EVOLUTION OF SISTERHOOD ON & OFF TV SHOWS

Hello Fashionistas!,

With it being Women's history month, I thought it was only fitting to talk about the evolution of sisterhood, because there are so many of us ladies who don't have any siblings much like myself while others have siblings but all of them are brothers but no sisters. The meaning of sisterhood has changed just as the meaning to friendship, because nowadays it seems that it's about who has more or who has better than everyone else rather than uplifting and supporting each other. Often times, friendships become a lot more like family relationships because of the bond and relatability with those people in your life.

SISTERHOOD ON BET THEN AND NOW

Mara Brock Akil's show Girlfriends was the first show that showed us the subtlety of Black sisterhood they fussed, fought, cried and asked each other hard and uncomfortable questions. It's because of the deep and relatable topics that the show was such a success it was on BET for eight years first airing in 2000 before its final season aired in 2008.

The sitcom focused on a group of friends who faced life trials and tribulations together.

From dating, divorce, family and friends, Joan, Maya, Lynn and Toni support each other despite coming from very different backgrounds and all while learning about true friendship along the way. The show gave off very chill vibes when it came to the soundtrack which featured artists such as Erykah Badu's song vibrate on, Jill Scott's golden and Angie Stones wish I didn't miss you to name a few.

When the show was first aired I was only 12 years old so I wasn't able to start watching until 2005. Once I could watch that became one of my favorite shows to watch and wondered what it was like to find a sisterhood like the one in the show. I always had a big group of friends when I was in high school and when I got into my twenties my pain of view on friendship was different; my circle of friends shrieked drastically as time went by.

In Tyler Perry's Sistas, we have four women in their thirties who are trying to tackle life, love and doing what makes them happy. Andrea, Sabrina, Danni and Karen also fuss, fight, cry and talk about challenging topics in this drama filled sitcom that definitely makes its viewers think and since the creator of the show is good at creating these narratives it comes as no surprise.

Similarly, the sitcom focus's on a group of successful friends who face life changing situations all while tackling learning how to be a good friend to each other.

After the commercials and the trailer were first aired, I knew that it would be an amazing show and give women something to relate a lot with and of course Tyler didn't disappoint with the intense storylines and scenarios that are real tear jerkers. The show first aired in 2019 and we follow the characters while they navigate through the ups and down of life which includes careers, friendships and even social media, all while supporting and loving each other.

Like Girlfriends this show had chill vibes on the soundtrack but also had some that made you want to dance a little. Songs featured by artists like Nikki Hayes's together, Andrea Valle's think about it and Jaylon Ashaun's sandcastles. I can't hardly wait to see what season 4 has in store for us with the storylines and soundtrack.

HOW SISTERHOOD HAS CHANGED

For starters instead of glorifying black sisterhood as something positive many pin us against each other instead. We are already labeled or stereotyped as "mad" or "angry" because we talk loud and let our hands guide our conversations in the most extra of ways. Secondly, worrying about what someone else has or what someone else lacks has also been a popular topic to help pin women against each other.

Secondly, there are some who would rather boast and brag about the luxury items they can afford and why does it seem like money and infidelity are the core of our issues/drama these days? Shows like Being Mary Jane, Scandal and The oval all thrive off this narrative, which in a lot of ways reinforces the "side piece" era that we sadly see become far more common than marriage. Lastly, we see far to often best friends stealing each others men from each other and ruining households has become bragging right for these types of women.

Thirdly, there still are women who genuinely are looking for like minded friends and embrace the idea of not giving up on sisterhood whether your in your twenties or your thirties, we all secretly seek that one group of friends we can run to when times are challenging. Most don't really know what it is to be a friend because they didn't come from a background where it was lead by example to be kind and caring to those around them.

Lastly, Being a good friend is more then just lending someone money when they need a little extra to pay a bill or coming over to comfort them during a bad breakup. Sisterhood isn't easy and it's impossible to agree on everything all the time and to me real sisters will always challenge you to step up or shut up, because the deep love and care runs thick.

I really love that not only is black sisterhood being portrayed as positive on BET but also brotherhood as well. With Bruh, which is a show where we follow four male friends who are also navigating through life challenges, love, friendship and relying on the strength of their brotherly bond. It's time to make true brotherhood and sisterhood normal worldwide and prove we can all sit at the same table to level up together without being in completion with one another.

Thank you for reading and following my journey. There are a lot of exciting announcements coming up within the next few weeks, so be sure to keep you eyes out for all of that soon. It's been a wild ride becoming a business owner but I have enjoyed everything about it leading up to this point and am eager to see what other amazing things I'm able to come up with.

#SisterhoodIsntDead #Girlfriends #Sistas #FashionistaSquad #StylenistaSquad

FASHIONISTA CHRYSTAL