The Lioness Among Dogs: The Truth About Power, Permission, and Playing Our Own Damn Cards

I’m sitting here with my morning coffee, and I feel it in my bones.

That hum beneath the surface. That fire in the belly.

We’re waking up.

And the world? It’s shaking in its boots.

But before we talk about what’s next, let’s talk about what was.

🕰 A World Built for Men

History hasn’t been kind to women — not because we weren’t capable, but because we were never meant to have a seat at the table to begin with.

• In early car design, crash test dummies were modeled solely after the male body, which is why women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured in accidents.
• Office building standards? Temperatures are set to men’s metabolic rates. That’s why we’re freezing under fluorescent lights.
• Medical research is still largely based on male physiology, meaning women are more likely to be misdiagnosed, especially in areas like heart disease and chronic pain.
• Even our clothing reflects submission — pant suits, shoulder pads, and the constant tug-of-war between being sexy or serious.

This world wasn’t built for us.

It was built around us.

And we were taught to be grateful for whatever scraps of space we were offered.

 

👑 But the Cards Have Turned — IF We Choose to Play Them Differently

This isn’t about becoming more like men.

It’s about stopping the performance entirely.

Because true feminine power doesn’t come from mimicking male dominance.

It comes from walking into a room and being fully ourselves:

Soft. Wild. Quiet when we want to be. Loud when we must.

Untamed. Unapologetic. Wise. Sensual.

Not built to chase approval — but to move in alignment with truth.

We don’t need to win their game.

We need to flip the whole table.

 

🐾 We Are Not Looking for a Man — We Are Choosing the Least Dog Among Them

Here’s the truth we’ve been dancing around for centuries:

When a woman steps fully into her Goddess energy, men don’t know what to do with it.

So they bark. They flinch. They call us “too emotional” or “too much.”

They try to leash us, tame us, or distract us with empty praise.

But they can’t touch us — not really.

We are lionesses.

In a world of dogs.

And this isn’t about man-hating — it’s about man-decoding.

We are no longer asking to be claimed, chosen, or kept.

We’re choosing who we walk beside.

And it damn sure won’t be someone who’s intimidated by our power.

 

🌿 So What Now?

We stop waiting.

We stop asking.

We start living.

We get the tattoo.

We take the road trip.

We make the money.

We lead with our softness, our intuition, our fire.

Because the only thing more dangerous than a powerful woman…

…is a powerful woman who remembers she never needed permission.

 

💬 Your Turn

This is the beginning of my Unshrinking series — and I want to hear from you.

What have you been shrinking to survive?

What part of your truth is clawing its way back to the surface?

Come drop a comment below — I’m reading every one.

Let’s light this fire together.

🖤

Ash

American Wilderness Woman