Let's Chat with Leah & Deveter

Today we are chatting about a topic that many have struggled with both male and female, young and old. Body Image! 

There are four aspects of body image:

• The way you see yourself (Perceptual) 
• The way you feel about the way you look (Affective) 
• The thoughts and beliefs you feel about your body (Cognitive) 
• The things you do in relation to the way you look (Behavioural)

1.  Research conducted in the U.S showed that around 25% of male children/adolescents were concerned about their muscularity and leanness, by expressing a greater desire for toned and defined muscles
2. Research has shown that around 50% of young 13-year-old American girls reported being unhappy with their bodies. This number grew to nearly 80% by the time girls reached 17 years of age
3. Nearly 80% of young teenage girls report fears of becoming fat

We have some special guests joining us for this discussion. My lifelong friend Ruby also known as Tisha and her daughter my Goddaughter DeLeticia also known as Dayday. 

Ruby is a Brooklyn Knight residing in Virginia, She is the proud mother of 2. A Social Worker by trade, and currently working in the school system as a Virtual Teacher Assistant with the Special Education population. She loves working with children. In her downtime, she likes to read, interior decorates, watch television, and sleep. Ruby is also an Apostolic Evangelist and attends Labourers for Christ Center for Reconstruction Ministry in Williamsburg, Virginia. In this Ministry, God gifted her with Ruby's G.E.M.S and Gents which is an outreach mentoring program for youth and young adults from 9 to 21 years old. She also leads Warrior Brides a ministry for all...Men, Woman, and children to inspire them to love Christ, themselves and prepare themselves for Christ's army. Ruby’s YouTube channel Warrior Brides Corner is up and running and there to inspire.  

DeLeticia is a 20-year-old young lady born and raised in Williamsburg, Va. DeLeticia attends Labourers for Christ Center for Reconstruction in Williamsburg, Va. There you can find her assisting the youth with Sunday Children's church. DeLeticia is a freshman at Richard Bland College of William and Mary. She is working toward her ultimate goal of becoming a Pediatric Surgeon or Pediatric Doctor. DeLeticia is a Junior Mentor 

It’s Black History Month!!! 
The theme for 2021 is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.

As the mother of beautiful mocha babies, Black History is celebrated 365 days a year! Over the next couple of episodes, we are going to talk about identity and diversity. Don’t forget to check out our episode on Black Representation in Media. Leah and I have very detailed conversations about image, specifically our hair. Leah shared a poem with me a couple of weeks ago and I want her to share it here. 

I hate my hair. I wish I had honey-colored coils that shake and bounce. Instead, I have thick, dark, stand out kinks that can not be contained. I never understood why my hair had to be this way. My hair breaks combs instead of gliding through them. My hair escapes the hair ties and rubber-bands that try to keep it captive. My hair needs multiple expensive gels to slick it down instead of just one. The hair that sits on top of my head is supposed to feel like a gold, jeweled crown but right now, it feels like a crown made of thorns just trying to pinch and pierce my scalp. I hate my THICK, DARK, STAND OUT KINKS that make me different. Will I ever be able to fit in?

I HATE my hair. 

After she read this to me I was crushed! Am I a bad example of a black woman? What haven’t I done to encourage my daughter to love the beautiful hair that grows out of her scalp? I totally understood how she was feeling. I understand hair issues. I understand how it feels not looking like others. After I delt with my issues I asked her to flip the narrative and write about the positives of her beautiful thick hair. This is what she wrote

I Love My Hair -Leah Brown   

I love my hair. I have thick, dark, stand out kinks that are wild and free. My hair my favorite thing about me. My hair is too powerful to fit the mold. My hair sets trends instead of following them. My hair bounces with me when I jump up and down. My hair is expensive and deserves the best products around.  My hair can be braided, twisted, and locked. On top of my head is a golden crown that makes me feel special. I love my thick, dark, standout kinks that make me different. I’m glad I don’t fit in.

Today we are so happy to have two of our great sister-friends join our conversation! Melissa and Kayla. Melissa is a church girl who loves Jesus. She is a single mom of one amazing daughter. Currently, she works as an educational associate aka paraprofessional for the New York City Department of Education. She is also pursuing two entrepreneurial opportunities as a dance teacher and a group fitness instructor. She loves all things musical theater and the performing arts.  

Kayla Joie, is 12 years old, and in the 7th grade. Much like her mother she loves dancing and musicals. Her two favorites currently are Hamilton and Jingle Jangle. She loves to watch the shows Black Lightning and All American. She’s a self-proclaimed TikTok junkie and wants to be an actress when she grows up. 

 Hi ladies, thanks so much for joining our conversation today!  

We know that social media is a big part of life. We use it to have fun, laughing at folks through memes, and videos, we use it to maintain friendships, share interests, and develop relationships with family. During the past year, we have used social media to go to church, attend conferences and so much more. 

Tiktok, Snapchat, IG, Facebook, and most recently Clubhouse have become an extension of our offline and face-to-face interactions. 

For all of its good Social media has some risks that impact our lives as well, like being exposed to inappropriate or upsetting content, such as mean, aggressive, violent, or sexual comments or images, exposure to too much-targeted advertising, and marketing and so much more. 

Today we have two amazing guests joining our conversation we would like to welcome Renata Del Carmen and Priscilla. Renata is a Mom, Lifestyle Connoisseur, Self Care enthusiast, and  Entrepreneur. She spends her time supporting others in experiencing life in style, normalizing inner beauty, and rising to occasions. All is inspired by God, love, beauty & hope.

Priscilla is a 14-year-old dance major who loves volleyball, fashion, and watching her favorite youtubers. 

Today, America will inaugurate its first woman Vice President! She is a phenomenal woman and we had to commemorate this occasion with a podcast.

As we shared in our year in review, we consume A LOT of content. Even prior to the pandemic I was watching at minimum 10-15 series and forget about movies on Netflix, add Disney+, Apple TV, Hulu, and regular cable on demand I’m sure I watch more content than anybody in our house! Most of the shows I personally watch include a strong black lead however there are some that don’t have any multicultural representation. 

According to research
Two in three Black Americans don’t feel they see their stories represented on-screen, according to a new study from the National Research Group (NRG).
The study, entitled “#RepresentationMatters,” also found that 67% of Americans across political ideologies and ethnicities feel there is a greater need for on-screen representation of all of the following: mixed-race individuals, Black men, Black women, Black children, Black teenagers, Black gay men, Black gay women, Black transgender men, Black transgender women, Black non-binary or genderqueer, Black men with disabilities and Black women with disabilities.

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