Rihanna: ‘The more we respect ourselves the more men will respect us’

Rihanna

Here’s a photo of Rihanna in NYC this week. She made pink stirrup pants look fierce, right? I already raved about Rih’s new Dior gig, and she spoke with MTV about her excitement: “It is such a big deal for me, for my culture, for a lot of young girls of any color. I think to be acknowledged by Dior means a lot, as a woman, to feel beautiful — to feel elegant and timeless.” You can see a first glimpse of Rih’s Dior campaign here.

Rihanna spoke with some Aussie news stations to promote her voice work in Home. She plays a young girl, Tip, who befriends an alien (voiced by Jim Parsons). RiRi covers many subjects but brushes off those Leonardo DiCaprio hookup rumors. FWIW, Leo had his rep deny the romance a few weeks ago, which is interesting. He never denied any of the zillion rumors about his revolving door of supermodels. Rih doesn’t slam Leo. She talks about what she’s learned from her real relationships:

These Leo rumors: “Stay off the blogs, they will screw you every time.”

Her ideal man: “Someone who could tolerate my schedule; someone man enough to do that and not get scared because I don’t have a lot of time to offer. Tt home I’m pretty boring. I just lay on the couch and watch TV.”

Her relationship lessons: “The more we respect ourselves the more men will respect us. I have both sides to me and I think most women do. We are strong but they are very vulnerable as well. For me, I get very fierce and passionate about my career and about my family. But there are also things that make me become a little girl. Like, I love balloons, that definitely really brings out the little girl in me.”

Home‘s message to girls: “I think women are way stronger than they know, or sometimes they do know but they don’t always feel like being strong. Sometimes, you’re like, ‘Can I get a pass?’ And also, Tip is so bold. And the way she dresses and how she wears her hair is not perfect and I feel like little girls should feel comfortable being that way, being strong and being themselves.”

Her style: “I feel like my image evolves as I evolve as a woman. With growth, there’s change. My style is a reflection of my mood, my attitude wherever I am at, and you can see how it’s evolved since the beginning of my career just from my videos. And style is a huge part of that attitude.”

Fitness & diet: I’m getting better with my training now that it’s album time and video time, so it’s time to get fit, get tight. I eat tons of mac and cheese, I really do. I hate vegetables but I’m learning to incorporate them, one by one into my diet.”

[From News.com.au]

People could interpret the self-respect quote many different ways. What do you think? I believe she’s talking about Chris Brown. People give her grief for dating him more than once, but she’s been free and clear for a few years. Anyone who’s been in an abusive relationship can recognize that milestone. I don’t think she’s talking about self respect as a prerequisite to being treated well. More like Rihanna knows what she deserves, and she’s no longer afraid to walk away from a bad man.

What else? Rihanna told People her biggest fear in the world is childbirth. She and Jim Parsons have also been cute together during this press tour. Jim told Jimmy Fallon that he can’t stop singing Rih’s songs every time they’re in the same room: “She’ll look at me and go ‘That gives me chills. And not in a good way.’” That sounds exactly like her.

Rihanna

Rihanna

Rihanna

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

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52 Responses to “Rihanna: ‘The more we respect ourselves the more men will respect us’”

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  1. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    Sounds like she’s growing up. Good for her.

    P.S. I am scared of balloons.

    • Frida_K says:

      Ha, ha, you’re so sweet GNAT. I’m not a fan of balloons either.

      Flowers, champagne, chocolates…yes. Balloons?

      No thank you!

      🙂

    • Rachel says:

      Every time I open a can of Pillsbury biscuits I squeeze my eyes closed really tight and lean as far back as I can for exactly the same reason.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Oh my God, those are so scary, too.

      • Crumpet says:

        You want to talk about scary! Champagne! I hide under the table every time my husband opens a bottle {like once every 10 years or so}.

      • Green Eyes says:

        @Rachel, me too! And I clench my jaw!

      • **sighs** says:

        I don’t like the pillsbury cans either. Or the cracking of holiday crackers.

      • Jo says:

        OMGeee I thought I was the only one who was scared of a can of biscuits!!! My husband wasn’t home the last time I made them so I threw them down the stairs to pop them open. I refuse to be the person that gets disfigured in a biscuit can freak accident. I just have that kind of luck

    • Kiddo says:

      There goes your birthday delivery with dancing bootie short strippers.

    • I Choose Me says:

      Yeah, balloons make me super nervous as well. If I’m around someone who’s blowing them up I have to leave the room because I think they’re going to burst at any moment.

    • Ripley says:

      Oh God, me too! They’re terrifying.

  2. teehee says:

    I wish it were true. And, self-respect seems to vary IMMENSELY depending on who you ask.

    Bottom line: people are jerks and you can’t control it.
    The best you can do is respect and love yourself—- no ands, buts, ifs— just respect yourself and forget the rest cos its our of your hands.

    • Kosmos says:

      Also, about women respecting themselves so that men will then respect them–I feel that men should be able to respect women without being trained by women to do so. There is an innate sense of appropriateness and kindness that a person has, but that may get covered up or overlooked as the person grows. Bad behavior is everyone’s responsibility. Men need to step up to doing what is right. Women shouldn’t have to be responsible for ongoing training.

  3. QQ says:

    I think she came off well I love that she doesn’t give a flying f*ck in particular about people’s opinion of her and her shenanigans, she’s been doing very cute interviews for this movie

    There was this great article about how her Appeal Lies in that mix of super open, rude unbothered and fragile persona, and that when a guy disses rihanna is basically cause she won’t do him or claim him publicly

    oh I found one of them ! http://www.wonderingsound.com/feature/rihanna-sexuality-bdsm-cover-shoots-review/

    • EC says:

      I think this is why Rihanna is so great – she can be so many things. She can be insanely sexy (onstage/with her music), she can be a fashion diva (front row at fashion shows or walking down the street), potsmoking party girl (on instagram), cute and friendly (on this PR trail). I think because we can’t pin her down as just one thing – like we can with Kstew: moody lip biter – she is so much more interesting, and maybe intimating, to some people.

      I love her, and I love reading her interviews because I feel like she is giving us small glimpses of who she is.

      • Loulou says:

        Well said, EC! I have a soft spot for Riri. There’s something so charming about her.

  4. kri says:

    @GNAT-I would be scared of ballons if a clown was holding them. Btw, how ya doing these days? As for Ri, I am very happy that she is the face of Dior. Now they need to up their fashion game. This chick takes pics with sharks,so style her right, Dior!

  5. Livealot says:

    Couldn’t agree more about the self respect. Love both the pink coat looks but that yellow coat pic is tragic and screams 2002.

  6. Maria says:

    so she wants a guy thats ok with her being away for 11 months each year and when she is home she’ll sit on the couch and watch tv.

    get a vibrator.

    how do people like her actually think they will ever lead a relationship when everything else is more important and solely about themselves?

    • jinni says:

      That’s probably why a lot of celebs only date celebs because they have a better understanding of the amount of time one has to dedicate to their business or craft.

    • Josefa says:

      Some people want a relationship but don’t want their entire lives to be devoted to it. My boyfriend, for example, is very close to his family and takes his studies very seriously, and he has explicitly told me he considers those more important. And I’m fine with that, because I’m like that too. It doesn’t mean we don’t care about/love each other.

  7. Greek Chic says:

    I am not a big fan of pink color but it suits her. She makes pink look fierce!

  8. meme says:

    Someone who poses naked with her ass in the air can’t have that much self-respect.

    • The New Classic says:

      And what does posing naked with your ass in the air have to do with self-respect or alleged lack thereof?

      • meme says:

        There’s something call decorum that the world needs a little more of. All this nonsense about women owning their sexuality by posing naked or walking around topless is utter nonsense. Men don’t do that and they certainly own their sexuality. Do you see male celebs posing with everything hanging out? NO. Do you criticize Kim Kardashian when she poses fully naked? YES. Do you think KK has self-respect? Disagree with me all you like and let’s see you pose naked with your ass in the air or walk around in a see through top with no bra.

      • Melisande says:

        Uh, yeah, men do walk around topless, take their kit off, and flaunt their sexuality just as much as ladies do. The fact that you are not calling them on this is why this is a double standard. Look at Nick Jonas and his crotch grabbing for the “Jealous” promotion, Justin Beiber and his Calvin Klein ad, and even Channing Tatum and his Magic Mike movies, all of which are trading on their sexuality and physicality of it in a manner that is little different than what Ri, Katy, Gaga, Madonna, et al do. Why not call them on their lack of self-respect?

        You never drew a direct link between the two, and you aren’t questioning any of the men who get their clothes off for their “art.” Just because you are I wouldn’t take our clothes off the way those in Hollywood or entertainment do doesn’t mean we have more or less self-respect. Stop with the double standards.

      • oneshot says:

        @meme – the 1950s called, dear, they’d like you to return stat.

    • Melisande says:

      Displaying a sexual side or nature doesn’t mean she doesn’t have self-respect. There is nothing wrong with someone owning their sexuality and not being afraid to display it or market it to an end. Is it something that everyone would do? No, but it doesn’t mean that she lacks self-respect.

      I think it’s this kind of antiquated thinking that makes the double standards for women harder to tear down, because people just want to keep locking women into the virgin/whore dichotomy. Sexuality does not equate lack of self-respect, nor does self-respect cancel out blatant sexuality or displays of it.

    • Lucy says:

      Same goes for people who make comments like the one you just made. Actually, not same.

      • deehunny says:

        I’m gonna go ahead and kinda stick up for Meme here. I think RiRi is evolving in a good way, but “owning your sexuality” does not equal being overly or hypersexual. That is what men sell to women as feminism– “yeah, be a slut, dress like this, you go girl, you own it.” It’s still debasement and exploitation couched in feminism so it is more palatable to women.

        Melsandie– I think you named the only men currently in the industry who are blatantly doing this. I do think it is beginning to change slowly but what meme said is true– mostly men do not take off their clothes yet still own their sexuality. The same should go for women.

  9. serena says:

    Well, I do hope she really learned that lesson with Chris Brown.. because dating douche Leo wouldn’t be any better.

    • kdlaf says:

      Neither of them confirmed they were dating. Leo never striked me as a douche. Just a man child that doesnt want to settle down, any women who dates him and expects something more is probably delusional. Besides, after all that back and forth with Chris for all those years she probably wants to just have fun and not settle down until its right.

      • bns says:

        Yep. She has said herself recently that she’s not looking for a man or any kind of relationship right now. She’s focused on her career. If she and Leo are hooking up, it’s casual and nothing serious.

  10. lucy2 says:

    I hope she’s sincere about that self respect stuff. It sounds like she is and that’s a very good thing.
    I think she’s a good choice for a major label – I used to dislike the way she dressed, but I’m liking her look more and more these days. She just does her own thing and it works (lose the fur though).

  11. Dana says:

    If we could have more rihanna posts….thanks!

  12. bns says:

    I LOVE HER. She gets better with age and she’s just gonna keep winning and surprising people.

    • The Other Katherine says:

      I do too. She has a true work ethic, and she’s a decent singer. Continuing to turn out hits and tour like she does (and look damn good doing it, in spite of some silly outfits) is impressive.

      • deehunny says:

        I do think she works hard but being consistently hours late on her last tour is not professional.

  13. Lucy says:

    She seems to be in a really great place now. She deserves good things. Go RiRi!!

  14. blondie says:

    I really feel like Rihanna is growing up and has become a more mature woman. She seems like she is in peace with herself now. Good for her. She’s a great entertainer.

  15. Mon says:

    I really like this interview, she makes loads of sense! And she is very right about respect – if I don’t respect myself then more often than not others will not respect me either….hope she really learnt from her relationship with whatshisname….

  16. Hotpockets says:

    My cat hates balloons, the last time they were floating around in our house, they scared him so much he literally pooped himself.

  17. ashley says:

    Rihanna has really matured over the last two years. She’s in a good place,and is happy with herself. Good for her,she deserves happiness after all that she has been through. Can’t wait to see home!

  18. jlee says:

    She sounds like she has had some therapy.

  19. DeE says:

    @ meme: we are / have been in the realm of what is right is made to appear wrong and vice versa… what is wrong is made to appear right. Something is very unsettled with us… curious human condition. I stand with you & your statement. We can be victorian prudes together. No mystery left… running around calling ourselves dressed while literally nude.

  20. RR says:

    Love her.