Is it a crime to be female, bold, and black ?- in defense of Rihanna and the assertion of the female body

by ofunneamaka | Jun 3, 2014 | alldatjazz, blog, rihanna

I really tried NOT to write this post, like I really tried. I tried to keep my Rihanna stan-ness in check on my Twitter and Instagram feeds but every time I read a disrespectful, negative comment about Rihanna it just made my skin crawl and I felt compelled in some way to address them, and to defend her. Because you see, for me, it’s not just about the fact that she wore a “proactive” dress to an award show, its about her choice to wear that dress to an award show and how the world, consequently has perceived her.

Let me back track for a bit, and give you some context. If you weren’t aware, Rihanna just received a CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) award for being Fashion Icon of the year. Past winners of this award include Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga, Iman, Kate Moss and Sarah Jessica Parker. The CFDA describes the event as an “ event that recognizes the outstanding contributions made to American fashion by individuals from all areas of the industry and related arts, with awards being given for design excellence in womenswear, menswear, and accessories as well as extraordinary accomplishments in journalism, creative vision, and lifetime achievement.” So basically, Rihanna was recognized by a group of her fashion peers (a network comprised of top fashion retailers, journalists, stylists, influencers and the 450+ member designers of the CFDA.) for being a badass in the fashion world.

And, she arrived at the CFDA awards wearing this.

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