from odhiambo okecth
date Oct 17, 2009 11:03 AM
subject Serena Williams
Serena Williams is no role model for girls
16th October 2009
The latest issue of some magazine has Serena William stark NAKED in the front cover.
And it reminded me of when Serena came to Kenya recently and his dress code on arrival left me wondering what message she was sending to the girls who aspire to be like her.
For me, I was done with her. I saw that she was the kind of influence I would not like my daughters to emulate. Some people vouched for her big thighs, some vouched for the kind of money she makes playing semi naked as she always does.
As Ahmed Sekou Toure would tell the French that we were happy in freedom than be chained to servitude through our love for freebies. This is the kind of influence we are craving to associate with. This is the kind of influence that sent the Minister for Education dancing in public!
Recent studies have shown how badly we are doing and before it could dry on the ink, Serena William sitting Naked in a front cover of a magazine.
Some food for thought for Serena Thigh Lovers……
Odhiambo T Oketch
Proudly Kenyan
from OKELLO David Otieno
date Oct 17, 2009 11:48 AM
subject Re: Serena Williams
I never mind her thighs, but for sure….she is not a role model in
our society. In the US, its o.k. But here, I wouldn’t want my daughter
to even know her..lol
from Shri Sa Hetep
date Oct 18, 2009 6:21 PM
subject Re: Serena Williams
I am a Black American female, and a great part of my experience in this country has been learning that despite traditional standards of beauty (thin, fair, european), I am beautiful just like anyone one else.
Also, as I try to identify with my African heritage, I realized that I do not have to go through a female genital mutilation ritual in order to become a respected woman among Africans. It is not a crime, as a Black Woman, to be Strong, Independent, Successful, and able to define my own destiny. This is what Venus and Serena Williams represent to me….and this might make some feel insecure (especially men).
In my humble opinion, Serena is where she is today because of a huge effort from her Father’s contribution, hard work, and vision. I highly respect this man for what he has done with both Venus and Serena Williams. I am sure he taught them proper values, and morals, but what his efforts taught them most of all, as a loving Father, is for his talented girls to Strive to be the best, Be Strong, Disciplined, Competitive, and have your mind. Although they came from poverty, he taught them not to allow their circumstances to define who they want to be in life. I think Serena used those same values in deciding to be on the cover of this magazine. She defines for herself who she wants to be, and I respect her for that.
There is an organization called Girls, Inc. and it mentors, teaches, & encourages our young girls to be strong, intelligent, etc. And it is teaching our girls to make their own choices and follow their own minds/hearts.
http://www.girlsinc.org/girls-inc.html
Instead of judging a woman like Serena Williams, maybe consider how much Black Women have struggled to be defined as beautiful to mainstream society. Black male athletes are given way too much latitude in their own personal behavior and are still respected as well as used a role models for young boys, e.g. Magic Johnson is still respected despite his sexual infidelities & AIDS, Koby Bryant is still respected despite his adultery, even OJ Simpson was respected by Black Men after his first encounter with the law. Now Serena has not broken any laws, or cheated on a husband…she simply chose to pose in a way that made her feel beautiful. The picture was tastefully done, not at all like a playboy picture (which many men respect and subscribe to).
How you raise your daughter is your personal business, but let us maintain respect for our high profile Black Female atheletes & celebrities that have worked very hard to achieve success. Do not contribute to an industry that has put down the success and beauty of our sisters.
Peace,
Shri Sa Hetep
(Humbly Black Female American)
from basil ibrahim
date Oct 18, 2009 6:41 PM
subject Re: Serena Williams
I’m afraid the old Egyptian is right.
It continues to sadden, just how much we continue to ignore, or deny individuals their rights, while campaigning for a more just society through group claims.
The example of the Mau where Kenyans are ganging up to deny individuals their property rights, the public outcry over the proposed marriage bills – and any laws that seek to improve the lot of Kenyan women, the outrageous protests by the Christian fundamentalists over the provisions for Kadhi courts in the proposals for a new constitution, the vicious way many people spoke of South African athlete Caster Semenya agter the World Championships, the complete lack of sympathy for Kenyan muslims/ Somalis being terrorised and attacked in the war on terror or Kikuyu boys being mowed down in the war on Mungiki, the silly protestations over the same-sex union on page 3 of the latest Sunday Nation and finally this moralising over Serena’s exercising her personal freedoms, show just how much work we have to put in before we realise that liberty is the most importantbasic foundational right.
It is very odd that anyone engaged in human rights work should find themselves exercised about a woman liberated from the shackles of conformity to traditions we neither understand nor truly respect. The American president and his wife, have not incidentally, been not too long ago on the covers of American magazines. Then too, there were people telling them what decorum demanded they expose or hide from the public.
from Jupiter Punungwe
date Oct 18, 2009 11:55 PM
subject Re: Re: Serena Williams
I grew up in Zimbabwe with people who had hardly been influenced by European standards of beauty. Believe me when I say Serena is the epitome of beauty in my cultural standards. She is such an unbelievably high quality specimen of a beautiful woman.
She has a nice well rounded bottom. Her skin is that very beautiful coffee hue of brown. It has a nice smooth texture that gleams when well oiled with traditional cosmetics like peanut butter oil. Her legs are so firm and well rounded. She looks so sexy. I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that she rounds off he sexuality by getting really juicy down there during the act. She has a wonderfully strong physique that you can almost imagine her holding onto you tightly, grinding her hips powerfully against you. What more would a men went.
She should not judge herself by the standards of a race she does not belong to. She should ask those of us who know that she was made perfectly for us and she will never feel insecure because we will be praising her all the way. Actually most men in my culture would write off her sister Venus as too skinny.
Sister Shri,
It takes a lot of hard work to climb to the top, and am very pleased because you know the history.
It takes just those kind of simple mistakes to fall down with speed. And if you admire Serena like I do, we must help her. She is like the King who parades in the street naked only for court poets and jesters to give him accolades about how well he is dressed. We must not do that. We must tell her that she is NAKED and no good role model for the Girl Child.
The men you have alluded to have never gone that down. Infidelity is not allowed. Adultery is not allowed, but none of those stars have ever posed NAKED.
Again, AIDS and HIV are not necessarily contracted through sexual escapades. They can be through other means other than having sex. I bet we need not to defend wrongs just because of perceived competitions based on the fallacy of equality.
I would still admire and adore Serena, but twice in less than 6 months she has disappointed me. She came to Kenya to support a Girls school and on arrival, she came semi NAKED. Purely no inspiration to the same girls, then she poses NAKED for the whole world to see!
Despite all her successes and the discipline that her father strived so had to achieve on her, she is proving to the whole world that she came out with NOTHING.
With all respect to the ladies and men who respect themselves. African or not.
Odhiambo T Oketch
Hi All,
Serena is a good gal. You need to understand the message they were trying to pass across “Great body”, and how do you see that? by showing it, so please come off it.
I cant understand why men like to crucify women for all the wrong reasons, the woman has a great body and that’s it.
How about those men who go for the body building contests, they are nude and nobody talks about it. When its a woman everybody is up in arms complaining. Please stop this and lets appreciate the good work women do.
In many cultures, when there is a problem in the society, in a family or marriage, a woman is blamed, when there is a divorce and the man and the woman go their separate ways, the woman is blamed more. When the woman recollects her life and starts it all over again and is succeeding in her life, people (men) start judging her based on her failed marriage while the same is not directed towards the man.
Please lets accept that when it is bad for the man, it is bad for the woman too. Let us not use double standards in judging men and women, they are equal as what a man can do, a woman can do it better!
Kind regards,
Rhoune Willis
Odhiambo,
While I understand your ire, I would like to urge you to understand that Serena, like many other icons from the West, belong to a different culture from yours. That is why she doesn’t care what you feel about her nude pictures. Her behavior or image belongs to the American society where they are not quite as furious as you about her pose.
Right here at home in northern Kenya, there are communities where mature girls go about their business topless in broad daylight Odhiambo. They see nothing and feel nothing.
I hope you will however not give up on your daughters and insist that, as your culture demands, they stay ‘decent’.
This world is so big and complex that if such matters drew your ire on a daily basis, we will just lose you my brother.
Take heart.
Odiambo,
And some people say she is a Jango’!
Mr. Oketch,
I think I have seen a preview of the magazine you aare referring
to…..the most interesting thing is that even as we speak, she may
still be considered a role model in the culture she belongs. I want
to assume you have seen most other nudity magazines and the people who
pose on/in them, you would agree that some of those photos leave
nothing to our imagination.
The truth of the matter is, I wouldnt want my daughter, sister to
associate with that kind of dressing or lack of it. One thing however
that has to be understood is, Americans, and the west in general
celebrate the human body, particularly the female body in very
different ways..In Art/design institutions of higher learning, it is
normal for nude portraits to be taken, with live exhibits available,
half-nudes jumping out of birthday cakes isnt strange taste, hot-pants
and very scanty clothing are fashionable (the kind that will have you
stripped in kenya)…..without anyone batting an eye.
I’m I supporting Serena’s appearance? Not at all…would I purport to
judge her and say that what she did was wrong?It is not my place to do
so……but I wouldnt be supprised if her diary registers a spike in
appointments to speak at luncheons and schools. It is simply that our
level of permissiveness in society is at very different levels…and
Kenya is fast moving into that direction
I’m afraid the old Egyptian is right.
It continues to sadden, just how much we continue to ignore, or deny individuals their rights, while campaigning for a more just society through group claims.
The example of the Mau where Kenyans are ganging up to deny individuals their property rights, the public outcry over the proposed marriage bills – and any laws that seek to improve the lot of Kenyan women, the outrageous protests by the Christian fundamentalists over the provisions for Kadhi courts in the proposals for a new constitution, the vicious way many people spoke of South African athlete Caster Semenya after the World Championships, the complete lack of sympathy for Kenyan Muslims/ Somalis being terrorized and attacked in the war on terror or Kikuyu boys being mowed down in the war on Mungiki, the silly protestations over the same-sex union on page 3 of the latest Sunday Nation and finally this moralizing over Serena’s exercising her personal freedoms, show just how much work we have to put in before we realize that liberty is the most important basic foundational right.
It is very odd that anyone engaged in human rights work should find themselves exorcised about a woman liberated from the shackles of conformity to traditions we neither understand nor truly respect. The American president and his wife, have not incidentally, been not too long ago on the covers of American magazines. Then too, there were people telling them what decorum demanded they expose or hide from the public.