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I never really have bought into the " Alpha Female " stereotype too much but its something I've been called at lot and I have to admit to seeing the fight for the alpha position without me agreeing to the "competition".  I know I have an perceived confidence.  I don't back away from my opinion. I have a point of view of life and who I am.  I stand . I have an expectation or maybe an assumption that this is how everyone is inherently. I know that's a little naive to think but when I meet a person, I assume they have a point of view as I do and I expect them to express it and defend it as I do.   Some do and many don't. I find those who really fake at a point of view, who believe their opinion gives them a position over the next have the most issues with others -  who are ok with their take on things and who aren't shook by another persons POV.  They want to be the loudest .  They want their ideas to be embraced.  If we are thinking about ...

Live From The Color Complex, Part 1 Please read the above blog.[click] I can tell of the story of a mother, beautiful and alive, but told she was "black and ugly" for most of her childhood. I loved this blog. I'll share my mother's story another day.

I woke up this morning sick. Can't breathe. Chest hurts.  But on my mind, streaming like a movie......"Beauty is where you find it!" [scratches head] I quickly realized that I had not channeled Madonna but God is telling me something but what? First, what is Beauty?  I've always said that I would rather be perceived as "Beautiful" than "Pretty" any day.  Pretty is fixed. Its stationary. Its...well....boring.  Beauty can be packaged in so many ways. Its diverse.  Its magical. Its wondrous. Looking through your own lens of life.....what do you see? Where do you find Beauty? To Some, there's no difference in this thing called "Pretty" and "Beauty".  Its the same. Its all about the aesthetic. Its mostly visual and based on some deep brainwashing. Only a certain look, hair, skin tone, weight, and flair needs to apply.  Personality and spirit are secondary.  For me, Beauty is deeper.  Beauty is how a person views the ...

Palin: wrong woman, wrong message Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger. By Gloria Steinem September 4, 2008 Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes. But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been a...

art by Kortez Sitting in a room full of women, chatting - no jealousy, no strife, no eye rollin ' nonsense. Beautiful. Women simply sharing their needs and wants to be healthy and happy. In the desire to help women, I want women to look at each other has advocates, kindred spirits, and simply sisters. At a time when we are raising our children alone, we are suffering from all sorts of health conditions, we need one another. We need to love each other. Personally, I try so very hard to love my sistas . My life's work is serving to women. I won't subscribe to "man sharing", I'm not gonna take ya man ( lawd ), I'm not gonna roll my eyes at you, I'm going to smile at you and try to love you. Why be jealous? Its refreshing to watch women from all ethnicities , socio -economic backgrounds, sit in a room and simply share and love each other. Makes me smile. I'm equally blessed to have so many men to be supportive of my journey. We need men. NEED. Yeah.....

After the verdict of the R.kelly trial, I thought about the response of the black community to this trial and other situations when black girls (women) accuse black men of molestation/rape. Secrecy permeates throughout the black community in this area and yet the rates of sexual abuse in the black community is the same as in other communities but who believes black women when we become brave enough to say, "I've been violated". This is less about R.Kelly and his issues with young girls but with how we need to protect our girls and women. Molestation/rape in the black community isn't new so we can't say its because of broken homes, absentee fathers, hip hop, etc. Our grandmothers have stories, our mothers, our aunts and cousins all have these stories. No one was taken to jail. No one received therapy and sometimes, even those in the church would tell women to just hush up. How do we think this abuse manifests? What goes in, must comes out, right? Black wome...