Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
- Maya Angelou
In my opinion, being comfortable with your sexuality is a great thing. I love being a woman, and I absolutely love Maya Angelou's poem, "Phenomenal Woman", because I feel like it embodies who I am as a person. On some occasions I do feel like showing off my body, like when I wear a sari that's maybe more revealing than the conventional sari, or if I'm going out for a night on the town but always in a manner where there is still some mystery. I think now is the time to show off and appreciate (in a classy manner) what I have because it's all downhill from here, right?!
On the other hand though, I think that, like the woman that Maya Angelou describes, I don't need to shout or jump about, and I like having that "inner mystery". I think girls who reveal too much of themselves are "shouting" for attention, and although they might think that they're being modern women, and that they're very feminist in their thinking of being free and open sexually, I feel that it actually is oppressive. There is a difference between loving and respecting your body, and vying for attention from men (which is what I feel is oppressive). At the end of the day, when women wear ultra revealing clothing, yes it looks hot, yes we feel sexy, confident, brazen, self assured and powerful...but truthfully the only reason we feel that way is because we know that men find us hard to resist in those clothes. By "those clothes" I mean clothes like a school girl's uniform, a dress that looks like "that" dress by Versace (the one that J-Lo wore when she was J-Lo)...something totally revealing and something that leaves very little for the imagination.
I say It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
- Maya Angelou
In my opinion, being comfortable with your sexuality is a great thing. I love being a woman, and I absolutely love Maya Angelou's poem, "Phenomenal Woman", because I feel like it embodies who I am as a person. On some occasions I do feel like showing off my body, like when I wear a sari that's maybe more revealing than the conventional sari, or if I'm going out for a night on the town but always in a manner where there is still some mystery. I think now is the time to show off and appreciate (in a classy manner) what I have because it's all downhill from here, right?!
On the other hand though, I think that, like the woman that Maya Angelou describes, I don't need to shout or jump about, and I like having that "inner mystery". I think girls who reveal too much of themselves are "shouting" for attention, and although they might think that they're being modern women, and that they're very feminist in their thinking of being free and open sexually, I feel that it actually is oppressive. There is a difference between loving and respecting your body, and vying for attention from men (which is what I feel is oppressive). At the end of the day, when women wear ultra revealing clothing, yes it looks hot, yes we feel sexy, confident, brazen, self assured and powerful...but truthfully the only reason we feel that way is because we know that men find us hard to resist in those clothes. By "those clothes" I mean clothes like a school girl's uniform, a dress that looks like "that" dress by Versace (the one that J-Lo wore when she was J-Lo)...something totally revealing and something that leaves very little for the imagination.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, I love being a woman, I love being able to wear clothes that make me feel sexy, but at the same time, I think some girls show off too much of their body, or are too brazen in their attitude towards things like sex. Some things are meant to be private, and I feel that when celebrities such as Angelina and Megan Fox talk about their sex lives, it is meant to titillate the reader and make us (or more specifically, make men) view them as objects of sexual desire, as that is the image they want to present. I just feel like that brings us backwards as women, and that I would rather be known for other things, but I guess that's just me.
I would never call or badmouth another girl and call them a slut, because I believe that girls who generally act like men, are called sluts, skanks, whores, etc. I don't understand what the double standards are about nor do I wish to endorse them. Why are women called such things? I don't feel that women who are simply happy or comfortable with their bodies and sexuality are called derogatory words, I think it's a lot more complicated than that. One can't say that only women that are confident and comfortable with their sexuality are called such things because there are plenty of women out there, who are young and old, that are totally comfortable with themselves, yet they still conduct themselves in a classy manner, and are never thought of by society as being a "slut", or "skank". I suppose the majority of women who are called those words, are women who are very vocal about sexual matters, or wish to portray themselves in that manner by constantly wearing clothes that are meant to titillate the audience, and in that regard there is no double standard for me because I would feel that a male was equally tacky if he was to be extremely vocal about his sexual prowess. I feel that you can be confident and happy with your body, but that doesn't mean that you need to constantly let other people know or put your body up for display every time you go out.
When I see or hear of a girl participating in a lingerie show at a club, competing in a wet t-shirt contest, or kissing other girls when the Katy Perry song comes on, I don't sit and think "Wow that's great, this girl is really comfortable with her sexuality and that's such a great thing for women all over the world". I do however think that she needs to grow up and realize that you can be a confident and sexy person, without subjugating yourself to becoming a hormone-ridden teenage boy's fantasy for the night.
