11 things a strong woman would never apologize for

We live in a society where it’s expected for women to say sorry for almost everything.

Well, strong women are tired of that.

As far as they’re concerned, as long as they’re not hurting anybody, they see no need to apologize for the things they do (or don’t do).

Here are the things a strong woman will never ever apologize for.

1) Saying “No”

For some reason, women are expected to be nice and agreeable all the time. It’s as if we expect them to give an automatic “yes” to every favor we ask them.

So when they say a solid “no” to something, most people get surprised. Some would even get offended and call them a b*tch for it.

It’s as if these people can’t believe that a woman could say no to a “simple” thing they ask.

A strong woman would give herself all the right to say NO to every single thing she really doesn’t want to say yes to…and she won’t feel an ounce of guilt for it.

She doesn’t care if her “no” would make people hate her. She doesn’t live to be liked in the first place!

2) Prioritizing herself

Women are seen as nurturers—the martyr heroes who’d willingly sacrifice their own happiness to take care of everyone around them.

Mothers and wives are praised for this, making us think that the ideal woman should always be selfless all the time.

But a strong woman has unsubscribed to this a long time ago. She knows that it doesn’t make her a bad woman (a bad person, really) to put herself first.

She knows her worth and she takes care of herself before she would even think of taking care of others. And if others think she’s not a “good woman” for doing so, well…it’s none of her business.

3) Standing up for what she believes in

If she has a strong opinion on something, she won’t hold herself back. She’ll speak her mind…because hey, why not?!

Of course, she does it without attacking others.

She has manners and even if she’s engaged in a very serious argument, she makes sure she still puts her point across in the most respectful manner.

Strong women are not crass or disrespectful, but they’re often seen as one just by simply speaking up, sadly. They’re labeled as “stubborn” or “difficult” which is very much unfair if you think about it.

But, at the end of the day, she’s not worried about any of that.

She’ll say what she wants to say, and she won’t say sorry for offending anyone with her opinions and ideas.

4) Giving an honest feedback

When asked for an honest opinion on something—especially if it’s related to work—a strong woman won’t just say nice things just to appear nice.

To her, that’s just not helpful at all.

She would instead respectfully give her honest take, good or bad, so that the recipient of the feedback can still improve their work if they want to.

She doesn’t care if some people would call her “opinionated” or a “know-it-all”.  Those labels don’t bother a strong woman at all. In fact, to her, they’re just silly.

5) Not being “ladylike”

Since birth, women are trained to be prim and proper all the time.

They teach us the “proper” way to eat our pasta, the proper way to sit on a bench…and even the proper way to cry.

And if we do them differently—that is to say, in our own unique way— we’re seen as uncultured. They’d then tell us that this is the reason why we’d never find men who’ll marry us.

A strong woman rebels from all of these senseless rules on how to “act like a woman.”

She sips her tea, laughs, eats, and runs the way she wants to.

You see, a strong woman would rather be authentic, than “proper”. What a boring world it would be if every woman acts the same way.

And if some people can’t like her for that, then she won’t like them either.

6) Not wanting to get married and have children

If a strong woman doesn’t want marriage and children, she’d not act like she’s committing a crime against all women.

She would, in fact, freely share it to people who are curious about it.

And when they go “Oh, you’ll regret it, for sure!”, she’d just smile and hold her chin up high.

She knows she doesn’t have to apologize to anybody about this—not to her dates, not to her parents, not to her “future children”.

A strong woman is free—or at least she always tries to be—and so, she always tries to get out of any cage that society has designed for her.

However, if she DOES want to get married, have kids, and become a housewife, she’d not be apologetic about it, either.

As far as she’s concerned, any choice she makes is her business and she doesn’t have to justify it to anyone—not to her parents, not to men, not even to other strong women.

7) Being assertive

When a man is assertive, it’s seen as a big plus. It makes them sexy.

But when a woman does it, for some reason, it becomes some sort of a character flaw.

We hear men say “Oh, I’d never date assertive women. They’re toxic!”. And we even hear women say “Stay away from assertive women. They love drama.”

Women’s assertiveness is often seen as aggressiveness, in a society that wants to shut her up.

A strong woman knows this, and so for her sake and for the sake of other women, she encourages herself to keep being assertive no matter what.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being direct in communicating what she wants!

And when someone feels insulted when she does it, she wouldn’t apologize for it. She knows it’s every person’s right (and duty) to assert themselves when necessary.

8) Setting boundaries

As mentioned earlier, a strong woman finds it easy to say “no”. But aside from that, she isn’t afraid to tell others of her limitations.

When her boss keeps asking her to do one more task, she’d say “hey, I need to rest.”, and mean it.

When a friend overstays in her apartment, she’d tell them it’s time to go because she needs her privacy, too.

And if they sulk because of it, she wouldn’t even chase after them. She has her limitations and others have to respect them. Period.

9) Not being cheerful all the time

Why is it that women are expected to always be bubbly and cheerful and smiling?

Any mood that’s not on the happy end of the spectrum instantly makes them a snob—a grumpy, moody b*tch.

A strong woman embraces all her emotions. And as long as she’s not bursting with anger or raining on other people’s parades, she allows herself to just feel what she truly feels!

She’s cheerful when she’s truly cheerful, and when she’s not…she won’t force herself to be.

Of course, she will still be nice and polite, especially at work. But cheerful? Nah.

And if others have a problem with her looking “strict” or “b*tchy”, then they’re not her kind of people.

10) Not doing all the house duties

It’s 2023 already and yet, housework is still automatically assigned to women.

Sad to say that no matter how progressive guys may be and even if the women are earning more, sometimes they can’t help but still expect the woman to do the cleaning and upkeep.

But a strong woman wants fairness. Or, at the very least, she wants to rid herself of guilt.

She won’t feel guilty if there are dishes in the sink or if the floor hasn’t been mopped for a week. Why should she? It’s not her main responsibility and it’s definitely not the way to measure her worth as a woman.

A “clean enough” home will do.

11) Taking up space

People expect women to be shy, quiet, and humble. And when they’re not, they’re judged for it. People—especially other women—would think she’s an attention-seeker or a show-off.

Strong women are tired of this. They think they’re awesome in their own way and they don’t find the need to act like a damsel when they can just shine.

So a strong woman doesn’t sit in a corner during parties. She mingles like she’s an important person… because hey, she is, at least to herself.

And if someone requests to see her piano skills. Guess what? She would happily oblige.

A strong woman isn’t afraid to be seen, and if some people have a problem with that, well…it’s their problem!

Last words

A strong woman is often misunderstood.

Most of the harmless things she does are seen as disrespectful and offensive to people who expect women to behave a certain way.

If you’re a strong woman yourself, don’t feel bad. Don’t apologize for the things you really shouldn’t be sorry for.

Keep fighting the good fight and be unapologetically yourself.