BY JEANETTE LENOIR
Rihanna rose as the symbol of the modern woman, a real wonder woman capable of magic, during her halftime performance at Super Bowl 57. Her red cape and superhero look completes this assertion of her super woman status. And in a time when womanhood is under heightened assault, Rihanna rose to meet the moment like the Joan of Arc of Hip-Hop to reclaim our sacred places and spaces in society. What is a woman? Rihanna. And that is an exemplary answer to that ridiculous question that many are pretending to fumble with. Even the historic confirmation hearings to seat the nation’s first Black woman as U.S. Supreme Court Justice wasn’t immune to this idiocrasy. And sadly, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson didn’t answer the loaded question with just a side-eye an eyeroll.
Rihanna rose like a red phoenix on her floating stage. And she rose as a true Black goddess too, carrying new life and solidifying the Black woman as the true cradle of mankind and humanity. And she didn’t have to wear a costume crown to appear like the queen that she naturally is. She came as the true definition of a queen mother: responsible for life and giving life. She doesn’t need obsessive fans attacking non-fans like a lost beehive, either. And Stephen A. Smith is absolutely right, Rihanna certainly ain’t Beyoncé.
Rihanna is the epitome of the modern woman who fully embraces and understands her power and her secure place in society and in area she chooses to thrive in. Rihanna performed for us mortals, but her talents are ancestral, deep rooted and long traveled. Rihanna, with her fantastic Super Bowl performance solidifies that women are not just strong, but capable of anything. Even perform pregnant at the Super Bowl. No one can ever do what we do, no matter how hard they try to duplicate our magic.
Rihanna—pregnant with her second child with partner A$AP Rocky—drew a reported 118.7 million viewers, while the big game between Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles pulled in 113 million viewers. Another major win for the superstar is the boost to her already popular Fenty brand. According to reports, Rihanna’s entire makeup look was composed of Fenty Beauty products, and her backup dancers wore custom
