The Oscar buzz was frenzy like wild fire and in previous years, the media has a way of painting the picture to make you think; the actors, directors and producers hate each other and so it is a do or die affair. Getting an Oscar is an honour and one many most likely wish they would get in their secret place. Come on, be honest!
I am not here to dissect last night’s award ceremony, for I am sure you all know who won and who did not. However history was made and that is my concern. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Academy Award for best director. No ordinary feat. She is smart, pretty, history maker, what more could a girl ask for right? And my Sandy finally got recognised as a good actress. I have often heard people describe her as plastic and fake but after I saw her in Speed, I liked the lady and that dress, my world, she wore the dress unlike a few people whose dresses wore them. Sorry, I could not help that part of it.
Moving on, I know Hollywood is the place where there is so much pressure to look fake and plastic like, and so, women go under the knife to change their breast, their hair, their nose, their legs, enlarge their lips or reduce it and keep adjusting themselves until everything they were created with has been replaced by all things unnatural. And so, the women who went up on the podium last night, Monique, Bullock and Bigelow to me are real women. Bigelow is slim, yes and so is Bullock but at least, everything on them is theirs. And Monique, she had me in stitches when she said, she still has not shaved her hair, you know, the one we saw her showing at the Golden Globes. I say, you go girlfriend. Its up to you when you want to show those legs with hair and when you want to show them without. As someone who has to constantly get hair removing cream and spend close to 15 minutes every two weeks to remove the hair on my leg. I know how much I hate it but in order to wear a skirt and show my legs I have to. Yes, its sacrifice for beauty but who the hell said women had to shave their legs or have no hair on it while the men can walk around without a care in the world. I know a tribe in Nigeria and while I am not sure if the trend is still the same, their men find women with hairy legs attractive. Reminds me of India Arie’s song, Video, where she talks about shaving her legs sometimes and sometimes, she doesn’t.
Today is International Women’s Day, we are celebrating women world over and in celebrating ourselves, we have to and must embrace who we are, accept the beauty with which we have been blessed and make a mark. Bigelow has me all fired up to stop making excuses and get on with my goals and dreams, and in the process keep loving myself. Bullock reminds me that it is not what people say or the terms with which they describe you, you just keep going and one day, the hard work will pay off. If Bullock had given up with all the bad reviews she has had in recent years and winning a Razzy, a day before the Oscars, I bet you, she would not have gone up yesterday.
And in Oprah’s words, Gabourey Sidibe, is the Cinderella of the American Dream. She reminds me of Jennifer Hudson. Who was mocked by some parts of the media for her ample figure, I bet they all ate their words when she won for Dreamgirls. Sidibe did not win last night but she has a bright future ahead of her. It is to this, that I say, she looked beautiful in her blue dress and I am still mad at Ebony magazine for their March edition cover, where they have her standing in an awkward position. The dress they have her in and the whole ensemble didn’t work in my opinion.
It is to these women and many women out there that I say keep celebrating yourself. A woman is to be celebrated everyday for many reasons, for being a woman, a mother, a wife, a lover and the many roles she occupies in society. I know there are demented people out there who still think a woman is a lesser being and a weak one at that because she is a woman. Let’s put it like this, a woman has her strength and weakness but do not mistake her weakness to mean she cannot and will not amount to anything or be part of society, or make wise decisions. Her weakness is for those she loves, that’s why whenever you give her a raw material, she comes back with a finished product. Give her a sperm, she will give you a baby for she is an incubator.
The same demented people will go about hurting and violating women to prove their strength and manhood. I look at the situation in the DRC, Darfur, Central Africa Republic and most recently, the brutal armed robbery in Nigeria where the victims were raped and other heinous crimes committed against women around the world. Young girls, who do not understand the changes their bodies are going through are sold off like commodities for marriage. It is to this that I say, we as women must continue to speak up for women world over until people get it that a woman is as valuable to society as man. A female child is a great addition to society like a male child and so she must not be thrown away because the parents want a boy to carry on the family legacy.
Let’s celebrate our daughters, sisters, mothers, female friends and the women around us as we go along. Let’s help each other and drop the nasty attitude we sometimes carry about. And please, let’s drop that slogan, ‘what a man can do, a woman can do better.’ I do not believe you need to compete with a man because the only competition you have in life is yourself. You be you in your corner and you need not ask anyone to respect you for they will respect you no matter what. And when you come across the narrow minded ones, you leave them behind. For they are not worth the trouble. Let’s keep asking for our rights in the work place in society because we deserve it for all men are to be treated equally, it is as simple as that.
So, in honour of my sisters, those who have gone ahead of us and set great examples, those who are still fighting for us and those who will carry on with the work we have started, happy women’s day.
Images
Gabourey Sidibe in Marchesa – JASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES via www.nj.com
International Women’s day Image: www.jennifersweeney.ca
