Story #6. As A Female

By Mawa Keita | Creator of Positively Phoenix

As a little girl growing up in a strict home. I was told no nice boy would marry you if you were promiscuous. I was told if you wore revealing clothes you would attract negative attention. As a teenager I was told that my skin was too dark to be attractive or sexy that I was better off playing sports and reading books. As a young adult I joined the military and was told my uniform made me look undesirable and I would not find a suitable husband. As a young adult I ended up getting married and having children and gained weight and acquired stretch marks.

As a woman my husband left and informed me that I had let myself go after baring his children. As a woman I was alone. As a woman I began to soul search and to see what exactly was wrong with me? As a woman I was hurt and angry. As a woman I reconnected with an old friend. As a man he acknowledged my beauty, my accomplishments and my goals. As a woman I was intrigued but as a woman I knew he was not my husband. As a woman I was torn should I continue to live the lie society placed on me? Or should I follow my body for once.

As a woman I followed my body. As a woman I was free. As a woman I began to embrace my stretch marks, my dark skin and my flat feet. As a woman I started a business. As a woman I began to show a little skin. As a woman I began to take more pictures as a woman I was free. As a woman I realized that my dark skin, my military background and being a mother did not make me less admirable. It was my attitude and outlook of myself. As a woman I found me!

I wrote this piece to acknowledge that sexual liberation starts with you. How can you expect someone to appreciate who you are if you don't love yourself. Once you find self love you will not only be sexually liberated, will be mentally liberated, emotionally liberated and physically liberated.

Break the barriers of what society labels you as. Be comfortable in your own skin. Sexual liberation is a state of mind. You must change your way of thinking to be free.