Will the “Real YOU” Please Stand Up? May 22, 2013Expert BlogsOff

Women… nurturers, taxi drivers, cooks, nurses, accountants, counselors and the list goes on and on with the jobs we perform in just one day! Whew, womanhood can be exhausting and often times overwhelming. Women seem to be able to do it all and many of you boldly proclaim superwoman as your primary title. Even superman was weakened by a single force, “cryptonite.” What’s your cryptonite? What one thing weakens you?

Amongst all those titles, jobs and duties who are you really? Without your credentials, classifications and titles who lives in that soul of yours? I have found this to be a tricky and complex question for many women, especially African American women who created and dearly hold on to the superwoman title. Women in general get lost in the shuffle of life, lost in taking care of everyone else’s needs before their own and lost in the rat-race of trying to keep up with life’s demands.

I have discovered African American women have just a few more titles to bear or live down. They often have been given titles they do not deserve or in fact want. The mad black woman, the matriarch, the race card queen, the sassy sapphire, the mammy, the “wannabee” and the list goes on… Not only do African American women do all the things other women do they struggle each day to dispel the mythological icons previously mentioned. These struggles are dramatically different because they are psychological battles of the mind that can pierce deeply into the souls and spirits of black women if they aren’t careful.

Today I ask “will the real you please stand up!” That’s right, underneath all that “stuff” who are you really. Are you defying the myths or feeding into the negative stereotypes? Michelle Obama and other great African American women cannot snuff out these mythological images alone. It is up to each and every African American woman to do her part in showing the world that we are much more than what society has depicted us to be. While I realize this is a complicated task, collectively we must unite together to command respect and re-create the images of who we are. I understand the challenges of fitting in and climbing the ladder of success in the workplace. I understand the importance of being accepted, approved of and invited. What I understand most is the the freedom to just BE… the real YOU!

Earlier I asked “what is your cryptonite?” Do you know what it is yet? I can think of two major sources of what weakens African American women. The first being societal oppression, the ultimate challenge indeed. The second being a severe beakdown in sisterhood. Yes, the sisterhood. Women not supporting one another, being jealous and envious of one another and pulling at each other’s pumps as one woman climbs the ladder of success.

When the real you is alive, awakened and intentional in life you don’t have to worry about pulling on pumps. When the real you shines through you don’t have to worry about fitting in. When the real you shows up and stands up you are liberating yourself from the roles, titles and expectations of others. While I realize the societal oppression may not go away YOU can choose how you respond to it. You do have the power to crush the cryptonite of “sisterbashing” and you begin the victory by loving yourself, taking care of yourself, defining you for yourself, and living life on your own terms. The “real you” should always stand up and stand boldly with confidence.

It’s time for RIGHT NOW change. Time to change how you think about yourself and other women. Time to be accountable for your life and the rebuilding of the sisterhood. Will the real YOU stand up and help US become victorious? Will the real you please stand up… please!

By Catrice Jackson

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