rosie the riveter stood as a feminist empowering women figure many years ago, and it seems as though society has packed her up and put her up with the christmas decorations in the attic.  In 2016, someone unpacked her and let her take the face of multiple women this year and had brought back women empowerment and expressing sexuality.  Beyoncé, one of these empowering women, released one of the best albums of 2016, and it was about loving yourself as well as loving an unfaithful man.  So many women are quick to leave a cheating man, and personally I feel like they have every right to.  However, Beyoncé took back her cheating husband in the most feminist, female empowering ways ever. In the album, it almost sounds like she took him back, but under her conditions.  We all know, Beyoncé does NOT need Jay-Z, but quite frankly, I think he needs her.  She acknowledges this and makes half an album about it.  Hold Up was expressing how good she was to him, and reminding him that she can move on and still be Beyonce, but will Jay Z be jay without Bey? She also reminds him of how good he’s got it, and he’s got the baddest woman in the game up in his sheets.  The song that was the best that completely embraced her femininity, was Sorry.  The whole thing is showing how a woman can be strong and unapologetic without a man.  Women need to learn this.  I’ve seen so many women sit back and take all types of shit from their man because they feel like they won’t be anything without them.  Bullshit girl.  Go be your own woman.  You were born without a man and were raised not being dependent on a man sexually, so what makes you think you need one now?  Another woman who I think is the dominant in her relationship is Nicki Minaj with Meek Mill.  Her net worth is 80+ million,  his is 2+ million.  Money isn’t everything, but one this it does represent is powet, and in that relationship if money is power, Minaj sure has the longer stick.  These were two, short, very brief examples of women being strong, independent women in 2016, and we need to make this a resolution to carry this over into 2017.

This week I decided to read different comments on twitter revolving around different artists.  These comments ranged from positive and regarding certain artists as gods to extremely negative and completely dragging these artists through the mud.  I find this all so interesting.  When people log on to twitter and an artist has recently released a new project, twitter goes nuts! People talk like crazy, and it makes me think, why? and who are you to say anything?  As soon as we click the log on button it seems as though we’re clocking into work and we’re some kind of talent experts.  I notice that there are different fan bases, and if the artists doesn’t like an artist, the fan base won’t like that artist either, regardless of the talent that artist may have.  For example, the most twitter fan battles are between Nicki Minaj fans and Lil Kim fans, ArianaGrande fans and Mariah Carey fans, and Beyoncé fans and all pop singer fans.  These fans will go back and forth to defend their favorite artist, and at some points I ask why?  These artists don’t know you personally, nor do they see the arguments all over twitter.  To me, it’s a waste of time.  Arguing back and forth doesn’t solidify or insolidify an artists artistry.  But, yet you waste your time arguing with somebody on twitter that you’ve never met over twitter that most likely you’ll never meet over who is the real queen of rap.  What does it prove? Also, it really irks my nerve when an artist drops a new project and people with call it “trash” or “a flop” meaning that it wasn’t successful.  There are professional people who are paid to review music and yet, we have teenagers calling it trash or comparing it to the new age bible.  Who made you a music expert? On what degree do you have any credentials to say what makes music good music?  More importantly, why does it matter? Why can’t we just let artist be great at what they do and make their music and we enjoy it while we have it?

Beyoncé had performed one of her country flavored songs off of Lemonade called “Daddy Lessons.”  She performed on the CMA’s which stands for Country Music Awards, she performed the song as a duet with The Dixie Chicks.  Although Beyoncé is most famously known as a pop star, she made a guest appearance at the country show.  A huge amount of people were highly upset that Beyoncé would be performing at a Country Award show because she’s not country.  Many people forget that country music originated from Black people and white people took it and made it popular.  So, it baffles that people who were majority white were upset that ,a black pop icon who has been a completely success all by herself performed at their show.  Yes, granted she is.  more Pop-star, but regardless, her family is from Texas and Alabama.  Both of those states are in the south, where many years ago, and still till this day, are a huge country music/rap music region because both of those genres do originate in the south.  Rhthym and Blues, Country, and Rock was first created by black slaves on plantations that were created and used to pass time while they were in the fields doing work.  So many people categorize artists  based on the genres that the mainly perform and can never break outside of those socially constructed barriers without “loosing their roots.”  I think it’s hypocritical to box people in to certain stereotypes based on what makes them happy, but if they even resemble some other artist that so happen to be in the same genre, they copying that artist and being “completely unoriginal.”  How do you expect someone to be original but shame them and completely disregard their talent as an artist when they try to explore new avenues in their music and share their talents with different people in the world?  Regardless of who you are, Beyoncé is here to stay and reign her rightful spot at Queen B.

I am so happy to see women stop using weaves and wigs, and take the ‘journey’ to grow out their natural hair and own who they really are down inside.  For many years, in the past and future to come, women will always feel the need to compete and compare themselves to what’s socially acceptable and pretty.  It’s draining to see women drag themselves through the mud just so they can be accepted by society.  I think these women not buying into weaves, wigs, hair extensions, and hair relaxers are so incredibly strong and are putting their middle finger to social beauty standards.  If we want to get rid of beauty standards, we have to stop buying into them.  There are a plentiful amount of black women who have gorgeous, long, ethnic hair, and rock the shit out of it, but you don’t see those women on the cover of vogue or Marie Claire.  It also infuriates me when white women try and use black women hairstyles and try to make it look cute or as if it’s some new hairstyle.  Black women have fought so long to finally be thought of as pretty and still to this day get ridiculed for the type of hair they have,and then white women have the audacity to try and use the same hair black women don’t want? That’s the biggest idea of appropriation I’ve ever seen.  Having these women retire the weaves & wigs save animals, because a majority of the weaves come from horse hair or even sheep or lambs wool.  They use this hair because it’s soft and long, or soft and curly.  They shave these animals or saw off the horses tail in order to have enough hair to make into a weave.  It’s harmful towards the animal which they have no say in whatsoever.  I can’t applaud these brave women for accepting their natural, black, kinky hair for what it actually is and rocking it.  Not only are they accepting their hair, but they’re accepting their blackness, and with the harsh times we’ve seen recently in this country, it’s most important that these black women own who they are and don’t let anybody feel bad about it, because who you are is amazing and no body or hairstyle can change that about you.  I hope that this trend of going through the natural journey continues with years to come, because then finally people will start to not feed into the beauty standards and feel confident in their own body.

Many moons ago, surgery wasn’t necessarily frowned upon, but people feared it.  They felt as if they could completely avoid surgery they would.  However, it seems as if plastic surgery has become a new fad.  People are afraid to age and I feel like a lot has to do with because they don’t take care of themselves when they were younger and now they are aging terribly so they resort to getting face lifts, botox, eyebrow lifts.  Sometimes people go under the knife and go for plastic surgery for health reasons, for example, my grandma had eyebrow lift done because her skin was sagging and was literally blocking her vision.  Sometimes getting plastic surgery done can be for health reasons, but 75% of society get it done for mere beaty enhancements.  A huge part of the reason for this high rate in plastic surgery has A LOT to do with beauty standards that we see in society.  Models, Actresses, and TV Personalities are photoshopped and caked with make up to perceive this look of flawlessness when it all actuality, its computer generated.  We have regular members of society look up to these celebrities and aspire to look like them so they get face lifts, and tummy tucks, and implants to achieve this body that is naturally unachievable, sort of like a Barbie Doll.  Then of course what happens to the people who want to achieve this look, but can’t afford it? Their self-esteem plummets to absolutely nothing and feel like they aren’t good enough because these guys only chase these pretty women who 90% of the have something fake about them, whether its hair, nails, body, or clothes, its fake, but that’s the new ‘norm’.  Nothing is real anymore and it’s become socially acceptable to have something fake about you.  This is typical laziness, instead of working for something, you go and buy it.  There is going to come a point where, people are going to be able to pre-determine how their babies are going to look when they are born.  It’s dangerous for our well-being as a society.