Did You Think the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show Was Too Provocative?
A reflective piece on female body empowerment.
The 2020 Superbowl Halftime show with J.Lo and Shakira garnered quite a bit of negative feedback from people. Some people felt it wasn’t “family-friendly” and a “bad example for girls”. And I understand the frustration. Most of the negative feedback was coming from parents — and it is not because they are bad people. At the core of that fear, they just want their daughters to be well respected, loved and happy, which is a sentiment that all parents can relate to. We need to see through the words and reflect on people’s intentions in these divisive times. But this is not what this post is about.
At the core of that fear, they just want their daughters to be well respected, loved and happy, which is a sentiment that all parents can relate to.
I want to be frank and say that my response to the halftime show was different. Watching the performance, I was dreaming of the day I would become as confident and comfortable with my body as they are.
I admired them and I felt empowered.
This post is my attempt at explaining my point of view, which I am sharing with the hopes that everyone would start having open and honest discussions with each other to remind the world of our humanity instead of causing misunderstanding and judging others who are different.
So please stay with me while I tell you a story about a little girl.
I discovered my sexuality and the fact that people responded to my body in a sexual way at the age of 7. (I know it seems young, but I know I am not the only one with this experience.) Since then, as much as I wanted to be a carefree girl, I always felt ashamed; like there was something wrong with me, because of the predatory and possessive ways boys (and eventually men) treated me.
In my teen years, I was often told I was too prude and should “loosen up a bit”.
It seemed no one understood me. From then on, the way people responded to my body’s natural progression to womanhood went from weird to traumatizing. From minor assaults to major ones, by the time my adulthood came, my body felt foreign to me, like it wasn’t really mine and I had no say in what happens to it.
From minor assaults to major ones, by the time my adulthood came, my body felt foreign to me, like it wasn’t really mine and I had no say in what happens to it.
So naturally, I was harsh and judgmental towards it. I did not know my sexuality, I did not have any athletic tendencies, and I had a stress-eating problem. It took me years of therapy, personal discovery, and gentle self-care to finally be able to say “I love you” to my body. To be honest, I still struggle with this, some days more, some days less.
So when I saw Shakira and J.Lo at the half-time show, I saw them representing women whose bodies show so much strength despite being told they are weak.
I saw bodies that get up despite being struck down.
I saw the bodies of women that produced something as pure as a child, despite being told it is impure.
I saw women who were fearless and unafraid to show their bodies in all its glory, despite being told to hide it.
This is why seeing them be so comfortable in their skins despite all those odds, I saw strength. I saw that when a woman shows her body, she shows strength.
As Jada Pinkett Smith so rightfully says in a Facebook post:
“Although we see corporations exploit power through women and girls, with far less clothing on, to sell their products, do we protest? But hey, a woman has to be in check, right? Know her position since we’ve all been taught that a powerful woman is dangerous.”
When I tell the story of my body, I’ve had men ask, “Which part of the world did you grow up in? Sounds like the slums or something. Was your childhood that horrible? Where were your parents?”
In reality, I lived quite a privileged childhood living in different parts of the world with caring parents who were quite protective of me.
So if this is my story, imagine the stories of thousands of other women who did not have the same privilege.
If you have gone this far reading this, I want to thank you for your time and ask you a small favor. Once you finish reading this, I want you to put away your devices and reflect.
If you identify as a woman, think about your own story and your relationship with your body.
Remember that no matter how much pain you might have gone through, please do not give up. Keep trying, keep working on loving yourself a little bit more each day. Eventually, you will have a moment where you see your own strength shine through in all its beauty. If you love yourself and your body, this is the best way to teach your daughter to love themselves and hopefully, have a better experience as a woman in this world.
If you identify as a straight man, I want you to pause for a moment the next time you see a “sexy” woman on the street.
Think not about objectifying her, but think about the struggles that she has gone through to be there. Think about how much resiliency and tenacity one would need to have to BE her. Only then, you would see its TRUE beauty.
I wish you all peace and serenity.
“Soon the reign of shame on a woman’s body and her control of it will end. She will be autonomous. For she can’t truly be free without it. And oh boy, what a different world this place will be… when she is free.” — Jada Pinkett Smith
