Sofie Hagen interviews Kelechi Okafor: We Have To Reclaim What Is Ours
The Made of Human Podcast
“We’ve bought into the narratives about femininity that we should be demure and we should be quiet and men should just behave like that because men will be men... so for that reason you’ll just quietly endure... and no... I think it’s time that we just start making noise, because actually they’re really fragile... the type of masculinity that’s sold to us in society is so fragile that the moment you make any sort of noise they cower away.”
In this podcast Sofie Hagen talks to Kelechi Okafor, personal trainer, actress, and twerk and pole dancing instructor about her life mission, mantras and thoughts on the world we live in.
From standing up as a woman, wearing make up for you, reclaiming the words "bossy" and "strong", to the problems of unrelenting "good vibes", the history of twerking, fad fitness, therapy and transcendent grief, going to Nigeria, affirmations and social media, this is an uplifting and powerful podcast that will make you cheer, laugh and feel proud to be a woman! There were so many quotes from Kelechi that got us smiling and feeling empowered that we couldn't help write them down. But there are so many more! Listen on to hear them now and prepare to be inspired.
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“I’ve had “abrasive”, I’ve had “brash”... I don’t get it. I’m just using words that mean things. [...] there has to be strength, there has to be resilience I think... but I think it’s a reclaiming of the word “strong”... maybe just as women reclaim the words “bossy” and “feisty”, because usually they’re coded for us, to tell us the type of woman that you’re expecting, but we’re taking it back and making it mean a lot more... “Bossy” I won’t run from it...because she’s a boss, that’s fine, at least aspire to that.... you do need strength to survive in society full stop, but strength that allows for you to feel... There’s strength in that, admitting what we feel, the full spectrum of what we’re feeling, and I think that gives strength to other women to speak out about what they’re feeling as well. ”
