman still does significantly more housework than her husband, holds down a job, ferries children back and forth from sporting and social events, and exercises in her so-called spare time to ensure she looks good while doing it all. The single Australian woman, on the other hand, can find herself on the other side of the Superwoman myth — free to pursue her career and social life with zeal but all too aware (and regularly reminded) of her biologically “ticking clock”. There are a number of books that explore the meaning and validity of the super-achieving woman of Proverbs 31 with titles like The Virtuous Woman: Shattering the Superwoman Myth and Super Mom Has Left the Building: Being a Proverbs 31 Woman in a 21st-Century World.  And in an article titled, “Superwoman or Super God?” by Marilyn Ehle (http://www.secretsofsuccess.com/article/superwoman.html), author and researcher Michele Bolton is quoted describing the less romantic reality of women: Women work three shifts. They work one shift at their workplace, a second shift at home taking care of their families, and a third shift in their minds, conducting a continuous inner dialogue of second-guessing whatever actions and decisions have filled their days… Women are expected to fulfill significant responsibilities and leadership roles at work — prove themselves — and also retain a nurturing, other-oriented role in the family and broader community. There are, of course, women who refuse the Superwoman trap, who simply make the choices they make with confidence that they are the right choices for them. Nonetheless, whatever path they choose, few escape the Superwoman burden completely and some wrangle long and hard with the myth and with their options before making their peace. The wellbeing of women (and men and children by association) depends not on a woman having it all but on her capacity to live an authentic life. The spiritual life of a woman — her ability to tap into her innermost self to create her life and relate to the world from there — is where her real power lies. The truly powerful woman may not present as perfect. She may be messier and more fallible than the Superwoman image allows, and she may not have it all but she is, in her humanity and complexity, alive and liberated in the most important sense.
Unpack the issues...Discussion points Further reading
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