Disney Princesses: My heroes.

Cartoons aren't only for kids. They can also be an adult thing. Fact is, children don't understand most cartoons they watch. Why? The diction and the literary devices used in them are often too advanced. And unless your kid is of course some Einstein, he may not be able to relate with these cartoons till he's grown. 

Well! If you're a cartoon lover like I am, then you probably are a Disney fan. I recently took a trip down memory lane, and all the cartoons I loved while I was a child made much sense to me now, which reinforces my earlier opinion. In fact, I seem to love them more now that I'm a young adult.

Now I'm gonna review some of my favorite Disney Princess cartoons. So let's get to it, shall we?

 

1. The Princess and The Frog.

So for number one, we have 'The Princess and the Frog'. In my view, it's the best Disney fairytale cartoon! I just love everything about it. 

We see Tiana, a commoner driven by her ambition to own a restaurant. Everyone ridicules her and tells her she's gotten way in over her head, but she keeps believing in her dreams. She knows it's hard work and is ever ready to put in the work, no matter how much she has to sacrifice. You go, girl! 

Now that's a fine representation of the struggles of a black female trying to set her place in the world of today.

Oh! I loved the addition of juju. It was apt! Great job, Disney. 

2. The Beauty and The Beast.

It might just be the geek in me talking, but I love a person that can read and is crazy about it. Hey, she's not just the Beauty you know? She's got brains to match! 

A very strong female protagonist is Belle, with her handsome beast! Literally. Lumière is also one of my best supporting characters in this tale, maybe because of his charisma...Hmm, dreamy.

Another thing to note is the moral of this story: be humble and treat people well regardless of how they look. Pride definitely got the Prince nothing but claws and paws—if you know what I mean. 

3. Mulan.

Any feminists in the house? Then Mulan is your heroine.

Find me an Asian female warrior whose name is Mulan to protect me every day. She basically tipped the scales by disobeying her father and running off to war although she was a girl trained to only be a wife, not a warrior. 

Just thinking about it gives me the shivers. War ke? Ah, that's some mind blowing display of guts and 'honor.' I respect this character a lot. She not only took her father’s place in the war, but risked her life. She's also very strategic and wise.

I'm not going to leave out Mushu. It was such a good laugh watching him. Eddie Murphy killed that role! 

4. Tangled.

The frying pan! How on earth is it not a weapon today? It is quite handy, and I never realized it would make a good weapon until I watched this cartoon.

Damn! Rapunzel is one resourceful princess. I must say that the girl in me would have cut my hair long ago. Omo, I can't, regardless.

And Maximus, the horse is another character that made the whole cartoon fun for me. 

5. Pocahontas.

Everything about the story line is just…🥺

Wait a minute, I have no words. 

This girl was out there making solid 'real life' choices on her love life in a cartoon. How good can it get? I mean, for someone that's probably older than the character. I can't seem to make such bold decisions in my love life to save myself. But she did it anyway! Brava—as the Italian will say. 

We've come to the end of my list. Of course, there are other exceptional Disney Princess cartoons not mentioned here. But these are the five that stood out for me. What are your favorites?

XOXO 

Virginity: A myth?

 My topic for discussion today might seem a bit controversial, but I had to. When I say 'I had to' I mean its 2022 and a lot of people are still holding on to archaic beliefs on what virginity entails. 

Who is a Virgin?

A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or sometimes, one who has never engaged in any sexual activity at all. 

Having defined that, let me apologise in advance.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble if you're one of these guys that have strange beliefs about virginity and I'll be taking you on a precise and comprehensive enlightening journey by listing five top myths about virginity. Ready, set, action! 

1. The hymen doesn't indicate virginity.

Oops! Shocker right? Well I was surprised when I found out too. Now for those of us who may not know what it means — The hymen is just a thin membrane of tissue that partially covers or in rare cases totally covers the opening of the vagina and the whole purpose of it is to keep bacteria out of the vagina (evolutionary reason by the way), after that it serves no purpose. And so the belief that the hymen is a wall that indicates a virgin is false.

2. A broken hymen means you're not a virgin.

As stated in my earlier definition of who a virgin is, I'd like to say this belief is just foolhardy. Moving on from there, the hymen can stretch, but it can also break and tear, not just because of sexual activity but through using tampons, cycling, exercise at any age, etcetera. 

3. Hymens look the same.

NO! The hymen comes in different shapes. There's the: 

A. Imperforate hymen — which completely covers the opening to the vaginal, blocking menstrual blood and secretion from flowing out. Which is a rare condition. The standard treatment is to surgically cut away part of the hymen using a scalpel or laser. This procedure is called an hymenotomy.

B. Microperforate hymen — A condition in which the hymen has a very small opening. Menstrual blood and vaginal secretions can flow out of the vagina, but the patient may have difficulty or inability to use tampons or have vaginal intercourse.

C. Septate hymen — occurs when the hymen has a band of extra tissue in the middle that causes two small vaginal openings instead of one. 

D. Ciribiform hymen — A condition in which the hymen has several very small openings. Menstrual blood and vaginal secretions can flow out of the vagina, but the patient will be unable to use tampons or have vaginal intercourse. 

AND

Did you know that there are some women who aren't even born with a hymen? So what does it make them? Non-virgins from birth? 

In addition, we have the annular, dentate, fimbriated, posterior lunar, subseptate, bifenestrate, anterior lunar hymen. 

4. The virginity test.

This is the biggest scam ever.  A doctor can't tell if you're a virgin. And what is this thing I hear about the 'Two fingers test?' If you believe that, I'm sorry to burst your bubble again.  The test typically involves a check for the presence of an intact hymen, typically on the 'flawed assumption' that it can only be torn as a result of sexual intercourse. Now here is a stimulating question, if a girl isn't born with a hymen, how then do you determine if she is a virgin or not? Logically and scientifically speaking, you can not determine a woman's virginity by just looking at or feeling it. Virginity testing is unethical and has no clinical or scientific basis and also a violation of human rights. 

5. Bleeding and pain.

Another scam is the belief behind bleeding or hurting the first time you have sex. The hymen is very thin and delicate so it doesn't get a whole lot of blood supply. Even if your hymen gets torn the first time you have sex, you maybe get a drop of blood or two. 🤷‍♀️ 

Most of the bleeding actually comes from the vagina tissue which is very vascular, but it doesn't mean that you necessarily have to bleed the first time you have sex. Although, you can experience pain the first time you have sex, but most times that happens because you're anxious and tense around your vaginal region. Which is totally normal, because its your first time. 

Now that we know the myths about virginity, I'd like to state that part of the problem here is women do not know their own anatomy, and need to start enlightening themselves. It's also not too much if topics like this are added to the curriculum in schools to address it properly.  

                 XOXO   

Soures:

• Dr Fatima Daoud, MD (Obstetrician-Gynaecologist)
• Nationwide Childrens Org 

What makes a bully?

I've always hated bullies. And for me, it's personal. For many of you who might know me closely enough, you will understand why. 

Growing up, I had to endure constant bullying. Body-shamed for how fat I looked, then ridiculed for getting too skinny. Imagine asking a teenager if 'she has an eating disorder.' 

Shocking, isn't it? 

You would think living among other black people like you should be easy until you begin to hear stuff like 'You're just too dark', 'You look burnt', 'No one will find you attractive' 'You're ugly'. 

Haha… We tend to discriminate more against our own kind.

Well, I'm not here to go on and on about my adventures with 'my friends on the other side.' Maybe I'll rant and take it out on this space on a different day. But for today, my question is: What makes a bully? 

Why do people feel the need to bully? People say it's jealousy, that they are envious of how good and awesome you are or might turn out to be. And that makes them bitter. 

So the only way they can live with their shortcomings in life is to try to unleash some sort of verbal or physical violence and look down on you like they are God. (And God doesn't even do that. Lol). 

News flash, they aren't. They're not perfect, and the level of insecurities they possess is out of this world. It's a wonder why they can't just be civil. 

Moving on, I'd love to see your feedback on what makes a bully in the comment section below.😊

AND

If you resonate with this writeup, please share. Thank you for reading.

                            XOXO 

Living up to the blue print.

 Sighs... I haven't written in weeks. It's probably not up to three weeks, but it feels eternal. 

Now, originally, I'm a poet. I write poems for the fun of it. I write because it's therapeutic. But lately, I see that I've lost my way. Lost myself in this mess that we call life. And I wonder each day how to keep on breathing, moving and working like the perfect picture I paint. 

Do you ever just feel like a fraud?—That you do not deserve everything you've built? 

I rarely feel comfortable in my own skin. And what's worse? This feeling keeps increasing more and more as I climb my way up to the top. It's a constant struggle between hate and love in my head. I myself can't fathom the reason behind this looming self-dissatisfaction. 

Could it be depression? I ask myself again and again. Why am I afraid of success? Is this a case of trauma? Or is it normal?

Ever felt this way?

 

XOXO