Being a woman is beautiful. I love it with everything in me, I love the way we look, our attitude. All of it. However, being a black woman that is the key. We are amazing, beautiful, caring (too caring), and we have a strength that is not only unmatched, but something we should never have to have.
Let me explain my above statement. The idea of us as women having strength has always been something that we have been taught to be, and hold close. Strength is beautiful and mostly necessary. However, I don’t want to always be strong at the face of adversity. Why must we always be strong when we get abused on the daily? Why is that always the first few points that people come up with when speaking positively about us?
What is the point of this strength when it gets used against us? Honestly, think about it, why can’t this country have a woman President, or a woman coach, why are the women in high positions always disrespected, their authority gets questioned, and usually their abilities gets put into question? I am asking ultimately why are some of the functions of women, according to society, that gets us verbal praise, ultimately gets used against us when we are in high positions?
We are supposed to take verbal abuse from incompetent men, micro-aggressions from white women, taunts and catcalls from complete strangers on the street, physical and sexual abuse, our sexualities being used as a reason to kill us, someone killing us for not staying with them, and period pains (not for all of us but some). Yet running a business, managing a soccer team and running a country is where you all draw the line? Even when we are just as competent (if not more), have the degrees, work experience and better emotional intelligence?
The world is hard enough as black people we have suffered enough, our people are dying, unable to feed themselves and their families, drought, political uncertainty, a lack of resources in general. It is hard to move in a world that you do not believe cares or even sees you. It is hard moving through industries where you not only have to keep yourself fed and healthy, but that you have to work twice as hard to get to the door, yet some don’t even have to do half of what is required to get the job.
Stay Blessed.
Leh xx
