Feminism
Black Feminism
Womanism
Ahhhhhhh Iv’ed had enough !!!
It seems like the concept of womanhood has been reconstructed and traded in for a bunch of “ism’s”. These terms were originally created to unite women as a unit. Yet year after year it seems to be tearing women apart. As a Womanist and lover of Alice Walker it hurts me to see how we spend so much time trying to identify ourselves within the group in order to properly coexist as an individual outside the group.
How did the self exploration of womanhood turn into choosing the right “ism” that properly fits your lifestyle and values?? … Like picking the “perfect” sorority to join.
Unfortunately for us, popular culture has raped the true meaning and purpose of these “ism’s”. Artists like Beyonce, have helped to perpetuate this false sense of self identification by pimping feminism and using songs like Flawless to produce a rising generation of popcorn feminists LOL. Even though the song used parts from Chimamanda Adichie’s Ted Talk on feminism and how we all should be feminists, the reality of it is that most people don’t have the proper knowledge of what these terms truly mean or stand for. We are then left with a generation of woman who are too busy classifying ourselves within a group based on what we’ve heard to be true.
Feminism is supposed to be a vehicle of change for womanhood and an overall celebration of the female gender. Yet, all of these branches of womanhood have slowly divided women rather than bringing us together as a unit for the betterment of the female race.
I was starting to loose hope, until I stumbled across #TheHerProject
The Her Project, is a celebration of the natural state of a woman. The idea came to life through the vision of a Nigerian, New Jersey artist named Moruf . The idea fully started breathing after Moruf produced his song (HER ) from his classic album Shades of Moo .
The beauty of #TheHerProject is it meets the woman at her front door, dropping all the labels &, categories outside her temple. Instead of focusing on what group you belong to #TheHerPoroject, allows you to naturally exist without anyone’s consent or label.
I never thought a possessive pronoun could mean so much to me, but I had to remember….
Who I was ….
What it meant to be a woman …
And most importantly…
What it meant to be me because I know at one point I use to love HER !
The Her Project truly exemplifies what women’s month & womanhood is truly all about. As long as you identify with yourself as HER then you deserve to be celebrated!
So in honor of the last day of women’s month, NkemLife wants to encourage you all to check out The Her Project! Follow them on IG @TheHerProject or check out their official website HerOverEverything ! Purchase a T-shirt and join the movement !!
Happy Women’s Month from NkemLife! 🙂
For
I am HER
&
SHE is me.
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Comment
This is a well written piece and touches on a few things. I must make this statement before I begin with my comment. I am a “Ratchet” Womanist I’m well aware “ratchet” is not in the academic books, but that is the power in womanism. I define who I am. What that means for me is that the girl in the “hood” should be treated no differently than the girl in the suburbs. I make it my business to speak up for the Black girl on the bus stop holding her baby. Not every feminist does this. I make it my business to use an intersectional approach to be apart of conversations that attack lower class Black girls and women. Too often I know exactly what that feels.
I say that to say feminism is not a monolithic. We all have similar goals I believe. But different agendas in which we aim to address. I think when things are said like “popcorn feminism” we take away the ability of women to own their own identity by shaming their feminism in which they feel they represent.
It is not just feminism that has these problems all labels have these problems. Pan-Africanist, Pro-Black, Conscious Community and more. People will even define what they believe womanhood should be. I represent womanism as a idea for women to make their own choices. So something as simple as Beyonce having an all women band can be a small step of feminism, when were use to seeing all men bands.
At the end of the day, I think Audre Lorde said it best
“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive”
Thanks for sharing. I know I went on a rant. My apologies sis. I support you 100%. Keep writing!! You are beautiful.