HOW MUCH DO OUR BUDDING STARS WANT THIS STARDOM?

‘How much do you want it… the fame, the money and the ice?’ this is a line in one of the popular songs I love so much sang by a trio from one West African country. Abeg I will borrow this line for a while as I scribble this and as you read along, let’s ruminate on it that: HOW MUCH DO OUR CELEBRITIES OR BUDDING STARS WANT THIS STARDOM? I still don’t know how much they are ready to pay the price through sacrifice. I know that ladies get this message repeatedly: What matters is how ‘hot’ they look. It plays on TV and across the Internet. You hear it in song lyrics and music videos. You see it in movies, electronic games, and clothing stores. It's a powerful message.

Let me be a Pastor for a second, a woman is first and foremost valuable because she is made in God’s image. "Unfading beauty" comes from a "gentle and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4). "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:30).

 I will not hide my disgust feelings at what has been making news rounds across Ghana in the past few days. I may be criticized over names calling but who cares? If these young ladies are discreet I wouldn’t have the guts to poignantly beset them. I don’t give a hoot as long as I blatantly make my points across, se no be get my hand to punch the system ni? Fimile jooor.

I am going to make this clear and brief here as I will take two ladies whom I know and for the benefit of my gist, I am not attacking anyone but I am simply doing this to bring back sanity into the girlhood in Ghana, Africa and the world at large. Angela Tabiri-an actress and Raquel-a songstress are both ‘celebrities’ if I may call them that for now yet they didn’t live up to the task of what they should be called. For the benefit of what I will gist, I will drop little stories of what went wrong and why my cry is louder than ever; Angela recently had all her nude pictures all scattered on the internet. Me I follow see some and truthfully I felt ashamed for womanhood. ‘These are should be enclosed yet na wetin daughter of man dey show ita gbam gbam (publicly), chaiii!!!’ I murmured inside of me. She went on to claim that they were pictures snapped by her ex boyfriend indoors but now we don see am outdoor na, abi? My beef is that whatever be it, should we condone this as celebrities or budding stars? My question still springs up, how much do you want it?

Another story is that of Raquel, the UK born Ghanaian who recently came down to push her passion of entertaining in Ghana. She was recently seen performing on stage with all her private part showing to the entire world, at least the whole Ghanaian saw it and if you didn’t see it, na you sabi. She also came out to defend herself that ‘who cares’. Saying that alone did piss me as a person off. United Kingdom’s lifestyle is far different from United African’s lifestyle. Oyinbo be Oyinbo, Bibiini be Bibiini, whoever that feels that they can and will use their bodies to get roles, entice crowds and woo for positions then make dem think am well well because we get culture. For Angela, she showed some kind of remorse but who cares? For Raquel, she called off the bluff of those who spanked her but who cares either? For me I only feel that these two ladies are ignoramus to the entire passion we are celebrating. Most of us are concerned about the intrusion of pornography into every facet of society; yet, we should be just as concerned about the portrayal of girls, ladies and women as flirtatious sex objects which fuels the pornography and prostitution industries.

Let me swindle a bit to what happened last year outside Africa, parents around the world were shocked to see a video that went viral on the internet, of girls, some as young as 8, dressed in red and black lingerie performing a racy dance routine to Beyonce's ‘All the Single Ladies’ at a dance contest. Yet even more shocking, was that the parents of the girls involved approved. Oju oti wan ni (Isn’t it a shame)? Recently I saw a T-shirt inscribed with this: ‘hot chicks are boyfriend materials’. Se God no go remain for heaven jeje? Because catastrophic things are happening here in a world of bliss He created

Research links sexualization with three of the most common mental health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression or depressed moods.

Frequent exposure to media images that sexualize girls affects how girls conceptualize femininity and sexuality. Girls who more frequently consume mainstream media tend to accept sexual stereotypes that depict women as sexual objects. They also place appearance and physical attractiveness at the centre of a woman's value.

Angela, Raquel and all ladies in Ghana, Africa and the world must know that the vision of bringing back the vision of womanhood is a glorious vision. In a world that frowns on femininity, that minimizes motherhood, and that belittles the beauty of being a true lady, then the ball is in your court to uphold the purity, contentment enthusiasm and heritage of bliss.

How much do you want it… the fame, the money and the ice?

How much do you want it...? Would you pay the cost to be the boss?

How much do you want it…? Would you pay the price, would you sacrifice?