In what ways? Are you more empowered now that you're a mom than you were before?

I feel much more empowered as a woman now that I am a mom to 2 little ones. My womb, breasts, hips, strength, tolerance for pain, patience, and kindness now all serve a purpose. Those attributes were being wasted before my boys were born. Now I have mommy strength ROAR!

It is amazing what you discover you can do some days that you wouldn't have even imagined before. Now it just comes in stride. And nice, so nice, when you are in the midst of what non-mommies would consider a nightmare and you know that there is a little pool of calm and content inside you based on all that love...

Makes me think of falling into the pool to Narnia, a whole new world that most people don't even know exists?

Just reading Aris' response again, and I have to agree. I know now that there are alot of talents I had inside that I wasn't using before I had my babies, or that maybe I didn't appreciate in myself before, like patience, tolerance, and strength. I also find that there are things I would have felt funny doing before on my own that I feel proud to do now. Like I never really bothered thinking about the environment before, and if I did, everyone around me would have thought I was crazy to start recycilng and such. Now I think about the world we are making for our children, and suddenly I am not embarassed to carry my own cloth bags into stores or to teach my daughter to pick up trash and put it in the right bin (and then wash her hands of course!). It makes ne feel good knowing now that I am teaching her to respect our world in a way I never did, sadly. I still get some funny looks from friends, and occasional criticism oddly that I am not doing enough - like if I have started recycling paper then why am I not using cloth diapers? I tell them, and I then also teach my daughter, that you do what you can and feel good about what you can, and try a little more everyday.

Is this a trick question? It took me a while to work out what "empowered as a woman" meant to me because my low days are lower than low, high days higher than high... I guess in this way my life as a woman has become more powerfully emotionally charged. But in the sense of the term "empowered as a woman" as it might usually be used... I tell you, sometimes I need reminding that I am useful on this planet for anything not child-related, and for anything child related I just don't do a good ENOUGH job as I SHOULD, so "empowered as a woman" wouldn't really be the right term.

But so that you don't think I'm a total depressive wet blanket, I will tell you about the first time I saw new life come in to this world. My friend Kerry and I used to go drinking every Wednesday night (ladies night) in Nagoya. Then she got pregnant, and since we were in Japan and I spoke Japanese, I helped translate throughout her pregnancy, and then was present at the birth.

In the ten minutes it took for her to actually push the child from her loins, I saw an ACTUAL physical transformation. Right before my eyes, my friend physically transformed from being, "Kerry, American girl living in Japan" to "Kerry, awesome worldly woman, mother of a child and queen of the entire universe". It literally took my breath away. (I don't know if Kerry would feel the same way about her own experience, she might laugh if she read this).

When I had my own first baby a couple of years later, I went from being "Sue, going from day to day having a reasonably good time of it" to "Sue, mother, queen of the universe and SUDDENLY so much to think about! What kind of pointless life was I ever leading before?"

So, I don't know if that summarizes my views to the trick question "Do you feel empowered as a woman", but it's my true and honest account of motherhood. :-)

I am not so sure I am empowered in the corporate business arena as a Woman. In fact, I am usually one of only a few women who attend the meetings I do.

I believe women are taken more seriously in business nowadays, but I think it is because laws were passed making it illegal to discrimate against being a woman, and businesses were afraid of having NO women on their staff, or upper management. If not for those laws, I honestly believe tlose few female-held upper management positions would still belong to men.

Being empowered as a Mom is different, and a diferent section in here.

Now, there is an empowerment for Women that I need to speak of, because it does exist, and that is sexual empowerment. There are many situations were women have the upper hand when it comes to sexual empowerment. I have found that men can and will do a lot when easily enticed with a sexdy female's attention. I'm not even talking intercouse really.

Have you ever noticed that when you flirt cutely with the male "so-and-so", that you get better service, or something that you need? Whether it's being invited to move ahead in line at the grocery store, to having men rush to aid you in something you are doing, or on the phone getting a CSR to give you what you need. The male responds to the female enticement, whether actual, potential, or just a dream of it. It is an empowerment, although there is a moral element as to whether or not to use this sexual persuasion. Heck, if it's important, I mean important, and doesn't do any harm, why not?