Why I Love Being a Black Woman

In the 90s I used to buy back to back issues of Essence and devour every issues but after a few years I stopped buying the magazine as I felt that it stopped speaking to me. Essence to me was cardboard thin and full of uninspiring topics so I chose to spend my hard earned cash on magazines such as Elle and Grazia. Then last week on Twitter I came across an exciting campaign that Essence is running called �Why I Love Being a Beautiful Woman� Featuring women such as as Kelly Rowland, Ledisi, Chrisette Michele, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Tichina Arnold, Tia Mowrya, Tamera Mowry, Lisa Wu-Hartwell and Tamala Arnold. Ledisi has even penned a song about the project called Real Women which conveys the feeling, inspiration and reality behind it. The ethos of the campaign champions the ideology of being a strong, confident Black women. All the wonderful attributes of being Black, female and beautiful are harnessed here. In fact Black is Beautiful is the theme of the July Issue of Essence which features Jada Pinkett-Smith as the cover star and where she talks about her issues regarding her body image (read Clutch magazine's take on this here) and how she felt insecure about her tiny frame. I have not seen the issue as yet we poor folks in the UK don�t get the US issues till a bit later than the US but I cannot wait to get my mitts on it.

The Women

I saw the original version of The Women when I was in my late teens and all I remember was being awestruck by how glamorous, witty and slick it was. Also the fact that there were no men anywhere to be seen did not go un-noticed. The 1939 classic starred the great Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and Norma Sheerer as wealthy socialites who came to blows when one of them becomes romantically involved with the other's husband. Along with power and gossip, one of the themes in the movie is the comradeship of females and how they bond together during a crisis and this is an element that is displayed in the remake that was released last week. The modern day version of The Women has an amazing cast such as Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett and Eva Mendes on board. Meg Ryan plays Mary Haines whose husband is having an affair with Crystal played by Eva Mendes. Mary's pals, Sylvia played by Annette Bening, Edith played by Debra Messing and Alex played by Jada Pinkett Smith all rally round to provide support and a plan for vengeance.

As the title suggests The Women circa 2008 is a real girlie girlie film and one that you should go and see with your gal pals. It is engaging right from the start and packed full of real laughter moments. If flicks such as The Devil Wears Prada are your type then you will love this. Another thing I loved about The Women is the way they tackle the image of females in the media. You have Mary Haines' young daughter showing the affects of the media's unrealistic representation of women by almost starving herself and you also have Sylvia who is editor of a top fashion magazine trying to break the mould of skinny models on the cover. The leading ladies show wonderful charisma in what is a truly enjoyable film.