The anatomy of a woman isn’t a force to be reckoned with but to be looked upon as a feature that gives off a radiant seductive allure that illuminates with knowledge and confidence. In many modern society people make predetermined judgment about women based on physical attraction. This includes how popular they are and how successfully they will become. The weight of this stigma puts unnecessary stress on a women and it can cause low self-esteem. In the poem “Phenomenal Women” Maya Angelou tells her reader that you don’t have to be beautiful and have a beach body to be successful all you need to have is confidence in yourself. In this poem Angelou is highlighting her confidence and swagger to illustrate how you don’t have to be physically attractive to be extraordinary.
Confidence is the ability to believe in oneself. To exhibit confidence is to have an inner strength. In the opening sentence of “Phenomenal Women” Angelou says “Pretty women wonder where my secrets lies.” Then she goes on to say “I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size” (line 2). Here she admitting that she knows that she not a small women and she might not be as attractive as other women. She still holds her head high and present herself in such a confident way that beautiful women look at her and they pondered where she gets her confidence from. She then goes on to say “I walk into a room, Just as cool as you please, the fellows stand or, Fall down on their knees” (14-18). In this statement she is telling her read that her presence as she enters a room demands the attention of onlookers. Men immediately turn their attention on to her. This shows her confidence in herself and she knows that the men in the room wonder who she is and what is so accelerating unique about her.
Confidence comes naturally to some people and other people have to work to achieve it. Confidence can be obtained by one asserting the power to believing in oneself. Believing in yourself gives you the inner strength and confidence to handle many obstacles that may come your way. Angelou confirms her high level of confidence throughout the poem. She goes on to state that “Men themselves have wondered, what they see in me, they try so much, but they can’t touch my inner mystery”(30-34). With this quote she letting her readers know that men often ask themselves what is it about her that makes them so fascinated with her. She knows that she’s not the type of women that every man would desire. But still they are intrigue by her level of confidence and self-esteem. Throughout the poem she constantly repeats to the reader that she is a “phenomenal women” In order for one to think of themselves as “phenomenal” shows that they have confidence in themselves.
Swagger is confidence shown physically. It can be in your style of dress, the way you talk or in the way you walk. The author says that male and females both don’t understand where she gets confidence and her swagger. She describes her swagger by saying “It’s in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my steps, the curl of my lips” (6-9). Here she saying that her swag lies within her and it shown by the many interaction that her body makes. There are many different ways that women can use their body to show confidence and swag. It can be shown by the way they move their waist from side to side while their walking down the hall. She goes on to say “it’s the fire in my eyes, and the flash of my teeth, the swing in my waist and the joy in my feet”(22-25). Her swagger is being shown from head to toe. It’s in the way she looks at