2023 has its fair share of movies and lyrics. Two in the spotlight are Barbie Movie (Warner Bros, 2023) and Kaliii (Kaliya Ashley Ross) performing Area Codes on Toxic Chocolate recording released June 2023. Both the Barbie Movie and Kaliii are hard-working in getting tickets sold, and songs downloaded. I take nothing away from their craft, entertainment value, and representations of the culture.
There’s always been rachetness in entertainment. Now, it is no different. Back in the day, we had JuicyFruit by Mtume (1983) and “I Wanna Sex You Up” by Color Me Bad (1991). She’s Gotta Have It (1986) and Pandora’s Box (2002) were blockbusters. So this is NOT any indictment of the songs that sex sells, nor the movies that sex sells.
I have to ask: Is the messaging suitable for the culture? How do we offset the mental and emotional programming of messaging?
Barbie Movie has been cut from conservative countries abroad and has been contested by some faith-based American audiences. Why? Through the pink lens of theatre, my takeaways were:
- Don’t aspire to be moms (wives) since it’s beneath you.
- Men are mainly useless.
- Women do best by focusing primarily on career success.
- A society of and by women would be a fantastic place.
The messaging is GREAT for capitalism and crafting a forever workforce of women. What were your takeaways?
I did a low-level scan of the lyrics of Kaliii’s Area Codes to find that it was more repackaged gold-digger-style antics. More: get money and favors, get as much as possible, and get pretty girl privilege. While the music and video are lively and upbeat, as an adult in the room, I think: at what cost? As a reference to the lyrics, what will the white boy on the roster want for the lobster? When the stack comes in, what’s the true transaction (reciprocity)? To be fair to Kaliii, on March 8, 2022, she released a single, “Standards,” for International Women’s Day. According to an interview with Hot New HipHop, Kaliii says, “For me, it took me a minute to build confidence to just be doing what I’m doing. For me, being a woman is just being confident, being creative, and showing who you are as a person through everything you do.” And I couldn’t agree more!
How do we grow our feminine confidence, creativity, and present ourselves authentically and NOT sell-out to the lowest-level man? How do we grow authentically AND choose men with value?
The conversation is being started. The Top Shelf Wife offers ways to expand confidence and creativity by being nurturing and supportive to ourselves (first and foremost) and then extending that value to others. Pretty is great, fun, and does open doors. Also, know that:
- There will always be other pretty women.
- Pretty is NOT a quality that sets anyone far and above anyone else in relationships.
- Having sustainable value to yourself and others may start at the base level of pretty, and many more avenues provide value over your life.
Ultimately, we get the most out of life for ourselves and for others when we creatively explore, grow confidence, and authentically shine that light when we show up in spaces. That cycle is a beautiful adventure. If you’re ready to start, check out the What’s Your Top Shelf Wife SuperPower Quiz and The Top Shelf Wife book.
There are 6 general benefits of Personality Testing:
- Improve your habits
- Intrapersonal and extrapersonal communication
- Find new life goals
- Develop a better understanding of others.
- Learn to practice acceptance
- Discover likeminded people