real life

Women share what makes them feel like a kick-arse woman in 2017.

Are you a kick-arse woman?

Well, you’re reading this, so we’re going to assume yes.

Not long ago, our very own Monique Bowley was sitting in a sandstone building, behind a (purely decorative) typewriter, next to an 18th century window, with her dog at her feet, when a brilliant idea came to mind.

Women, she realised, are friggin’ amazing, and every single day women all over the world do incredible things we rarely even hear about. And even when we do hear about them, the terms we use to describe their amazingness are sort of… awkward.

Boss? Boss lady? Queen? Eh.

What these women are, she thought, are kick-arse. And they’re not just kick-arse, but they’re doing things of kick-arsery. That’s important.

Deborah Lawrie changed Australia's aviation industry forever. She's a seriously kick arse woman. Image via SBS.

So Bowley picked up a dictionary from her bookshelf, turned to the letter K, scribbled out the word 'kurchis' (it's a type of tree - literally no one needs to know that), and added the word KWOK.

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It's all in capitals. Because it simply must be.

A KWOK, you see, is a kick-arse woman doing kick-arse things of kick-arsery, or for simplicities sake, a kick-arse woman of kick-arsery.

Of course, then she needed a definition. And that was the hard part. Because KWOKs come in all different forms. By their very nature, they're almost indefinable. Almost. 

So we went around the Mamamia office and asked women what they do that makes them feel like a kick arse woman. Here are their answers:

  • "Mentoring other women in a professional context." - Kahla. 
  • "Making other women feel comfortable in their skin." - Michelle. 
This single mum had the perfect outfit for dad's day at her son's school. She's so bloody kick arse. Image via Facebook.
  • "Saving women from gross guys in clubs." - Amy. 
  • "Saying 'no' more - professionally and personally." - Caity. 
  • "Not being afraid to ask for what I want in bed." - Susie. 
  • "Doing what I love, and doing it well." - Sarah. 
  • "Making an effort to pull other women up rather than tearing them down." - Elizabeth. 
  • "Looking after my friends in a meaningful way." - Lauren. 
  • "Feeding a whole human being out of my own body." - Jackie. 
Daniella Borg is a single mum to nine daughters. And she's studying. So kick arse. Image via Getty.
  • "Being the woman I needed when I was younger." - Jessie. 
  • "Praising other women when they do something brilliant." - Clare. 
  • "Being aware of the issues facing women and girls all over the world, and doing what I can to help. No matter how small." - Sophia.
  • "Being unashamedly myself." - Courtney. 

Of course, the answers were as diverse as the people providing them, but today, on International Women's Day, it's the perfect opportunity to celebrate all the ways women are kicking-arse, day after day.

What makes you feel like a kick-arse woman?