Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine January 2018 New Year, New You | Page 23

The REal
janet
jackson
Sierra Kay
My sister-in-law said the words that absolutely
made my December. Janet Jackson concert
tickets. So I packed a bag, told my bank account to
stop giving me the side-eye, found plane tickets
and flew to Atlanta without a second thought.
My aim? Seeing Janet Jackson on December 17,
2017 on the last night of her American concert
tour. See, before Beyonce had a Beyhive, before
Tamar Braxton had Tamartians, and before Lady
Gaga had Monsters, there were a group of people
merely labeled as “fans.” I am a Janet Jackson fan.
As a child, the only thing that kept me from
standing on a chair and tipping it over like she
did in the Pleasure Principle video was the fact
that all chairs were considered my mother’s
furniture. No child stood on furniture. Not
without repercussions and consequences.
Janet Jackson was, is and will always be a phenom.
There are husbands today that will leave their
wives for the mere possibility of winning Janet
Jackson’s affection, and a slew of wives that will
shrug and say, “It’s Janet.” No one ever doubted
her talent, her beauty or her appeal. Well, one
person did for years. Janet herself.
When I read her novel, True You – A Journey to
Finding and Loving Yourself, I realized what
being Janet Jackson cost her. And it wasn’t until
I went to her concert that I realized what it gave
her.
Her struggle with self-acceptance began with
her family. Her beloved brother, Michael,
teased her a lot. Now, I have four brothers. In
my family, it was the youngest boy that teased
the most. Janet knew Michael loved her and
they maintained a very close relationship up
to his passing. However, she defined herself
through his view of her. As a little sister, I know
about hero brothers and how long it takes for
a sister to tell her brother, “I love you, but you
can suck it.”
Janet loved food. Having learned at her
mother and grandmamma’s knee, she enjoyed
cooking. Yet, when she stood in front of an
audience, she embodied a character. Someone
else determined the characters visuals. Janet
found herself at the mercy of whatever ideal
people enjoyed at the time. Every time she
stepped in front of an audience, she dealt
with dieting, exercise, and the attempt to be
good enough, which often translated into thin
enough for acceptance. This all started before
she had a good grasp on who she was as a
person, she was being told who she needed
to be.
She launched herself into the limelight playing
Penny from Good Times. This character’s
biological mother considered an iron as a
tool for removing wrinkles from clothes as
well as disciplining children. After being cast
as Penny and already believing her natural
curves didn’t fit in with society’s ideal for a
woman, the wardrobe department told her to
lose weight and bind her breast. She started
her career with the knowledge that her body
was wrong; that she needed to change. That
she was good, but not quite good enough.
Hence, we’ve watched years of yo-yo dieting,
on-tour Janet versus off-tour Janet. She battled
herself constantly before realizing she needed
discipline. By engaging a nutritionist and
sticking with the program, she achieved the
type of balance that alluded her previously.
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