What’s In A Name?

I’ve gotten a little bit of flack from some well-meaning folks about the name SuperHussy. I’ve been told that the word “hussy” reflects negatively on black women given our history in the US and elsewhere. I disagree, obviously. So why the name? Here’s a little story:

For as long as I can recall, I have been fascinated by words. I was taught to read very early and was blessed to grow up in a home full of books. It amazes me how language changes, and how words on a page can transform someone’s life. With that said, “hussy” was my maternal grandmother’s favorite/only swear word. Regardless of your age, if you pissed Nana off and you were a female, you were pretty much a hussy.

Now, after looking up the etymology of the word, I found out “hussy” was derived from the German for housewife and began thinking about how patriarchy (particularly the white supremacist brand) twists, labels and misconstrues anything that does not fit into its neat little power structure. Hussy became to be known as a wanton, lascivious, ruthless and sexually promiscuous heathen.

Not so, says I. Language can be used to both uplift and nourish or belittle and hurt. Any woman who goes against the grain and/or lives lives by her own rules, not the ones forced upon her, has been labeled something or other (bitch and whore come to mind) which seeks to minimize who she is in the world.

If we learn to critically examine language and our attachment to certain meanings, I bet a lot of us would be able to let get of some antiquated/archaic beliefs attached to words.

The name Super Hussy, in many ways, honors not only but my grandmother, but all the other women known and unknown who  So I am not only Super, I am also a Hussy — a woman that charts her own path and creates her own reality, regardless of what anyone else thinks.