Angelou's message to women.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,   

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.   

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.   

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,   

And the flash of my teeth,   

The swing in my waist,   

And the joy in my feet.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered   

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,   

They say they still can’t see.   

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,   

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.   

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.   

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,   

The bend of my hair,   

the palm of my hand,   

The need for my care.   

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

-Maya Angelou

Angelou’s message to women.

D

ear all, in this post I would like to share my deep reflections on women’s values. Just yesterday, I was selecting some books to donate; and I stumbled over ‘Phenomenal Woman: Four poems celebrating women’, by Maya Angelou. Her strength is admirable and I am flabbergasted by how she had the courage to publicize her horrendous experiences. Well, this year this honourable woman passed away and I have (shamefully), been too busy to reflect on what a loss the world has faced. Anyway, I could not resist the temptation of opening the book and reading her poems.  My dearest readers, I don’t know how many of you are women with confidence issues, but if you are, you need to read ‘Phenomenal Woman’ and this blog post. In fact, even you men out there: take a moment to look through this and try to learn from Angelou.

Personally, I was mind blown by the poem ‘Phenomenal Woman’. Mainly because I am so used to hearing songs calling girls ‘shawties’ or ‘chicks at the club’ that it was  refreshing to read something where we are spoken of with such  empowerment. Maya Angelou’s words literally reached out to me and inspired me to stand up for myself. Lately, I have faced a few inferiority issues due to my gender; hence, the poem had a memorable impact on me. It is powerful and dramatic, and it seems like Angelou is speaking directly at us women, conveying our own value and how we should push ourselves to stand out. We may not notice, but we are stereotyped every day and I would like to highlight how the author’s language portrays how we should feel. Her personality is underlined well as Angelou emphasizes how she is not a ‘model’s size’, however she doesn’t have to be, in order to be ‘phenomenal’. Angelou creates a humorous paradox in her poem: she mentions clearly that she is not physically fit, however ‘the fellows stand or/ fall down on their knees’. She is, essentially, empowered by her woman hood. Girls, we do not need to be beautiful nor perfectly in shape in order to stand out; rather we should really focus on our inner self and build up our confidence!

The repetition of ‘Phenomenal woman / That’s me’ in every stanza highlighted to me how we should be pushed to self-assurance.  It is as if she sang out her inner self and wanted to specifically make women be inspired by her grand attitude. Also, I could not help but notice how Angelou used one syllable words throughout the poem, apart from the word ‘phenomenal.’ Through this technique, she really made the central theme stand out to me: girls, it is time to uphold our personality! Why should we boost ourselves up to get attention? As Angelou says: ‘I don’t shout or jump about/ When you see me passing, It ought to make you proud.’ - We just need to let out our inner power. The above line made me recall all the times I have tried to get attention by being prettier, putting on an extra layer of lipstick or higher heels. Doesn’t this happen so often? Well, it shouldn’t. We should give more matter to the ‘curl of our lips’ and ‘the stride of our steps’, as Angelou says.

Maya Angelou’s description of her own features in the poem really affected me. All her movements express her passion as a woman.  It highlights how, it was never about her looks, but about the meaning, power and supremacy of every gesture. ‘It’s the fire in my eyes, /and the flash in my teeth, / The swing in my waist,/ And the joy in my feet.’ Here, Angelou addresses her body parts with cheerful and strong adjectives which showcase her self-esteem as a woman. The imagery which she constantly creates about her body language made me believe that we can be admired in society, we don’t have to be inferior, and we can stand up for ourselves.

The language used in the poem is energetic throughout, with phrases like ‘The sun of my smile’ I felt encouraged to follow her example of being a singularly strong woman who emerges whenever she walks in a room. A woman whose personality is able to attract men like ‘a hive of bees’ as Angelou portrays them in a metaphor.  She gave me a sense that she was led by her certainty about her womanly grace. Her extraordinary personality drove her to be respected by men and women all over the world. She is a woman, phenomenally, and she always will be.

Everybody should read this poem as the language used by Angelou is perfect for a reader’s involvement. ‘Phenomenal Woman’ changed the way I look at myself and the way I will behave from today on. It should change everyone’s view towards women and should encourage girls to believe in themselves, rather than their beauty. Through this poem, Maya Angelou was able to convey to me how we girls should be respected and recognized as exceptional. If you are a girl and you’re reading my post, you are magnificent! Make yourself remarkable, make yourself shine.  It is not about thick eyeliner, it is ‘the bend of your hair, the palm of your hand, the need for your care’ that makes you sensational, as Angelou says.

So girls, stop looking at yourselves in the mirror and desperately try to perfect your hair. Speak through your attitude; make yourself count through your marvellous personality. Make everyone understand that your value as a woman doesn’t lie underneath your perfect skin, but underneath your ‘inner mystery’, as Angelou would say. Also, acknowledge the poem ‘Phenomenal woman’ and how powerfully it characterizes us women as grand; appreciate the sweet choice of language used by Angelou that inspires all of us. This concludes this week’s post, to next Thursday! 

Giorgia Valenti