by Mandy Hsu
Founded in 2010 by four young women, Womany.net is a website that provides services for reading, shopping, and lifestyle and features diverse viewpoints on fashion, sex, health, career, and travel, as well as interviews by worldwide authors and designer items from all parts of the globe. After registering as a member you can create style walls showcasing your photos, articles, and fashion products. You can also browse the walls of other users and connect with friends by giving hugs and flowers. Unlike other websites such as PIXNET, PayEasy, or Facebook, in which the focus is on one field only, Womany.net has everything you need just like a department store. It also aims to satisfy the spiritual aspects of women. It helps women to understand themselves more deeply and better informs men about the attitudes of modern women. But the background of its founders is also fascinating. I first met Wei Shuan Chang, CEO and co-founder, when she attended a lecture class at NTU. I was immediately attracted by her stylish haircut, but soon the whole class was filled with excitement and admiration, touched by her passion towards life and inspired by her amazing stories. Being interested in gender since her childhood, she shared many stories for us. During Chinese New Year, for example, she noticed that male relatives were always given more money than female ones. Even in her mother’s generation, girls could only consume chicken feet and were strictly forbidden to eat other parts. This is because chicken feet were believed to be a symbol of a woman’s illiteracy. But she also knew that throughout history women had a significant influence that generally went unnoticed and unrecorded. These phenomena were so fascinating to her that she was driven to study history at NTU, after which she went on to obtain an M.A in Media and Culture at the London School of Economics. When Shuan studied in London she found most women to much more comfortable in their own skin. Every woman on the street seemed to be unique and it was hard to define who was more beautiful. But women in Taiwan seemed to lack the confidence to flaunt their own style and personality. For example, when talking about beauty in Taiwan everyone seems to identify with one particular person or one typical image. Shuan observes that Taiwanese women conjure a one-size-fits-all conception of the type of woman they aspire to be and they follow it closely. The result is that they are unable to express themselves as they truly are. But we do not necessarily have to follow the rules of our culture; rules were meant to be challenged and broken, and therefore we should just be ourselves. Beauty has a multitude of definitions and does not revolve around a single type: “So long as you think you’re beautiful, you truly are.“ “Women are many.“ This was what the professor wrote on the blackboard in the Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies course which Shuan took at NTU. Not long after, it became the origin of her website’s name, Womany. Traditionally, women and men are regarded as two groups constantly confronting and oppressing each other. According to such a conception, women are always thought of as an entity and we tend to disregard the differences between them. For instance, women in New York differ from women in Beijing, career girls are dissimilar to housewives, and women working in an office are unlike women operating their own B&B. That’s what the statement means, women have various aspects. Because of these differences, every woman on earth is unique and gorgeous. Connecting the dots, Shuan found her true calling. She invited three of her friends to become entrepreneurs. They expanded this basic idea and made it an even clearer slogan: “Women are many, and you are the only” Womany.net hopes to empower women and to help them find confidence: to let them know that they are good enough and can gain the freedom of being who they are. Also, they hope to make women believe that it is the greatest happiness to be a woman. As Shaun’s faithfully believes, only when you love yourself will you have the ability to love others. You can make the world a better place because you are good enough to do so. Despite lacking the technical knowledge of setting up a website, these girls eventually overcame very difficult odds. Imagine that they created a business enterprise on their own! But Shuan doesn’t take it that way. She said it is no big deal to own a business. It is just a pathway for the founders to realize their dreams. She knows it from her heart that it is her vocation. For her, it is more important to do what she wants than what others expect her to accomplish. As she told me: ”My idea is pretty simple. We don’t have previous existences and an afterlife. We only live once. No matter what we do, what we get or what we lose, we should engage in whatever we want.” At the end of the interview, I asked Shuan to give some advice for women in their twenties. She mentioned three things. First of all, she encourages them to visit Womany.net and broaden their horizons. The contributions made by authors from all over the world will enable viewers to realize that every part of the world is distinct. We will find out that what we have gotten used to knowing is not necessarily meant to be so. We will begin to ponder deeper. If you feel Womany.net is inspiring, she added, then what our team has accomplished is indeed worthwhile. As for the future, she suggested that we should not be anxious about what lies ahead. Just follow your heart, using every moment to do what you intend to. Eventually, all the dots will naturally be connected and all the seeds you planted will ultimately sprout. As for advice on chasing dreams, she says: “Stay brave, stay loved.” You have to be brave to gain the courage to chase after what you love. When you do what you want you have to love it, or you will lack the courage to pursue it. a
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|