What’s the Point of Girl Power if it Doesn’t Prevent Abuse?

The subject of Rihanna, Chris Brown, and domestic abuse has been covered here.  But it seems quite odd that in an attempt to bury any further coverage of the beat down Rihanna has announced she is embarking on a “girl power” tour with fellow R&B vixens Ciara and Keyshia Cole.

E Online reports that Rihanna is set to launch a “girl power/women’s empowerment” concert tour in September:

Is Rihanna going on a girls-only road trip?

We just got word that the singer is planning a North American tour.

A source insists that the “Disturbia” songstress hopes to kick things off in September. Details of exactly where and when are still being worked on, but our source says that Rihanna may not be alone when she hits the road…

Ciara and Keyshia Cole are in negotiations to join the tour, according to the source. “Rihanna wants strong women to join her,” the source says. “This is a ‘women empowerment’ type of tour.”

Hmm.  Rihanna wants to empower women.  On the laundry list of things that Rihanna could do to empower herself and other women a concert isn’t one of them.  The most unfortunate part is that young women across the globe idolize Rihanna and are looking to see how she handles herself post-melee.  Unfortunately, her message to young women is to pretend like it never even happened. 

On a related note, Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College of Women, recently penned an op-ed on the issue of black women and sexual assault.  She writes:

Last week, the Bennett College for women community came together to provide information on sexual assault awareness. We were aligned with the many who recognize the month of April as sexual assault awareness month. Indeed, president Barack Obama issued a proclamation on April 8 marking the month and making important comments on issues that are raised when we look at sexual assault.

Women who are 18-24 are especially at risk for sexual assault. According to the President’s proclamation, more than 10 percent of high school students, and more than 13 percent of college students are victims of sexual assault. This comes from reported data – many do not report their attacks to the police.

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The African American community must be as serious about assaults against women as we are about police brutality. These assaults are not lesser because they happen in our community. Indeed, they may be greater because they hit us where we live – in the lives of the women that are the very backbone of our community. There is a pain that has been infused into the fabric of African American life; the pain is partly an historical pain, but is also the very present pain of the pervasive violation of our sprits.
 

Note to Rihanna.  That’s what we call empowerment.

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