Have you ever read an excellent piece of writing that has inspired you? Perhaps it brought tears to your eyes, caused you to laugh out loud or made you tingle from head to toe. This article gives five examples of excellent womxn’s empowerment essays that you should read. It then gives some suggestions on how to write your own empowerment essay.

The word womxn is chosen in this article in order to encompass women, as well as transgender, non-binary and queer folk, who choose to identify with womxnkind. There is a live debate in society right now regarding whether inclusion within the category of ‘woman’ is a matter of biological sex, or gender. To put it simplistically, if being a woman relates to sex, this limits the opportunities for those who were not born female to self-identify as a woman. If being a woman is a matter of gender identity, this widens the opportunity for individuals to self-define as a woman, regardless of their appearance, the sex in which they were born, or other characteristics. Several of these womxn empowerment essays engage with this topic by discussing the relationship between sex and gender. Different authors have different opinions regarding what the word woman should mean. The spelling ‘womxn’ is used to be inclusive, whilst acknowledging the belief of many Feminists that it is legitimate to reserve the term ‘women’ for those who meet certain biological criterion.

Five womxn’s empowerment essays that you should read

There is a plethora of wonderful essays on womxn’s empowerment. The following articles span a time period of 1929 to the present day, and include writers from Africa, the United States, Australia, and Europe.  Each of these essays speak to different aspects of womxn’s experiences.

We should all be Feminists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author who discovered that she was a Feminist when she was fourteen years old, in an argument with a childhood friend. In this essay, she discusses her experience as a Nigerian woman who views herself as a Feminist. Speaking of society’s tendency to place men in leadership positions, she says ‘if we see the same thing over and over again, it becomes normal.’ She quotes Kenyan Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai saying ‘The higher you go, the fewer women there are’ and questions why this is the case. Whilst Ngozi Adichie acknowledges the role of biological differences between men and women, she argues that socialization ‘exaggerates these… and then starts a self-fulfilling process.’ She therefore urges us to look towards ‘[a] world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves.’ Ngozi Adichie suggests that in order to improve the position of women in the future, ‘we must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently.’

Transgender: A dialogue In this essay, philosophers Sophie-Grace Chappell and Holly Lawford-Smith engage in a discussion regarding the identity of trans women. By entering a meaningful dialogue, they attempt to address some of the divisions that have arisen with the LGBTQI movement regarding how trans people should be identified within discussions of sex, gender, and sexual orientation.

Chappell speaks out against some of the negative stereotypes which have arisen against trans women. For example, she notes tendencies within society to sexualise transwomen and to suggest that transwomen are a sexual threat to other women. These stereotypes are then used to support arguments to exclude trans women from female only spaces such as bathrooms, despite the absence of evidence to suggest that trans women present a real risk to women. Chappell suggests that rather than being a constraint, gender is a script, which individuals can use creatively when presenting themselves to others.

In response, Lawford-Smith describes herself as a gender-critical feminist. She argues that rather than a flexible script, gender is experienced by many women as cage, which oppresses them. She cites examples of domestic violence, child marriage, and forced prostitution. She suggests that the female physiology is intrinsically linked to these disadvantages. Therefore, rather than focusing on the right to define your own gender identity, Lawford-Smith, argues in favor of the abolition of gender.

One of the highlights of this piece is that the two authors discuss how trans women and other feminists can be allies to each other in their movement towards empowerment.

The uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism Audre Lorde was an African-American Feminist, who spoke about race, gender and sexuality. In this speech, given in 1981, she speaks about the anger that she felt as a black woman responding to racism. She describes this as an anger ‘of exclusion, of unquestioned privilege, of racial distortions, of silence, ill-use, stereotyping, defensiveness, misnaming, betrayal and co-optation.’ Lorde asks society to confront this anger, and not to simply indulge in guilt which she argues is ‘only another form of objectification.’ She expresses the hope that this anger can be used to create a world ‘where all our sisters can grow, where our children can love, and where the power of touching and meeting another woman’s difference and wonder will eventually transcend the need for destruction.’

Why be non-binary? In this essay Robin Debroff, an assistant professor at Yale University, discusses the suffocating nature of male and female identities, which, they suggest ‘weld gender to assigned sex.’ They give the example of an experience of being searched at an airport, and feeling frustrated by the determination of the security official to place them neatly in the category of male or female. Debroff questions society’s insistence upon categorising men and women. Being non-binary, they argue, is an ‘escape hatch’ through which it is possible to transcend gendered expectations.

A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf is English writer, who was born in 1882. In this essay, she speaks about the challenges of being a female author. The title of the essay relates to her need to assert her independence, especially her financial freedom, in order to write fiction. Woolf laments the ‘reprehensible poverty of our sex.’ Whilst the world has moved on since her time, women are still more likely to live in poverty than men. In many instances, women still earn less than men for the same work, and struggle to get recognised for their intellectual contributions to society. Woolf deserves a space on this list because, in the era of our great grandparents, she wrote about women’s empowerment issues that still resonate with us today.

Top tips for writing your own womxn’s empowerment essay

1. Define your goal: Before you start writing, ask yourself: what change would you like to see in the world? For example: you believe in better protection of the human rights of sex workers. Over the course of your essay, you need to convey to your readers how you think this change could be achieved. Perhaps you believe that sex work should be de-criminalised. What would need to change in society to make this possible? What are the potential barriers to achieving this goal and how can they be overcome?

2. Identify the key debates: On social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn, ethical debates rage between academics, authors, celebrities and politicians. Sometimes these discussions miss the point, and lack the nuances and depth of a good essay. However, looking at the dialogues which are taking place on these platforms may help you to identify the pressure points that are inspiring people to join the conversation. In your essay, you should give your perspective on these controversial aspects of your topic.

3. Check your facts, tell the story: Statistics are a great way to back your argument. However, bad science is rife on the internet, and even in reputable publications. Statistics are often quoted out of context, and can be misleading. Make sure that you understand the figures that you are using. If a number seems suspicious or ambiguous, check it out before using it. Remember that one incorrect fact could discredit your entire argument. Some researchers believe facts and statistics aren’t an effective way to convince people. Instead they suggest to use stories to help people empathize and relate.

5. Acknowledge your influences: Have you ever got up in the pouring rain to go and stand at a protest? What, or who inspired you to do that? Perhaps it was reading Michelle Obama’s autobiography, or discovering that Greta Thunberg donated her award money to climate activists. Maybe it was hearing of the personal experiences of a friend. Tell your readers about who drew you to speak about your topic. Where you use the ideas of other people, make sure that you credit them by referencing their works correctly. By doing so, you can contribute to the debate, whilst acknowledging those who came before you.
6. Ask questions of your readers: We have all caught ourselves scrolling aimlessly on our smart phones. You realise you have lost several minutes of your life doing so, with no recollection of the information that you have absorbed during that time. Don’t let your readers have this experience when reading your essay! Keep their attention by asking them to ask difficult questions of themselves. The best writers encourage us to examine our own biases and fallibilities, whilst also motivating us to be better, and convincing us not to lose hope. Read the first and last line of your favourite empowerment essay, and think about why they are fantastic and thought-provoking. Then use similar rhetorical devices to go out and inspire others.

The post Womxn’s Empowerment Essays: Examples and Writing Tips appeared first on Human Rights Careers.

If you are passionate about human rights, pursuing post-graduate studies specialising in this topic is a wonderful opportunity. Not only will you be increasing your employability in the human rights sector, you also give yourself the chance to broaden your academic horizons and acquire new skills. This article gives tips regarding how to conduct a research study as part of your LLM in human rights.

What is an LLM?

An LLM is a masters in law. Usually, to be eligible to apply for an LLM you will need to have completed an undergraduate degree in law. However some universities offer this course to those who have studied other related disciplines such as psychology, sociology and philosophy. One of the many advantages of a multi-disciplinary course is that you will have the chance to discuss human rights issues with colleagues from diverse academic, social and geographical backgrounds.

Usually, an LLM is between 12 months and two years long. A human rights LLM can be coursework only, or dissertation only, but is often a combination of both. You can expect to  take elective coursework components on topics such as International Law, Refugee Law and Women’s rights. Most LLMs require the student to submit a dissertation, for the whole, or part of their course credits.

What is an empirical research study?

An empirical research study is an original project, where you gather and analyse your own data, rather than relying on data from someone else’s research. Whilst often a dissertation will be a desk-based exercise, some universities allow the student to undertake their own independent research project.

Empirical research projects take longer, and involve more practical challenges than simply using the existing literature. However, getting out into the field and conducting your own research can be immensely rewarding and you will walk away with a researcher skill set that will set you apart from your fellow students.

What are the main stages to an LLM human rights research study?

The process for conceptualising and undertaking a human rights research study can be broken down into the following stages.

Check the protocol at your university: Each university has its own policies surrounding research studies. The first step is to speak with your course convener to find out if it is possible to do empirical research as part of your course. Then check what steps you will need to follow to obtain approval from your university to undertake the research.

1 Find a supervisor: Good supervisors get snapped up early in the academic year, so waste no time in finding a supervisor who is willing to work with you. Meet with a few different potential professors to get their perspective on your ideas, and to see who you click with. If you get brushed off, don’t be disheartened, but do take on board constructive feedback at this early stage of your thought process.

2 Pick a topic: Easier said than done. You may know that you want to look at the financial struggles of undocumented migrants, but how will you access this population to gather data? What kind of data will you measure, and how will you check if the information is correct? Remember, an LLM research study is likely to be a time-bound exercise, with limited resources. Therefore you need to pick a small and manageable topic. You should also consider if there are likely to be significant obstructions in gathering your data – for example, will you have to wait for many months for government approval to access the data that you need? If so, think about the impact of this delay upon the completion of your studies. Is it worth it? If your supervisor thinks your idea is unrealistic, pick a more straightforward subject to research.

3 Read, and then read more: So you’ve got an idea, and your supervisor agrees that it is a worthy topic of research. The next step is to read as widely and deeply as possible. Break your idea down into key concepts and research each of these individually. For example, say you are looking at rates of recidivism amongst juvenile offenders in New York City. You would want to read around understandings of recidivism more widely, and how the term has been defined by different authors. You would also want to look into previous studies in the same area on the same topic. Think about which studies draw you in and which you instinctively reject. Explore why. What has not been covered? Try to find a small niche for yourself where there hasn’t been any recent research.

4 Write a research proposal: This is possibly the trickiest part of the process. Having read far and wide, you now need to zone in, in order to define your research question. Make sure you set yourself a question that you can answer with the data that you intend to collect. You then need to condense what you have read into a succinct summary. Try to avoid simply describing the topic; instead, move into an analytical space where you are framing the information that you have absorbed in your own words, in a way which is tailored to your research question. Write some persuasive prose about why your proposed study is worthwhile.

5 Decide upon your methodology: You need to decide how you are going to go about obtaining the information that you need in order to answer your research question. Are you a numbers person, if so you might lean towards quantitative research, which involves working with large volumes of information, such as survey data, and interpreting the findings as statistics. Or perhaps you are someone that prefers to paint a picture with words? If that is the case then you might prefer to conduct qualitative research. This is more likely to involve periods of observation, and/or in-depth interviewing of your participants. Perhaps you can do a mixture of numbers and words; this is known as mixed methods research. Whatever you choose, you need to explain why your chosen method is the best and most practical way to approach your study.

6 Obtain ethical clearance: Where you are working with human participants, it is very likely that you will need ethical approval from your university to complete the research. Usually this will involve you making an application to the ethics committee, where you submit your research proposal and explain how you are going to protect the individuals involved in your research, and the wider community, from harm. You will need to think about whether the proposed benefits of your study are likely to outweigh the risks. For example, say you are working with former gang members. You may feel that they would benefit from the opportunity to reflect on their experiences, and get their voice heard. Perhaps their story will help the government understand what kind of interventions are effective; maybe it will help other young people avoid falling into the same trap. However, is there a risk that they may be identified in your research, even if you take steps to protect their confidentiality? What kind of issues could this cause? Before approving your research, the ethics committee may ask to meet with you to discuss this balancing exercise.

7 Collect your data: This is the fun part! Now you get the chance to go out into the field, and putting your hypotheses to the test. Perhaps you are going into different courts, police stations or prisons. However, research can be just as interesting when it is close to home. You could collect information from internet forums or from your local neighbourhood watch scheme. Wherever you are, keep a notepad with you and, in addition to your data, record your personal observations as you go. How did you feel walking into the space? Did you feel safe? If not, why not? How did you feel when you got home at the end of the day? What was similar to expected, and what was different? If an aspect of the study did not go as intended, note this down. When you come to your write up, these reflections will comprise an important part of your findings.

8 Analyse your data: Now, you’re back at your desk. You may have a stack of audio recordings to transcribe, or a pile of surveys that you need to transfer to a spreadsheet. Once your data is all in one place, you need to develop a procedure for interpreting it in order to draw conclusions from your research. Often, this will involve coding, where you thematise your participants’ responses into different categories. For example, say you ask your participants what could improve the criminal justice process. You may want to categorize their answers into groups such as: access to information; better legal representation; shorter wait for a trial date, etc. Analysing your data in a logical way will help you identify patterns.

9 Write up your findings: This is your time to shine. You need to lay out your literature review, methodology and findings. Then, you need to take a step back and discuss the conclusions that can be drawn from your findings. What does the research tell us as a whole? Does a certain piece of data fall outside of the norm. If so, what might have caused that? You can also explore the limitations of the study, and the potential subjects of future research.

Conducting an LLM human rights research study is a rewarding process. Whatever the fallibilities of your project, you are guaranteed to learn from your experiences. Empirical research can help you realise where your passions lie in the human rights field, as well as giving you an insight into how researchers develop an evidence base for new law and policy. Participating in a research project will also offer you new perspectives and resources with which to tackle human rights conundrums in your future career.

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