Happy Wednesday, y'all!!
Today's a big one! We've got Woman Crush Wednesday but, like, on a larger scale!
So, first: Lady Gaga
I've loved Lady Gaga as a human since she came out with "Born this Way," an encouraging anthem about being yourself. Yeah, she's got some other songs that are enjoyable, but this one really rings out for everyone [and it doesn't hurt that she wrote it as an homage to the early 90s music empowering women and the LGBT+ community]
But, on to what's going on most recently. Last week, Lady Gaga was on the Today show to promote the Share Kindness campaign and opened up about her own struggle with PTSD. This isn't the first time that Lady Gaga has opened up about topics considered taboo, either. Two years ago she shared her story of surviving a sexual assault; and her most recent album, Joanne, which has created a lot of buzz around the topic of sexual assault as well. So, long story short: Lady Gaga is up to some good, stigma-breaking things in the world. And even if she once wore a dress made out of raw meat (which is not just icky, but also bad for the environment) she's done a lot of great stuff.
Next Up: Feminist Role Model Extraordinaire, Beyonce
We all know that Beyonce is one of the biggest feminist role models in pop culture these days, focusing on various definitions of feminism by supporting movements for people of color (instead of just for white people like a huge number of white feminists do).
Well, Beyonce has just been nominated for an amazing 9 grammy awards, all very well-deserved. This year, Beyonce has released a bunch of music, from Formation to Lemonade, that was not directed at white people (*gasp!*) which is a very important and pretty unprecedented move on her part. Amazingly, white people have still felt the need to comment on it, as usual, but these comments have gotten a lot of responses about how it's not for them anyway, so whatever, guys.
The fact that Beyonce has earned and received the highest number of Grammy nominations for this year, when she released some of the most (in white people's opinions) controversial music is a step in the right direction. It's great that we can accept, acknowledge, and reward her for making great music, now we just need to get to the point where people don't freak out about it not being for them specifically.
So, just try to remember that not everything is made for you (I mean, I'm also white so it's not made for me either) and understand that the world cannot be just for white people, yeah?
And Beyonce is a star (in the like being famous sense and the being excellent and amazing sense both) and pretty close to flawless, so like, let her do her thing. She doesn't need your permission anyway.
Moving on to Rhianna
Some of you may know that December 1 is World AIDs Day. If you're not among those who knew that, now you do. December 1 is World AIDs Day.
Well, this year for World AIDs Day, Rhianna got together with Prince Harry (the ginger one in case you, like me, didn't know which prince was which) to go be tested for HIV. This was a part of a bigger message that (1) getting tested for HIV isn't too difficult of a process, just a simple blood test and (2) anyone and everyone can and should get tested--HIV doesn't just affect gay people or transgender people or black people, literally anyone can get it. So, if you haven't been tested recently (or ever) and there is any chance you could have come into contact with the fluids that transmit HIV (blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, breastmilk, vaginal fluid, or rectal fluids) in a way that could have allowed them to get into your system, y'all should go get a test done. It's short and simple and you can easily locate a testing center near you through this website.
Last but not least: Venus and Serena Williams
The Williams sisters are excellent both on the [tennis] court and off. Recently, they started a center for victims of gun violence in their hometown (Compton, CA), which they named after their sister, Yetunde Price, who was a victim of gun violence in 2003. The center, called the Yetunde Price Resource Center, is set to start accepting community members next month and will provide resources for victims of all types who have experienced gun violence. This center is a step in the right direction in a nation that has seen increased gun violence and death, especially among African-American youth and frequently perpetrated by police, in recent years (Compton itself, according to Complex has had gun-related homicide numbers triple in 2016 alone).
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