Often as Black women we are made to feel smaller, unworthy, or ashamed of our bodies and self-conscious about the way we show up in the world. People love to steal our ideas, brilliance and shine but to all the negativity and hate out there, I say – you can try to imitate but you cannot replicate. Though society tries to sell the image that anything associated with Black bodies is “ghetto” or “unprofessional”, Black people are the originators of cool, trend-setting and avant-garde fashion – even when we are not credited for our inventions.
Authentic confidence comes from within and showing up as your beautiful Black self is the highest definition of beauty, class and style. We have every right to rock bold lipsticks, wear tighter fit clothing (without being inherently sexualized), experiment with different patterns and textures and live our best lives – OUTLOUD.
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As living alone during the pandemic continues, reading has become almost impossible because my mind is filled with so much noise--years of buried trauma, guilt, and shame working its way upward.
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Years ago, I knew myself. When I was a child, I felt solid and still. I felt like me. I didn’t care about facades or about wearing the kind of mask Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote about in his poem “We Wear The Mask”. In his poem, he wrote about the mask our ancestors wore to survive, assimilate, and cope with being members of the marginalized race. As I grew in age, I ironically regressed in wisdom and adopted a persona akin to the mask Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote about in his poem. Hints of this mask appeared in my life in many ways; among them, my physical appearance.
Read MoreDo you have a friend that’s always acting like a “white girl?” She’s the one that shows up at mimosa Sunday wearing cowboy boots instead of stilettos.
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