After tweeting a video demeaning single women, American R&B and pop singer Ciara was put on blast across Twitter for encouraging young women to “#LevelUp” and change themselves for marriage.
The controversy all began on Saturday morning, after Ciara posted a sermon on Twitter and Instagram from Pastor John Gray. In the video, Gray makes fun of single women and stresses that many women can never be married because they’re “walking in the spirit of girlfriend” and don’t “carry yourself like a wife.”
#LevelUp pic.twitter.com/rmS0WMOV1B
— Ciara (@ciara) January 20, 2018
Gray’s message plays into a lengthy Christian tradition where a woman’s worth stems from her ability to secure a husband. It’s a message that often treats women as men’s caretakers, too, rarely asking men for any sort of accountability for their actions.
Needless to say, after posting the message, Ciara was quickly met with the internet’s scorn.
“So many sermons are tailored to telling women what they’re doing wrong,” one user tweeted. “But why aren’t there more teachings about men being the husband any women would say ‘yes’ to?”
Just waiting on a sermon telling men how to walk in the spirit of being a husband since… ya know… they cheat and all pic.twitter.com/bP59HO9KGY
— Beabad~ (@BeaBad_) January 20, 2018
Or, we’re looking at married woman who many supported wondering why she feels womens’ accomplishments aren’t enough for us to ‘level up,’ and that we need a man to select us as a wife to be worthy? Marriage is challenging and not a contest of women’s worth.
— Goblin Queen’s stylist (@DPMCanty) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/_DamnGina_/status/955108759499689985
When Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said "…But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don't teach boys the same?" https://t.co/G030ppoFY6
— Palesa (@Palesa_R_Leeuw) January 21, 2018
Others pointed out that Ciara is throwing single women under the bus, even after many supported her during her messy breakup with her then-fiancé Future, who cheated on her during the relationship. Now that Ciara is married, it seems like she’s criticizing other women for not achieving the same goals as she has.
https://twitter.com/CiCiAdams_/status/955096113106837504
“level up”? these types of messages are so toxic to women. your value does not depend on a man wanting you and marriage is not the be all and end all. ciara is basic af for spreading this https://t.co/EQqTBDAIwa
— s. 🐥 (@sabrinaahmed) January 21, 2018
Again implying that single women are single because of their behavior. And why the hell would anyone “act” married if they aren’t. https://t.co/e6fpIh1bvc
— Rodney (@Rodd18) January 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/DavidDTSS/status/955267735843475456
And some have more questions than answers about how the internet is responding.
https://twitter.com/Angie_HeartsYOU/status/955148713097351168
And the way y’all keep centering Ciara’s tweet into a debate about acting like a wife versus acting like a hoe proves that women are forced into choosing between two identities
— schway lex! (@Lexual__) January 22, 2018
Ciara has since responded to the backlash, arguing that God helped her find her husband by teaching her self-love. But once again, Ciara seems to stress that getting married is the end goal that comes with self-improvement—not being happy for one’s own sake.
“I was a single mom sitting at home, and I then realized that the perfect love I was looking for was how God loves me, how He wants me to be loved, and who He was calling me to be as a mom and a woman,” Ciara wrote. “Thats when I realized married or not married… I needed to love myself.”
Ciara isn’t alone in her embrace of sexist messaging when it comes to marriage, however. According to a study last year, women who keep their maiden names are generally seen as less “committed” to a relationship. Then there are the ways in which gender roles force men and women to conform to marriage that are very preferential and harmful. As these online conversations are showing, perhaps it’s time to re-examine our cultural norms regarding why we get married in the first place.