EEW
Ayesha Curry is speaking up about memes that feature her as the poster girl for respectability politics.
The images have been floating around the web zeroing in on her December 2015 tweet saying “everyone’s into barely wearing clothes these days” and that she would “like to keep the good stuff covered up for the one who matters.”
Curated by the account @AyeshaCurryMeme, they feature screenshots of Curry from her Food Network show, “At Home With Ayesha,” with captions that play up her wholesome, traditional image.
Many of the tweets call out sexually expressive women and baby mamas.
"Only add a respectable amount of salt. Then again what do you ladies know about respectability" pic.twitter.com/TEYTqfnLvP
— MattWillMadeIt (@Mattie___baby) April 1, 2016
— Ayesha Curry (@AyeshaCurryMeme) April 13, 2016
— Ayesha Curry (@AyeshaCurryMeme) April 20, 2016
They also make Curry seem condescending to women who are unmarried or don’t share the cookbook author’s views on conservative clothing.
— Ayesha Curry (@AyeshaCurryMeme) April 13, 2016
— Ayesha Curry (@AyeshaCurryMeme) April 13, 2016
Curry – who is the wife of Golden State Warriors NBA player Stephen Curry – spoke with Essence.com about her thoughts on the images.
“It’s not hurtful. It doesn’t affect my personal life but it just doesn’t make sense to me. I wonder why people are so hateful sometimes. I just don’t get it. I want people to know these memes aren’t coming from me and I didn’t endorse them,” she tells the website.
She adds that she believes the memes come from men who are using her to tear down Black women.
“I have a feeling whoever is making them is mostly men trying to pin women against each other and that’s something I don’t stand for especially with us Black women. I just wish we could support each other a little bit more. I want everybody to succeed,” she said to Essence.
Her wishes for equal success carry on in her encouragement of fellow NBA spouses. Curry discusses the stereotype of basketball wives feuding with one another and says it is untrue.
“It’s a huge stigma that most of us are trying to change. I think the stereotype is that a lot of us don’t work, we don’t have anything going on, nobody has goals and that’s just not true. Everybody that I know has some sort of passion that they’re fulfilling and we’re all supportive of each other, and we’re all on the group text talking to each other.”
