In this episode of the Expand Your Empire Podcast, Amanda Taylor shares her personal journey of redefining feminism, reclaiming her voice, and challenging everything she was taught about power, identity, and womanhood.
Amanda opens up about growing up without ever hearing the word patriarchy, being immersed in evangelical culture, and how a spiritual awakening and divorce cracked her open to new truths. This is a story about unlearning, reimagining, and rebuilding from the inside out.
Inside this episode, you’ll hear:
- What feminism really means and why the word still carries so much weight
- How years of conditioning shape how women show up with money, voice, and power
- The moment Amanda realized she was operating in hyper-masculine energy even in her advocacy for women
- The power of reconnecting to feminine and masculine archetypes for aligned leadership
- Why reclaiming your identity is the first step in building true wealth and impact
This is more than a conversation about gender or politics. It is a call to remember who you are, what you came here to do, and how you are meant to lead. If you have ever felt like too much, not enough, or caught between being bold and being accepted, this episode will meet you where you are.
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Watch the episode here
Listen to the podcast here
Redefining Feminism: Power, Voice, And The Empire We’re Building
A Personal Story About Awakening, Dismantling Old Beliefs, And Reclaiming Feminine Leadership
Welcome back to Expand Your Empire. I started this show for several reasons, and we’re just getting into it. We’re just getting to know each other. I’m dumping everything that I want to talk about in a general way on these first few episodes, so we can get to know each other, and we can talk. Something that is fueling all of this, I wanted to explore more with you, with my audience, and even with myself, as I’m figuring it all out.
This whole thing is a journey for me with you. We’re in it together. I would love some feedback on this because it’s something so new to me. I’m amazed every day at the stuff that I’m still learning. I am 47 years old, and I’m learning new things about myself and the world, just by being exposed to different things, people, and experiences. That’s what makes life worth living. I wanted to share some of my evolution. It’s been a long time in the works, but it certainly fueled this show, my community, my passion, and my mission for Expand Your Empire.
Understanding Patriarchy And Redefining Feminism
Let’s talk about feminism. I’m not here to debate. I’m here to explore. Feminism is a word that can light people up, or it can shut them down. What does it mean to you? I’ve had to explore what it means to me, so let’s talk about it. I didn’t pay attention to what the word feminism meant until 2016. I thought of it as a ‘60s bra-burning movement of some kind. I had zero concept of feminism outside of the connotation. Bra-burning feminist, that was my experience, and I didn’t even experience it. That’s just what I thought.
I grew up in Texas. I did not grow up in what I thought, at the time, was a super patriarchal place. It was just Texas. That’s the way things were. We’re now in 2025. It has been so many years. I can’t believe it. I remember hearing the word patriarchy in 2016 during the preceding election, and I had to look it up. I didn’t know what the word meant.
At the time, I was married. The person to whom I was married did not support that the patriarchy was a thing, and that females were in any way disempowered. That person did not believe that there was a gender pay gap, and could quote to me all the facts and statistics of why he believed that he was right. At the time, I said, “You are right.” That goes back to my giving away a lot of my thought power. We’ll talk about that in many other episodes.
[bctt tweet=”Money is one of the loudest expressions of power women have been taught to hand over. It requires balancing your voice, visibility, boundaries, and knowing who you are while integrating the feminine.” via=”no”]
For a long time, I was part of the Evangelical Christian Church. I didn’t even get into that until I was 23 or 24. I wasn’t raised that way. Around the time of 2016 and into 2020, I started to see the world differently, starting with that moment and hearing the word. It’s like when you say, “I want to buy a black Audi Q5.” Guess what you’re seeing everywhere you go? I hear the word patriarchy, I look it up, and guess what I’m seeing? It was everywhere I looked. I’m seeing notes of it and hints of it. I’m looking back at my own history and seeing how I have been part of it.
The role that I was taught to play, the language that shaped my identity, and the silent agreements around power and submission that I would never admit were that, but I just accepted that role. I got into this slow burn of awareness and disenchantment. I’m not saying that’s the only thing that led to the divorce, but it’s a big part of it. It was me finding my own voice and my own power, and thinking, “This is not okay with how the world is acting and how I have been acting as a part of it.” I knew that I had to take self-responsibility for my role in it, and I started seeking spirituality outside of that place.
I had to start asking myself, “Can you be feminine and a feminist?” I didn’t know. I was like, “Is there a difference? What does that look like? Is advocating for women the same thing as being a feminist? What is being a feminist?” These are questions that I’m still asking myself because I am, and have been for the last few years, a strong advocate for women in business, women in money, and women in everything. I’m a strong advocate for women in choice, in values, in investing, and all the things. I have looked at it, and I have seen the gaps and the history. I’ve looked into it, and my eyes are so clearly open to it that I can’t not see it and can’t not do anything about it.
I always feel like I have to excuse myself and say, “Please understand. I’m not a male-bashing feminist.” I say that all the time when I am presenting, speaking, or talking as if I’m trying to make sure everybody knows I’m not one of them, but what is one of them? I don’t even know what that means. Maybe this is my therapy session, and you guys are here listening to me.
What if you never realized how deeply the system shaped you? What happens when you do, and when it all comes out? How do you relate to the world from that place? I would love to hear more stories about that. We’re going to start that conversation inside our Expand Your Empire community. If you’re anything like me, it’s just who you were. It’s just what you did. You didn’t know it had a name, and you didn’t know that it could be different. It doesn’t mean that you’re a male-bashing feminist.
Operating From A New Framework
I started to operate from a new framework. Having left the Evangelical church, I decided that I could be the greatest Bible nerd. I get into it, and I’m like, “Patriarchy. Now I know what this means. I’m seeing everything through a different lens. I’m having a hard time with this,” so I had to step away, and I had to reevaluate what that meant to me. What does my spiritual life look like? What does my faith look like?
I’ve gone on my own journey. I think I’ve talked about it in previous episodes. If I haven’t, I’ll say it now, and we will dive into it within the community and in other episodes. I am an advocate, proponent, and student of human design. That truly gave me a new language and mirrors to view myself. You talk about feminism and being feminine, but I started to see how my own masculine energy had become the ruler, even in my work for women.
I started studying feminine archetypes, and this is different from feminism. I’m having to learn receptivity. I’m having to learn what softness looks like, what trust looks like, and different kinds of magnetism. I considered myself a very powerful Type A, structured, routine person. Operating from that place was giving me the dreaded burnout that everybody is talking about now. That’s when I had my a-ha moments and my logic. Coming from that place of doing instead of being showed me the imbalance within myself. I felt it energetically.
Why Feminism Is Always Connected To Wealth
What does this have to do with wealth? This show isn’t just about money. It’s about power. Money is one of the loudest expressions of power we’ve ever been taught to hand over. Wealth requires voice, visibility, boundaries, and knowing who you are. Talking about balancing those energies and not abandoning the masculine, but integrating the feminine. That’s me. That’s my story. That’s my journey. I know plenty of other people that I’ve worked with, that I’ve talked to, and that I’m in groups with who are complete opposites.
[bctt tweet=”Feminism is not a label. It is a lived reclamation.” via=”no”]
Feminine power doesn’t compete with masculine structure. It completes it. That is what I’m learning, and that is what I am trying to create within myself and within this community. Are we redefining feminism, or maybe I’m redefining it for myself? Are you redefining it for you? For me, feminism is about choice. It’s about voice. It’s about claiming your life as your own, about rising without asking for permission, and about remembering that supporting other women isn’t just a belief. It is a practice.
It all goes back to the bigger picture of Expand Your Empire. I am building an army of women who know who they are and what they are here for. I’ve had to learn that feminism isn’t just politics. It’s a lived experience. Wealth is a feminist act, like owning land, charging what you’re worth, saying no, taking time off, and having choices. That is what it looks like for me.
I want these conversations with you. I want to create this. I don’t want to be talking to myself here, so come join us. The Expand Your Empire community is for women who are for women and who want to have a voice and to have a choice. I want to know. What did you learn about power growing up? What dynamics were there in your family? What did you see, even if you weren’t directly told? When did you first feel that stir of your own voice? I was in my forties. Where are you still outsourcing your decisions or your knowing and asking for permission?
Feminism isn’t a label. It is a lived reclamation. I am here to learn about it, experience it, and embody it, so that others can come along with me. I hope you’re with me, too. Thank you for joining me. I hope to see you inside our community. We are growing. We are adding. We are building that army, and I want you in there with us. The world is changing. We are going to be the leaders in that world, and we are going to own our voices while we’re doing it. Until next time, keep building. I’ll see you then.
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