Unapologetically Owning Your Sexuality Doesn’t Make You A Hoe Or Prude
A woman has every right to be unapologetic about getting hers. Unfortunately, to much of the world, her way of life is synonymous with promiscuity.
Like many other aspects of black culture, labels like "hoe," "thot," and whatever other degrading terminology is used to reference sexually free women these days, have been normalized to dehumanize black women. These inaccurate generalizations of sexualized women humanize cruel acts committed against women of color, including rape and sexual abuse.
Stereotypes like "the jezebel" have evolved to fit our modern day perception of a "hoe" and holistic images of "the good girl" have been reinvented over time to fit into the repressed box of pop culture.
The common ideology among our generation is: "I'll respect a woman, but a hoe ain't got nothing coming." This way of thinking echoes a cultural belief that dehumanizes groups of blacks women to justify, build tolerance, and perpetuate the cycle of disrespect and abuse.
We continue to box black women into these roles through the power of our words and mindsets. Meanwhile, we fail to recognize that in this spirit, we're keeping the same energy of the masters who enslaved our ancestors.
The suppression of women's sexuality was no accident, as men have long known the power of p*ssy. They remain as eager as ever to mute our most divine right to it. On the contrary, women who antagonize other women for their wayward ways have underestimated or fear the power of the p*ssy and the exponential power derived from firmly standing in your right to exist as a sexual being.
There are women who deem their peers who choose sexual liberation over repression unlady-like, which in all actuality is a misguided attempt at projecting our own sexual hangups onto other women. It's as though we as black women have become content with working overtime to ensure that we don't fall on either side of the spectrum.
We struggle to find the delicate balance between being a lady in the street, and a freak where man deems it Godly and respectable.
I believe it is the prejudice perpetuated against women we deem inferior to ourselves that continues to stagnate the black feminist agenda. This way of thinking stands to excuse the misogynistic actions against women of color from both inside and outside of the black community. This happens everyday on social media, the most recent incident involved one highly famed rap superstar who found herself in a world of trouble after she candidly slut-shamed women under the guise of uplifting them.
Nicki Minaj, someone who sells sex on many levels, could have easily taken the opportunity to bring women together and help to create a sense of self in regards to our sexuality. But she didn't. And what she and women like her fail to realize is that anyone who justifies the mistreatment of women either verbally or physically simply because they're uncomfortable with the level at which they assert their sexuality is further contributing to the disrespect of black women through these dated practices of misogyny.
Tearing down women simply because they are sex workers (strippers, prostitutes, etc), like to f*ck, or even choose to abstain from f*cking is not uplifting and it's not where it's at as far as womanhood is concerned. You see, to tear down one is to tear down all.
Women can only be truly free when we liberate ourselves sexually and embrace the power to be and do what (and who) we choose. Women who have found that liberation aren't bogged down by the double standards of the world and they aren't living to appease outdated expectations that were created by a sexist patriarchy.
A woman who discovers sexual liberation is detached from labels and open to simply living her life for no other than herself. She lives carefree, according to her own perception of self, instead of struggling to perpetuate the image of what she ought to be.
She is who I strive to be, and as quiet as it's kept, she's who many of you strive to be as well.
Featured image by Giphy
Motor City native, Atlanta living. Sagittarius. Writer. Sexpert. Into all things magical, mystical, and unknown. I'll try anything at least once but you knew that the moment I revealed that I was a Sag.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why We'll Probably Never Hear Lupita Nyong'o Share Her Relationship With The World
Lupita Nyong'o is sharing a transparent look into her life after a recent breakup.
In a cover story for NET-A-PORTER, the A Quiet Place: Day One star shed light on the significant heartbreak she experienced following the end of her relationship with ex-boyfriend and TV host, Selema Masekela.
As a public figure, Nyong'o, 39, sought to divulge the news of the breakup in hopes of presenting a more authentic perspective on the pain that follows a separation.
"I was living in a lot of pain and heartbreak," she told the publication. "I looked at the environment of my social media and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always coming up roses. Surely there is a lesson for me to learn in this, and I just want to be real about it."
The Black Panther star went on to explain that her choice to be transparent with her fans about her breakup came from the certainty she felt after ending the relationship. “In my mind, when I shared my relationship status with the world, it was because I felt sure about it,” she said.
While she didn’t know how the news would land with her fans, she found relief in knowing she wasn’t alone in her experience.
“I knew how it could be interpreted; I knew it would have a life of its own,” she reflects. “But then I started to see the comments and people were being so loving and supportive. The ones that moved me the most were other people sharing their pain and their heartbreak.”
Nyong'o and Masekela went Instagram official in December 2022, publicly announcing their relationship in a couple's video. In October 2023, Nyong'o took to her personal Instagram account to share the news of her breakup in her caption, writing, "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust.”
She continued the vulnerable note, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, 'Whatever, my life is better this way.' But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
These days, Nyong'o tells NET-A-PORTER that she is prioritizing profound self-discovery that extends beyond her career. She notes having a deliberate and unhurried approach to understanding herself.
She also alludes to keeping her relationships private moving forward after noting it was "very, very sage" of her not to talk about her private life professionally in the days before her last relationship. "I'm going back to those days by the way," Nyong'o shares of her reinstated boundaries around her personal life.
Earlier this month, Nyong'o made headlines alongside her new boyfriend actor Joshua Jackson. Nyong'o and Jackson went through public splits from their respective SOs in October 2023, with the latter splitting from his long-time partner Jodie Turner-Smith following her divorce filing from the Dawson's Creek alum.
The pair have been spotted together as early as December 2023, but nothing screamed "couple" quite as loudly as their recent getaway to Mexico for Nyong'o's 41st birthday featuring passionate displays of affection.
"Our purpose in life is to love. And so you have to get back in it," she tells the outlet, seemingly alluding to her budding new romance.
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Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images