Nothing inspires me more than strong, successful women. But for a very long time, that archetype has only been limited to the image gravitating towards men wearing their power suits, calling the shots in board rooms. Me, I am more drawn into the image of the Seductress, the Bombshell. Goddess women who have reached the top, by breaking molds and who have fully embraced their sexual allure.
These molds were specifically designed for women. Societal boxes with patriarchal features, that gave women limited life purposes: being a wife, a mother.
" We teach girls to shrink themselves
To make themselves smaller
We say to girls
“You can have ambition
But not too much
You should aim to be successful
But not too successful
Otherwise you will threaten the man”
Because I am female
I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices
Always keeping in mind that
Marriage is the most important
Now marriage can be a source of
Joy and love and mutual support
But why do we teach to aspire to marriage
And we don’t teach boys the same?
We raise girls to each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are
Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes "
Does this insightful speech is familiar to you? Yes? Exactly, it is the introduction of Beyonce “Flawless” ’s song launched 10 years ago. A sample directly pulled from the Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDxTalk speech held in London: « We Should All be Feminists.» . A speech that perfectly underlines the society's endoctrinations of young girls.
Let’s crop the historical timeline from the 20th century to now.
At the beginning of that time period and for very long decades, worldwide societies boxed women into one tiny little square that assigned them to one role and only : being a wife. That indoctrination perpetuated early in girls' education has only placed the woman's existence and purpose around men. Not around herself as an individual humain being capable of critical thinking, possessing her own hobbies, aspirations, professional ambitions etc. No not at all. Her sole identity was to be a mother, to be a wife which is ok, but many of these women during that time period, were trapped into an abusive, controlling, unchosen, unloved, unfulfilling prison with no way out.
Society purposely silenced women and prevented them from expressing themselves, from complaining, from showing any relent of negative emotions unless is gratefulness. The « Glorious Thirties » period, accentuated that phenomenon and gaslit on high scale the women’s unfair conditions with advertisement campaigns pushing the image of the happy housewife receiving a brand new washing machine and other revolutionary kitchen devices to facilitate her cleaning/cooking tasks, that were their sole life missions as indivuduals.
On top that tiny little cage they spent all their lives in, women were stripped from their rights to vote. If they had the possibility to work they could but they were not allowed to access to any roles with high responsibilities nor decisions-making positions. They had to tolerate constant (sexual & psychological) harassment at work in silence without any repercussions. For a very long time, Society shoved brutal values into women’s throat forcing them to nod their head, smile and being grateful to get the life patriarchy has chosen for them. The Happy housewife image displayed in every billboards, cover magazines, TV commercials, was a very toxic narrative that pushed many of them into to depression, alcoholism, pain killers anti-anxiolytic addictions , to numb their extreme despair, solitude, and fill the misery the society has boxed them in.
« The Stepford Wives », a novel book written by Ira Levin in 1972, decrypts exactly that sad phenomenon on a satyrical tone. Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, decides to move to Stepford, a Connecticut suburb, with her hubby and kids. In Joanna’s new town's idyllic facade, lies a terrible secret: she suspects her neighbours, who are submissive housewives to be robots created by their husbands..
Since the beginning of the XXth century, women fought for their human rights. The Suffragettes , fought for women to participate in the political landscape. Women fought to create their own lanes at their reputations’ & lives’ expense, so the future generations can have the freedom to become whoever they want to be without letting society and its patriarcal’s tentacles ostracises them. Considered for decades as breeding stock, as home-task programming robot (cf: Stepford wives), these deeply hurtful narratives are finally and progressively been dismantled. Thanks to the life-long feminists activists, human rights advocates and also thanks to influential women, that were absolutely not afraid to speak up, break societal codes and fight against Giants.
The women’ fate has immensely evolved throughout the cultural lens thanks to many public figures that I have a tremendous respect for.
Josephine Baker was born in 1906, into the impoverished and racist suburb area of St. Louis, Missouri. She dropped out of school at 13 and supported herself by waitressing and dancing in the streets. By the age of 15, she was already divorced twice. Yet despite her dismal youth, she maintained an optimistic view about her future. She eventually ended up to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance. Here she performed in a number of clubs and Broadway theatres, where she became “the highest-paid chorus girl in Vaudeville.” Throughout it all, Baker remained driven and impassioned by her love of the stage and dance, which she performed with uninhibited erotic zeal. According to her sister, Margaret, she had "set out to conquer the world." For over a century, Black women performers have challenged racism, sexism, and heteronormativity. Their ephemeral traces of historical performances (and just solely their existences), have always been in danger of erasure or misinterpretation. Ergo in the 1920s and 1930s, Josephine Baker both shocked and delighted audiences at the Parisian dance halls, with her scandalous banana belt perfomance. For many critics, the belt symbolizes her submission to primitivist caricature and racial/sexual objectification with the sole purpose to please a fetichizing and xenophobic portion of her audience. In reality her dancing with that racially offensive accessory, was a provocative way to criticize how Brown women were percieved during the colonial era. Josephine managed to spark racial and sexual discourses, by dancing erotically, with disinhibition in front of a frenzied audience every evening. Thanks to Joséphine, the banana belt controversy offers to the contemporary critics, a multidimensional, artistical, dialogic space for dismantling racial and sexual hierarchies. Joséphine is a historical figure who is indeed well-known for her creativity & boldness, but also for her activism during the Second World War. Two years before the war started, she obtained the French nationality. During the war, she sang for the soldiers before becoming herself a secret agent of "La France Libre". She then joined the french air force as a second lieutenant. Close to the Licra (International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism), she became its spokesperson and used her notoriety to fight against racism. When she died in 1975, France awarded that SuperWoman military honors for her acts of resistance as a counterintelligence agent that helped the nation to win against Hitler and the Axis army. Mrs. Baker representing the symbol of freedom, activism and anti-racism, has entered last year on the 30th November the Panthéon Paris.
In a similar vein as Baker, Eartha Kitt famous actress and singer broke the mold she was also meant to be in. She created her own lane where she followed her own rules. The "Santa Baby" singer, was so much more than a captivating entertainer, she was also a Civil Rights advocate and an international political provocateur. Indeed, as a subversive black icon, Eartha empowered and inspired a large amount of Americans. Any of her public political stances would be immediately followed and decrypted. By being fearlessly outspoken and openly criticising controversial political measures led by the US government as the Vietnam war that was raging at that moment and pointing out how destructive and unnecessary that political choice was, the CIA put her on their watchlist. They knew how jeopardizing and influential her public statements may be against the White House agenda. Yes! That is how POWERFUL Mrs Kitt was. « The most exciting woman of the world » as the "Citizen Kane" movie director Orson Welles loved to describe her, was born in a slavery plantation in South Carolina in January 1927. 9 months after her mother a slave had been raped by her master.. Her life trajectory took ever since an incredible and miraculous turn, as she becomes a symbol representing sex positivity, feminism and fights for any type of justice.
Josephine, Eartha, both of these Superwomen paved an unimaginable path for desperate, unfulfilled, bored yet intrepid and incredibly smart women all over the world. Women that felt chained and lost into a patriarchal prison. Marilyn Monroe followed as well these pioneers in the entertaining industry with the same bravery. And as her predecessors she also broke the codes and followed her own destiny. She was not the « brainless blondie broad » that was only used and marketed for men. She was extremely smart, thought real quick out of the box, and knew how to control efficiently her image. The kind of fiery personality that is way ahead of her time. At the time, racial segregation was still legal but that did not stop Monroe to use her power and notoriety to help her friend Ella Fitzgeral, the tremendously talented jazz music singer. She used her fame and redirected all the spotlight to Ella's art and immense talent. As Ella Fitzgerald struggled getting any live performance gigs into exclusive jazz clubs due to the colour of her skin and her prominent body figure, Marilyn aware of her friend’s unfair treatment, called right away the Mocambo club owner in Los Angeles, to ask him to let Ella perform in exchange of her popping up to her live shows with many of her Hollywood famous friends 😎. Even the most racist, most misogynistic owner would be absolutely stupid to turn down such a gigantic opportunity. Receiving that amount of publicity and spotlight by associating their establishments with the sexiest & most talked-about woman of all time, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that no one can refuses. Thanks to Marilyn and her fearless mind, Ella's career trajectory took another dimension and her fame rapidly skyrocketed. Marilyn's allyship and their sincere friendship, offered to Ella the recognition and respect that she truly deserves. The "clueless blonde" stereotype that the media loved to portray all her life, and career, was certainly overplayed. Marilyn was way more than the one-layer image the magazines, tabloids chose to descibe her. Indeed as she became a global sensation, she absolutely knew with who and how she will establish partnerships and associate her "Bombshell" image for post-mortem prosperity: she became the face of the worldwide n°1 bestseller perfume Chanel n°5 . A must-have item launched by a prominent french haute-couture house. She became the parisian house's ambassador, right after her daring Life magazine interview. A true PR machine, Monroe exclusively collaborated with the big names in every creative fields: the celebrity photographer and artist Andy Warhol, with the biggest film directors such as Alfred Hitchcock. While an average actress longevity in the industry is very short, Marilyn Monroe intelligently stayed in the spotlight for many many years. Monroe belongs to that wave of extremely confident women who unapologetically used their sexuality as a tool for creativity and success. That Wave of powerful women who glamorously flipped their middle finger, at the conservative and sexist society.
During the 70s, a whole new genre of movies directed and produced by black people and for black people emerged: the Blaxploitation. These productions became few years later, box-office smash across the United-States. The « Blaxploitation », alternative to Hollywood, had produced highly entertaining (but poorly written though, just imagine the Marvel franchise filled with 'fros and pimps) movies like Shaft, Blacula, etc. Thanks to that new artistic wave, a trans-generational icon is born: Pam Grier ladies and gentlemen 😍. Grier, became the Blaxploitation’s face, a forever sex-symbol. A Black woman that whole generations fantasized over. She rapidly became the most popular movie star of her era. With her voluptuous bodyfigure, Pam only signed up for characters that were fearless, pugnacious and bewitching. Fierce movie characters that would not hesitate to kick some bad guys' asses in a nylon jumpsuit with a mesmerising cleavage, plus huge platform boots. I mean there you have it: the perfect combination of all the ingredients to create a successful movie. Tarantino himself the multi Oscar-awarded but very strict and exclusive movie director, had also been seduced by Pam’s career, strength and charisma. He immediately picked her in his 1997 movie, "Jackie Brown", inspired by the Blaxpoitation storylines’ concept. As Marilyn Monroe, Pam embodies that powerful, irresistible woman, that kicked the patriarchal's door down and created the life she has decided for herself. Through her fearless, sexy as hell, combative movie characters, she has ever played in, Grier demonstrated to women accross America, that they are not fragile vulnerable victims reduced to silence with their fate's sealed by the societal pressure. On contrary, Grier gave them through the screen, that strength, that fierceness to get whatever they want in life whether the Society is ready or not.
For a very long time (and yet still today), society struggled to fathom the fact that Women can be multidimensional individuals. There is nothing wrong with embracing your inner-sexuality, inner-creativeness, your inner-wildness. These variables can be perfectly conjugated with being concurrently intelligent, socially aware and diploma getters Thanks to the heroic women throughout History, the cage/mould rethoric pushed by the Patriarchy that prevented generations of women to create an identity outside their meant-to-be housewives roles, has progressively been debunked. Josephine Baker, Madonna, Pamela Anderson, Marilyn Monroe, wholeheartedly owned their sexual & sensual power and unapologetically turnt it into a veritable WEAPON that gradually changes and deconstructs the toxic anti-women narrative. They courageously spent all their lives breaking codes, wrecking chains that imprisoned the previous generations. They truely inspired and empowered girls who had nobody to identify with when growing up.
These pop culture icons not only broke social barriers they have also inspired generations and generations of women to not accept to be put into lifeless, colourless, flavourless molds for the rest of their lives. They paved a way to unapologetically embrace their sexuality and inner fierceness even though it can make others uncomfortable. They taught these young girls to not feel any inch of guilt nor to let the society vilify them for the life choices they have decided to make for themselves.
As a woman, born into african culture with conservative and church-led values that center mentalities around social shaming, having an extrovert & creative personality was complicated. I have somewhat felt guilt for not wanting to fit into that tiny little cage that was initially designed for me. But by growing up, I quickly understood that there were many other ways to be happy and fulfilled than whatever the society, african culture, religion had kept harping on and on ever since I was a young girl. The confident, bold, sharp & strong-minded woman that I am today, has mostly been shaped up thanks to these amazing public female figures, thanks to my strong and incredibly smart mother, a model, a veritable force of a nature, and thanks to all the intelligent, successful, independent women in her family’s side. ❤️