Übermensch: Question of Gender?

Can a WOMAN be an Übermensch too ?

Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman--a rope over an abyss.
-F. Nietzsche

Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch is well known in the self-development community of men. The Übermesnch - translated as superman or overman - is usually explained as a man who reached his full potential within his own mental and physical domain. 

But can a WOMAN be also an Übermensch?

Although the Übermensch is one of the main concepts of Nietzsche’s philosophy, it has been described in only two of his works. First rather vaguely in Human, All too Human and second, much more explicitly in his most well-known book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Most of the time, when Nietzsche describes the Übermensch he uses the word “man”. However, the ambivalent meaning of this word has changed greatly since the late nineteenth century. Back then, the word “man” was widely used as an abbreviation for “human”, considering both genders at the same time. You can see this especially with the very old quotes from writers and philosophers since antiquity, renaissance all the way to the 20th century.

Nevertheless, times have changed significantly and so it might be worth to re-adress the Übermensch concept from the modern perspective.

So - can a woman be an Übermensch or not?

When one cannot find the resolute yes, the search redirects towards the lumpy no.

From Nietzsche’s works it’s very self-evident that when describing the Übermensch he aims mainly at men. The reason is at least twofold. First, back in the day men's and women's roles were clearly differentiated (whereas today they overlap greatly) and secondly, Nietzsche was also probably aware that the vast majority of his readership consisted of men not women. 

However, that doesn’t exclude the possibility of a woman becoming an Übermensch. As Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer and scientist said:

“The absence of evidence, is not the evidence of absence.”
- Carl Sagan

Nietzsche never explicitly wrote that a woman can’t become an Übermensch.
The reason he probably didn’t even consider women, when writing about Übermensch wasn’t women’s inability but rather women’s lack of interest regarding this topic.

As already mentioned the social dynamics in the world have changed greatly over the last 130+ years since the Übermensch term was coined and so did also the mindsets on both sides of gender. 

So to answer the question - YES, a woman CAN become an Übermensch as well.
As I pointed out earlier (in the video below) becoming an Übermensch is first and foremost a mindset thing. 

Gender doesn’t dictate your mindset. 

It certainly has a big influence on it, it does pre-determine how you think of yourself and view things on some level - but YOU have the last word. You and your willpower decide how you act and whether you focus on the negative side of things or the positive one. 

And lastly, remember that the Übermensch never asks for permission, as they see themselves as the biggest authority in their life.

So if you’re a woman and wonder if you can become an Übermensch…
Don’t ask the question.
Answer it, by taking action.

Choose self-overcoming as your way of life, and go show the world!

Visit our YT channel for more content on the topic of the Übermensch: