The Birkin should never be the goal

The Birkin should never be the goal. Being a good human being and living and leaving behind a life of impact should be the goal. We need to have an honest conversation about what we are teaching young women in the name of empowerment. When we stand on women empowerment stages and make luxury bags, lifestyle, and having more than other women sound like the ultimate prize, what are we really teaching?

We are telling a 19-year-old girl in a deprived community that her worth is measured by what she can display, not what she can build. We are telling young women that empowerment is about being envied, not about being of service. And that is dangerous. Because the Birkin is not empowerment. A Birkin is a bag. A beautiful bag, yes. A great investment, even, but still a bag.

One thing I want every young woman to know is this: be proud of what you earned legitimately. Be proud of the small shop you built with your own hands, the promotion you got because you worked late, the degree you earned because you studied. There is dignity in legitimate work. There is pride that no designer label can give you when you know you did not have to cut corners, throw away your morals, or trade your dignity to get ahead.

As women, the world already tries to make success harder for us. Don’t make it harder for yourself by believing that you must compromise who you are to have what you want. Success that costs you your self-respect is too expensive. Real empowerment does not end with you owning more expensive things. Real empowerment is when what you have owned equips you to open doors for others who will never be able to afford a Birkin.

Let me be clear: There is nothing wrong with wanting beautiful things. Wanting to look good, to enjoy the fruits of your hard work – that is human. But when we make luxury the definition of success for women, we lose something. We lose the understanding that impact is the real luxury. Integrity is the real luxury. The ability to sleep well knowing you did not have to sell your soul to get there, and knowing your life made someone else’s journey a little less hard – that is the real luxury.

What kind of women are we raising? Women who compete over who has the most expensive bag, or women who collaborate to make sure more girls can go to school, get a job, start a business, live with dignity? Women who think empowerment is about being the only one in the room with that bag, or women who are committed to making sure there are more rooms where all of us can sit?

We need to reset the narrative. We have young women watching us. They are listening to every speech, every panel, every podcast. If all they hear is that success is about acquisition, we are failing them. If all we celebrate is consumption, who will celebrate contribution? You can have the Birkin if you want it, and if you can afford it. But let it be an accessory to a life well-lived, not the purpose of your life.

Let your goal be to be a good human being first. To be kind when no one is watching. To be honest when lying would be easier. To build something that will outlive your Instagram page. Because at the end of your life, no one will remember what bag you carried. They will remember whose life you carried, and whether you kept your dignity while carrying your own.