Black. Girls. Rock.

Tonight I watched BET's "Black Girls Rock" awards show. It was awesome! Me no know how to 'splain. It was just amazing! You have got to watch it! Especially the perfomance of "Four Women". Not ONCE was there a man on the stage, beyond like one guitarist! It was empowering and brilliant. All women are beautiful and special, not just the Black ones, but there's something still under-appreciated (word check?) about Black women, especially as projected by the media. How many times have you sung the songs about black women's asses, thighs, lips, nails done/hair done, sex in the club? All the time. Admit it. I have too. This is fun, it's a form of entertainment...ENTERTAIN-MENT. NOT reality, NOT encouragement, NOT progression for my people, NOT inspiration, NOT intelligence. "Black Girls Rock" was the reality, encouragement, progression, inspiration and intelligence Black girls need to see. When you're a Black pre-teen, teenager, shit adult, sometimes you forget your worth because you're too busy singing about your ass while flaunting it. I grew up in the tundra that is, Minnesota. Yeah. Minnesota. Great place to grow up in a lot of ways (very little crime, the 'burbs, beautiful summers, cabins, lakes, PRINCE for goodness sake) but as far as seeing a lot of positive Black girls and women outside of my own house and social circles, my options were limited. So, I did what everyone else did, I watched TV and listened to music and read YM and Seventeen magazine to pass the time until high school graduation. And what did I see? Skinny White women. Don't get me wrong, I have love for ALL women. But let's be honest, Skinny White women are EVERYWHERE in the media. Not medium sized Asian women. Not voluptuous Hispanic women. Not tall and slender Black women. This does something to you while you're growing up, it makes you feel different and not always in good way. More in a "why does your hair do THAT? Why do you look white, but you say you're black? Why are your legs so big?"way. You want to say "Because! That's what my mom, sister, aunt, cousins and grandma look like!", but you just don't know how. Not yet. But maybe, MAYBE had the "Black Girls Rock" award show existed during my adolescence, I wouldn't have to.

PS- Google "Black Women" and search for images, it's pretty amazing what comes up. Damnshame.com\thislifeisnotallaboutsex.

XOXO,

T