Chloe Bailey is a 23-year-old woman who is coming into her own feminine power and flaunting what she has to the world with nothing less than pure self-love and admiration – as she should.
As a fully committed Chloe x Halle stan and a 25-year-old woman who has been both praised and ridiculed for the hyper-sexualization of my natural-born body, which I can’t control, I thought this topic of discussion was both timely and necessary.
Before she was a GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, super talented producer, and recurring star on Grown-ish with her sister Halle as one of the Forster twins, Chloe Bailey was a Black girl. I say “was” because now Chloe’s a Black woman – with hips, curves, dips, thighs, stretch marks, boobs, ass, and full lips.
Of course, when you go back and watch Chloe x Halle’s YouTube covers of their mentor Beyoncés “Pretty Hurts,” the first thing that comes into your head won’t be, “Wow, she’s going to fill out nicely one day.” At least, I hope not!
The reality of the matter is that as we grow, and by "We," I mean Black women, our bodies begin to shape and mold themselves to our natural genetic makeup. Some of us slim, some of us thick, some tall, some short, but that's the beauty of being a Black woman. Our experiences aren't a monolith, and neither are our bodies' shapes and structures.
Unfortunately, we've seen from the beginning of time tracing back to Sarah Baartman how thicker, curvier Black women have always seemed to be objectified and sexualized due to the Eurocentric beauty standards. Ironically the same people who set the standards are the same ones who continually culturally appropriate, but I digress.
I had the pleasure and honor of connecting with the dynamic duo Chloe X Halle last summer on behalf of xoNecole after the release of their second studio album and one of if not the best album of 2020, Ungodly Hour. Though some of the primary talking points were about their music, I wanted to set the tone during the phone conversation to highlight them less as a team and more as individuals.
"It's not really hard to try to be someone I'm not because that's really impossible for me. We're naturally two completely different beings, so I'm just myself," Chloe told me during our phone interview. Even then, she recognized the beauty of being her own person aside from the R&B power duo.
Since Chloe and Halle decided to make separate Instagram accounts to continue their weekly and highly anticipated "Tea Time" Instagram live series from two different locations, the world has been going apesh*t! It's the sheer fact that these women are not just the sweet melodic voices behind "Wonder What She Thinks Of Me." But they're actual human beings who cry, laugh, cuss and do TikTok challenges. Since Chloe x Halle's powerful performance at the Verizon Live event for "Forgive Me," fans have been losing their mind about Chloe's newfound sexual energy – but it's new to us, not to her.
A woman's sexual journey and finding herself in her femininity is not for the world to judge or ridicule. So what if she was "feeling herself a little too much" or "was in her bag?" She absolutely should because Chloe earned every moment that she's experiencing and whether she wants to shake her ass or stand still and strum a guitar is her business and her business ONLY.
After Chloe completely shut down the #BussItChallenge, there was much love from fans and even prominent names in the industry, including Yara Shahidi, Storm Reid, and Vanessa Hudgens. Shortly after, once she reached 1M followers on Instagram, she gave her audience a special performance for her version of the #SilhouetteChallenge to Jeremih and Natasha Mosley's sultry single, "All The Time," which has garnered over 2.7M views alone.
Unfortunately, I couldn't help but notice many people's shady comments about Halle's Disney contract for The Little Mermaid.
Who's to say the contract had anything to do with Halle's participation? Maybe she didn't want to do it? Why is her sexuality or femininity being defined by her lack of involvement in a social media challenge? Contrary, why is Chloe defined by her social media posts?
Let's do ourselves a favor and not compare one sister's personality – or at least what they show us on their personal platforms – to the other. Neither girls' sexuality is defined by the number of shares they have, curated views or their decision to buss a whine.
Don't stress yourself, y'all! The Kids Are Alright. By kids, I mean Chloe Bailey, and by alright, I mean just fine without your negative or positive input. Continue to shine on, sis! Let all of your magic shine.