When a woman picks a Woman Crush Wednesday, or WCW, to post to Instagram, she picks someone, generally a female celebrity, whom she looks up to. But, depending on whom she chooses, she might find that people question her self-worth. Adults, strangers or even friends may criticize her if her WCW is a celebrity whom they feel is too provocative. And, sometimes, it can become a problem.
I’ve seen it happen time and time again. For example, I have a friend on Instagram who once posted a WCW of an exotic dancer, and, instantly, people dove into her comments and criticized her for having no self-worth, as if admiring an exotic dancer meant she was going to drop out of college and become one. It didn’t matter that she admired her because of who she was and not what she did to make a living. This exotic dancer stripped to support herself through college after dropping out of school for personal reasons. She constantly promotes the importance of self-worth and value. It’s as if people saw her as an advocate for exotic dancing when, in actuality, she was the complete opposite.
Society has a habit of conditioning people to think a certain way and then condemn them for doing so. Girls in the millennial generation have grown up in a society that is fixated on women’s appearances. TV shows, billboards, movie screens, tabloids and even music idolize the curvaceous women who wear revealing clothing, but then, when women aim to look and act like those women, society criticizes women for thinking this is how they should dress.
Lately, role models include exotic dancers, explicit female rappers, and women who are famous for being pretty; each person is entitled to admire whomever he or she wants to admire. People need to realize that others choose their role models based on relatability. Deciding to look up to someone does not mean a person wants to be exactly like that individual, just that he or she admires a certain quality that individual has.
WCW’s do not have to be lawyers or full-time activists; as long as they’re motivational to a person, who cares what their profession is? And, many times, seemingly provocative women are also entrepreneurs, activists and businesswomen. The problem is that that women’s pasts and appearances blind society, so much so that people do not see the ability these women have to be influential.
Not only is there nothing wrong with a provocative profession, but women sometimes also use these fields to get where they really want to be and make ends meet. For example, exotic dancers can have other jobs, be in school, or are saving up for a better opportunity or to reach a goal. It’s hard to imagine they only do it for the sake of doing so. Take Josephine Baker, who was an exotic dancer in the 1920s. After dancing for a few years, she began acting, served in the military, participated in politics, and supported the civil rights movement, according to BBC News.
More recently, we have women like Blac Chyna, who openly admitted she stripped her way through college. She is now a businesswoman with her own online boutique, skincare brand and beauty bar, according to bossip.com.
Or what about Lady Gaga, who, in an interview with imnotobssessed.com, admitted that she not only did drugs, but also stripped when she was 18? She also said that she would never advise other people to do the same, but it was something she had to do in order to get out of her parents house and be on her own. Now, according to ladygaga.com, Gaga owns her own foundation, Born this Way, which works to strengthen the self-confidence of youth.
That’s whom we look up to. We look up to these women and their accomplishments, not just their looks. A woman may admire her role model’s appearance, but, sometimes, it isn’t the only thing she finds appealing. Women can look up to whomever they choose because everyone needs a role model.
