If August 2019 is anything to go by, what a time to be alive! This month has been a beautiful indication how representation matters and when it shows up, it’s celebrated because it brings confidence. This is a feel good post, I hope it melts your heart as much it did mine.
Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi
A lot of people had lost hope when it comes to beauty pageants, Miss South Africa included. For the longest time beauty pageants seemed to represent a certain perception of beauty and nothing beyond that. This year, the organizers of Miss SA finally heard us and had a variety of beautiful woman. By variety I mean, the finalists had different hair from long to short and natural and all skin tones; from light to dark and beautifully scarred.
Miss SA, Zozi Tunzi’s reign is such as emotional victory for black women in SA. Especially for young black women who have been fed a certain perception of beauty. Zozi’s short, natural hair and dark chocolate skin is finally recognized in the beauty pageant industry. And have you seen this woman’s ramp walk? How does it get better than this? It’s been a while since South Africa celebrated Miss SA, and I am inclined to believe our queen will do well at Miss World as well, the world is ready for this.
Lira Barbie Doll
When I was a young girl, there was none but one choice of dolls to choose from. As a result, at some point I hardly ever played with dolls because it felt monotonous to play with the same looking doll, all the time. When I could say no thank you, I did. And then came the Lira Barbie Doll. Although it is not in retain (yet), it’s beautiful that Barbie made the first African role model doll that looks like Lira.
I’ve had the privilege of seeing it live and the attention to detail is amazing. The outfit blew me away. The ensemble is by South African designers; Scalo and Nondi’s Handcrafted Jewellery.
What a time to be alive!
Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl
Brown skin girl. Your skin just like pearls. The best thing in the world. Never trade you for anybody else.
Need I say more? The timing of this song (the whole album) is immaculate. The music video is dedicated to Blu Ivy, it looks and feels like a love letter to her telling her to never be ashamed of who she is. I admire how Beyonce has done this with her songs, from celebrating Blu’s baby hair and Afro and now her brown skin. I’m happy every time I hear this song and Wizkid and Saint JHN add that extra something to the song as well.
Power #987Woman
This year, I had the honour and privilege of being part of the team behind #987Woman. I was part of the digital team, which means I was up close and personal with guests who were part of the line-up. There were many beautiful moments created with this year’s line-up and my highlights were; Pat Dambe, Sho Madjozi and Naledi Chirwa were the most memorable for me.
Pat Dambe’s show felt like a slumber party with my mother. Her wise words were often times punchy but her soft voice made it easier to receive her advice. She was soft spoken on and off air and she made everyone in the room feel comfortable. She also smiled through the difficult questions and carried her poise throughout the show. It was amazing to watch.
Sho Madjozi’s show felt like I was having coffee with an old friend, catching up on everything. Travels, culture and colourism. Her colourful personality made sense when she shared her travel experiences. Also, she’s a celebrity but she was easy going. She was comfortable in her skin; her language and her story. Her conversation with Gigi Lamayne and Dr David Maahlamela were enlightening.
Then there was Naledi Chirwa, her conversation reminded me of my 21 year old, fiery self. From the moment she went on air, she spoke from the heart. Unapologetically so. Her face lit up so much when she spoke about her experience in the National Assembly. Her passion for politics had me thinking about how I am not doing myself any justice by shying away from my greatness. Being a digital strategist is a big deal for me, but see me acting like it’s small waters. I walked away from that session ready to level up.
August is usually another month for me, but this year it was amazing. And we’re only half way through the month, I’ll probably write a part 2…