Guest Blogger: Woman by BrownSuga

Hello MGF Readers! It's Guest Blogger night! Before going on, I've noticed a few regulars have joined reading our humble little piece of internet vapor. Welcome to you all! We hope that we're at the very least entertaining and at best thought provoking. And as always, if you feel the itch to write...let us know! We're always looking for guests!

Tonight's Guest Blogger is from BrownSuga. She sent this to me a few months ago after the passing of Coretta Scott King. Yes, it's geared towards the ladies, but strength and pride in one's self (as I have found out) is crucial to everyone's human fabric. So, I felt that it was a good thing to share BrownSuga's point of view. Be safe and well, everyone! - Lily

What makes a woman, a woman?


Earlier this week, as I made my weekly drive to Florida to see about inventory, the question was posed to the listening audience of a radio station. That morning we lost a great woman, Coretta Scott King. At the age of 78, Mrs. King personified the word ‘woman’. As the widow of slain Civil Right’s Activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she continued to carry out peaceful protests against injustice for many years.

The day before, I posed the same question to myself. What makes a woman a woman?

When woman are faced with the possibility of having their “womanhood” removed for medical reasons, a myriad of thoughts enters the mind. Survivors of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer and a host of other medical ailments, are sometimes faced with this loaded question. If the doctor has to remove one or both of my breasts, will men still find me desirable? If a total hysterectomy is my only choice for survival, will someone want to marry me, even though I can’t give him a child? If my body continually produces “abnormal” cells which can cause an STD in other people, will someone still love me sexually? Will any of those things stop me from being a woman?


NO!


I am a woman because:

I am strong
I love with my whole heart
I have grace
I have dignity
I have integrity
I am funny
I am intelligent
I am beautiful on the inside and out
I have survived the struggle
I protect my family
I defend my people
I raise leaders
I am somebody and I choose to be a woman
I SAID SO!


Many of us grew up as the local “tomboy”. We are more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts than skirts and high heels. The way we dressed didn’t make us any less of a woman. We might not be the “girly girl” but we were still girls. As we grow older, we get more comfortable in our skin. Yes, I am still more comfortable in a great pair of jeans and some Tim’s than I am in a form fitting dress. However, I can appreciate the power of that little black dress with 3 inch heels. And whichever outfit I chose, I will look good and still be a woman.

My point is you don’t have to be feminine to be a woman. India Arie sings:

“Sometimes I comb my hair and sometimes I won’tDepend on how the wind blows I might even paint my toesit really just depends on whatever feels good in my soulI’m not the average girl from your videoand I ain’t built like a supermodelBut, I learned to love myself unconditionallybecause I am a queen”

~excerpt from “Video”

“Breast Cancer and ChemotherapyTook away her crown and gloryShe promised God if she was to surviveShe would enjoy everyday of her life oohOn national televisionHer diamond eyes are sparklingBald headed like a full moon shiningSinging out to the whole wide world like HEY...

I am not my hairI am not this skinI am not your expectations no noI am not my hair I am not this skin I am a soul that lives within”

~except from “I am not my hair”


My ‘womanhood’ is a definition I CREATE! So ladies, let them take what they have to. Let them strip you of your ‘womanly’ organs. Do not, DO NOT let them strip you of your womanhood, because no one can take that away from you. You are woman. HEAR YOU ROAR!