I don't know about you but I have been listening to Jazmine Sullivan's Heaux Tales non-stop since its release on Friday. Heaux Tales touches on everything from love, lust, regret, betrayal, empowerment and everything in in between, including real-life stories from ladies about their experiences with love or loss and everything in between.
If you didn't watch the Tiny Desk series, here's the link:
When I heard the first song, Bodies, I wondered if someone had been following me around in my early to later than I am proud to say 20's. Let's just say I enjoyed my time at the #1 party school in the country and the years that followed as a young, single woman. A lot of late nights, early mornings and bruises (both physical and emotional), sometimes requiring a recap, pictures and videos as a reminder. There is a certain feeling of freedom that comes with early adulthood (people don't talk as much about the consequences, because every action has a reaction). I always think of Ms. Frizzle when I think about that time in my life:
I took a lot of changes, made a bunch of mistakes and had to clean up my fair share of messes. Now that I am a little older, a little more mature, and a tad more responsible, looking back I wouldn't necessarily change a thing (ok there may be 1 or 2 things I would have done differently). I also don't hope my parent read this lol. I just wish back then there were opportunities and spaced to talk about what it means to be a young woman and navigating love, live, sex, relationships, friendships, and all the responsibilities that come along with it.
Speaking from my own experience, growing up we didn't talk about sex, love, relationships, etc. It left me to feel like I was on my own navigating these experiences. And while I had my friends to turn to, they were often times trying to figure things out for themselves, the blind leading the blind lol. It was like jumped into the pool first and figured out how to swim later.
Another thing I thought about was agency. When I talk about agency, I mean a person's ability to act in a way that produces a particular outcome or accomplishes a goal. I found this article, its a tad old but relevant to the topic: On Being Female and Sexual Agency | Psychology Today. It also highlights the double standards there are between men and women and how they approach and express themselves and their bodies.
I think there is something powerful about making choices and owning them. I feel like this project was the perfect conversation starter. It definitely validated and normalized some of the many thoughts and feelings I have had over the years.
Below is an article The Inquirer about Jazmine and this project:
Let me know your thoughts!!!
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