Monday, December 30, 2013

I Used to Be Mad at Oprah


I've fallen in an out of love with Oprah many times over the years and one of the reasons I fell out of love with her at one point and actually was mad at her was because of her decision not to marry and have kids. Even if she didn't marry, part of me thought it was selfish of Oprah not to at least have children to share her wealth with - her own flesh and blood.

I know logically, it's none of my business, but in my early 20 something-year old mind I thought it would be so ideal for Oprah to experience motherhood and not keep all those riches to herself. I abandoned this logic soon after learning more about the philanthropic endeavors Oprah's had especially with her work at her girls' school in South Africa and I realized Oprah really didn't need to have kids to prove anything (especially not to lil ol' me!). Oprah's "children" are represented by many she invests in worldwide. Motherhood really has nothing to do with it!

Now at 33 as a I wife and mother I don' know why I was so interested in Oprah's life decisions (projection maybe?), and I have long resolved this "beef" I had with her but was reminded of it in this recent Madame Noire post regarding Oprah's decision not to pursue motherhood. Here's a snippet:

“If I had kids, my kids would hate me. They would have ended up on the equivalent of the Oprah show talking about me; because something [in my life] would have had to suffer and it would’ve probably been them.” - Oprah

And of course what's always interesting in posts like this are the comments:

"Oprah's views are indicative of gender equality. For example, men don't feel they have to forgo parenting to be a success in life. Oftentimes for men having a wife and children are aspects of a successful life. But Oprah like many women of today and yore feels that having a family is an impediment to career success. Women unlike men lack the options of having partners to rear their children and make having a spouse/parenting their lives while they conquer the world." - 1Val

"I admire Oprah's honesty. I think if more women were completely honest with themselves and not buy into the pressures of society says and thinks, there would be less unwanted children in this world. Although I have children, I have always believed that just because a woman CAN have children doesn't mean she SHOULD if it's not what she really wants to do . . ." - Yvette

Have you ever had ill-conceived beef with a celebrity?