“In every interaction that I have with people, I always want to show them my most authentic self.”
-Michelle Obama, Vogue 2013

The only celebrities I honestly and unashamedly confess to be a dedicated groupie to, are the Obamas. Say what you will, Barack and Michelle my belle can do no wrong in my eyes! I was so pleased Vogue had Michelle on their cover this month. She is a good woman. I love how she holds her family together, supports her husband and somehow manages to have an identity that is uniquely hers.

As women, I think we have the potential to cover our ‘true selves’. Our identity is often submerged in a larger whole, we are usually seen as a(fundamental) part of a larger thing…or a larger someone more like. Resultantly, the tendency for our individuality to get swallowed up in another’s identity is higher for us than for the men we love. :-). At different stages in life we are: Mr. X’s daughter, Y’s sister, Mr. Z’s wife, ZZ’s mummy…. Arguably, our Martian counterparts suffer from the same predicament. However, I must say that men suffer this definition-by-association to a lesser extent than we Venusians. We women are more likely to define ourselves, determine our risk level, and delineate our potential by external factors; by the expectations of the people around us and what we represent to them.

In doing this, we often forget who we are at the core. Michelle has not forgotten. I think Mrs. Obama has successfully managed to be Michelle first; the woman God made her to be, and it is in this true and abiding integrity to herself that she has been able to give the most love and be the best support to her husband and kids.

#ObamaStan #TeamObeezy #YesWeCan #GroupieTales BUT #YouDon’tKnowMyName… #NoAliciaKeys

I have to admit, I didn’t really enjoy reading the Vogue interview. Although it was balanced, the cover suggested it would be a Mrs. Obama-focused interview. Swindle. Still, I picked a few bits I thought were interesting.

“Annie Leibovitz (the photographer) has the president sit in a comfortable chair and then directs the First Lady to perch on the arm. At one point, the First Lady puts her hand on top of his and, instinctively, he wraps his fingers around her thumb. “There’s a lot of huggin’ going on,” says Leibovitz, and everyone laughs. “You’re a very different kind of president and First Lady.””

“The Obamas’ unusually close partnership and decision-making process started long before they had children. It is now part of legend that when Michelle Robinson decided to leave her cushy office at a corporate Chicago law firm to go work at City Hall for Valerie Jarrett, then deputy chief of staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley, she asked Jarrett to have dinner with her then-fiancé before making the leap. When I ask Jarrett if she could offer any insight into how life in the White House has affected the Obamas’ relationship, she says, “They had a very good marriage going in, but it strengthened it because, well, it’s tested it. He has had some really, really tough moments in the White House, and the fact that his partner in this journey has been so steadfastly in his corner and never wavered, it teaches you every day to appreciate what you have. When you’ve had a really tough day and had to make the kinds of literally life-and-death decisions that he’s had to make in the Oval Office, to come home and know you’re safe and that your children are being well taken care of and you feel totally nurtured. . . . We joke about this: He goes home for dinner and no one’s interested in his day. They want to talk about their day. And that is such a relief. And she manages that for him.”

“When I paraphrase Jarrett’s observation for the president and First Lady, he shifts in his seat and leans forward. “Well, what is true is that, first and foremost, Michelle thinks about the girls. And pretty much everything else from Michelle’s perspective right now is secondary. And rightly so. She is a great mom. What is also true is Michelle’s had to accommodate”—he pauses for a long while—“a life that”—another pause—“it’s fair to say was not necessarily what she envisioned for herself. She has to put up with me. And my schedule and my stresses. And she’s done a great job on that. But I think it would be a mistake to think that my wife, when I walk in the door, is, Hey, honey, how was your day? Let me give you a neck rub. It’s not as if Michelle is thinking in terms of, How do I cater to my husband? I think it’s much more, We’re a team, and how do I make sure that this guy is together enough that he’s paying attention to his girls and not forgetting the basketball game that he’s supposed to be going to on Sunday? So she’s basically managing me quite effectively—that’s what it comes down to. I’m sure Valerie might have made it sound more romantic.” The First Lady, who has been staring at her lap through this entire answer, finally looks up and laughs.”

“We’re a team”
-President Barack Obama, Vogue 2013

*Sigh* Whatever the case, Americans are lucky, at least they have leaders who care or even pretend to care, about them.

I see you Nigeria.

In rather unrelated news, I realized something while on the Vogue website syphoning chunks of this article on the Obamas. We often say fashion magazines are responsible for messing with women’s body image and sense of worth but this isn’t always true. For one thing, young women ought to be taught from as young as possible that they are worth more than the sum of their body parts (another reason Michelle Obama is an urban legend).

While on the site, I saw a picture of a weird, gothic, disturbingly gangly and very awkward model and it made me think. Vogue and similar high fashion magazines have gone some way towards celebrating rather ‘atypical’ women. Not all women are hourglass shaped (I can TESTIFY to that! *beats on drum* Haha!) and I think these magazines have encouraged rather than oppressed the beautifully awkward and interestingly atypical girls, proving that there is beauty in practically every form!

So, to Vogue…and to women IN vogue the world over *raises champagne flute*.

Photo credit: http://www.myfashionableworldbyraquelmartin.com/2012/03/peace-of-mind.html.