The very pregnant Serena Williams has gone and done what just about any female celeb has done by showing off her toned physique and baby bump in an exclusive cover shoot with Vanity Fair magazine.
The images, to be published in next month's issue of the magazine, were taken by celebrity photographer to the stars Annie Leibovitz, who captured Williams with no props, bells or whistles (and not a single flower in sight).
The photographs encapsulate another side to the tennis star, one the public seldom sees. With one of her hands cupped over a breast while the other rested on her hip, it was life!
And then Washington Post columnist Robin Givhan goes and does this:
Six hundred words of babbling on and on about naked celebrity pregnancy shoots and how the intentions behind them are driven by brand power and marketing machines.
Of course, they are - for their brand to survive, they need to stay relevant.
Then she goes on to compare Williams’s pregnancy shoot with the likes of Beyoncé and Demi Moore: “Come on, take the picture! Williams is wearing a waist chain, a flesh-coloured thong and a single twinkling stud in her ear. That’s it.”
Me thinks Givhan needs to get her head checked.
For the first time a strong, black female is shown displaying her vulnerability in full view.
It’s refreshing to see Williams unphotoshopped, unfiltered, showing off her scars, her expanding backside, in all her Nubian beauty.
There are no props like an extravagant floral arrangement and veil, trying to replicate The Madonna (cough, cough Beyoncé).
Her scar on her upper right arm and tan lines are testament to her nonchalance and confidence in her ever-expanding body.
It reminds me of an African warrior princess returning from battle.
There’s no comparing Williams to Beyoncé, so let’s just not. And here’s where her critics got it wrong, because Serena Williams is winning at showing off her pregnancy curves in all their natural glory, uncensored, unadulterated (and no skin-lightening tricks) glory.
She’s black and she’s embraced it.
In my book, that’s a victory for women of colour around the world.
@MarchelleAbraha