Put on a show. Make one wrong move and everyone will know. They’ll know that maybe you’re not perfect. They’ll know that within you lies undeniable power. They’ll know the strength of women.

Elsa’s journey to self discovery is one that I have drawn inspiration from since Frozen was released six years ago. She is cold, and constrained, and shuts down her emotions so easily her entire persona becomes frozen. But all of these traits are forced on Elsa and turn her into a monstrous version of herself that is actually nothing like her. This perfectly represents the feminist theory of the self: to deny the things that make her who she is to create a version of herself acceptable to society.

For the first time in forever, women are fighting this stigma and learning to embrace and showcase every part of themselves. Society’s traditional view subverts the feminine self and forces us to consider it as other, or as a part of ourselves we should keep separate from society. Elsa’s entire life demonstrates this principle: as soon as her powers are seen as dangerous, or “other,” she is forced to conceal them. The problem is, these powers are Elsa. They are one and the same, creating her female identity.

When we choose to conceal not feel our femininity, we lose ourselves completely.

Today we must recognize the danger of forcing women to deny or conceal parts of themselves to fit into a mold that men or society finds more acceptable. This erases the feminine identity, and therefore the entire self.

When Elsa breaks free and finally lets these systematic constraints go, she finds herself. Her castle is gorgeous, her powers flourish, and she physically changes into a stronger, more feminine version of herself – her true self. But when men arrive back at her castle to attack, she attacks herself again as she battles to figure out who she truly is. This fear and unfamiliarity with herself is truly dangerous.

But in the end, Anna gives Elsa the love and approval she’s always searched for: a true acceptance of all that Elsa is. That kind of love transforms Elsa into her true self, and allows her to fully embrace every part of herself. If we could learn to embrace every part of ourselves like Elsa does, imagine the power we could find within ourselves.

We all just need to give our feminist selves a warm hug, and promise to never close the door to who we are was ever again. Love is an open door, but so is feminism.