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The concept of the soft life has recently become popular among many due to its general message of prioritizing self-care, balance in one's professional and personal life, and mindful living.

The trend began in 2020 but gained recognition years after Black women started participating in the challenge by highlighting how they planned to obtain that lifestyle. One person that strongly resonates with the overall soft life message is actress and comedian Yvonne Orji.


Orji's main reason for supporting the trend and those involved in it is because of the constant narrative surrounding Black women. The list includes being strong, resilient, and going above and beyond to achieve success regardless of the circumstances.

Last month, in an interview with 21 Ninety, the Insecure star expressed those concerns and why she feels it is okay for Black women to go against those narratives to live a life they consider satisfactory.

Yvonne On The Soft Life

When the topic of soft life was mentioned and why Black women deserve to be a part of it, Orji claimed that she was not only for the trend but was "the president of weak Black women society" because she is exhausted from trying to maintain an image that can be detrimental to one's well being.

"I'm the president of weak Black women society. I'm not anybody's strong Black woman anymore. I'm tired. I'm exhausted, okay, I need help. It's not a badge of honor to be a strong Black woman. Y'all can have it. We've been strong forever. We're good," she said.

Further in the interview, the 39-year-old disclosed that being strong was already ingrained in her because she came from a Nigerian household. Orji added that with the values she was taught growing up, she doesn't plan to avoid being strong but is leaning toward her "resting" era and having "someone else carry the burden."

"I'm good on that whether it's called the soft life or just the tired life, I'm tapping out. I'm very open and vocal. Listen, I am a child of immigrants," she stated. "Nigerian women are known for their strength and listen, I will never not be strong, but I'm resting more in my ability to not need to show up as overly strong for no reason. Please, someone else can carry the burden for me."

Yvonne On Why It Is Okay For Black Woman Not To Take On The Extra Burden

Later Orji revealed that Black women had to be strong in their life and work harder than their peers due to how others view them.

The Vacation Friends star stated that because of her life experience, she has learned to be content with asking for help on things she is unsure about rather than trying to complete them herself and accepting the fact that things that are ordained to occur in her life will still happen even if she decides to lessen her load.

"I think we felt like we had to be the strong Black woman just because it was like, 'well, we don't want them to think we can't.' I don't care what you think. If you think I can't, you're right, so can you help me? Thank you, can we both stay late? Great. I don't care," she explained while bringing up a work scenario. "Listen, I'm still going to get everything that's supposed to come to me, the raise, the promotion, all of it because, baby, you can't do what I do, trust. That's one. You have to be confident in your abilities to be amazing and work in excellence. At the same time, we are going to share this burden."

Since then, Orji has continued to inspire others to claim their life back and embrace their soft life era with various social media posts.

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Feature image by Jemal Countess/Getty Images

 

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