Nigerian women have refused to let the 'Small Girl, Big God' movement to be slut shamed.
Hey millennial obsessive social media user, have you seen a picture on Twitter with the caption, Small Girl Big God?
Though trends are phoney and ephemeral, certain ones hit harder than a mallet. Small Girl, Big God has managed to change the demeaning perception of negativity around itself.
The funniest aspect is that women do not realize their milestone, yet. Believe it or not, this pseudo-phenomenon is a product of evolution and has phases.
Phase I
The catchphrase started as an identification for petite women, in their social media bios. One can argue it as an ego boost, originating from how petite women are perceived, but that's an argument for later.
Sometimes though, the catchphrase also pertained to age as against achievement toward being a symbol of hope.
Phase II
Sorry to drop this cliché on you, but TOXIC MISOGYNY is a thing.
Men like - or unlike me, depending on who you believe - found a way to interpret the empowerment in Small Girl, Big God and attributed it to a motto for "women having it easy".
Who are "women who have it easy"?
From inference, I reckon those to be women living the highbrow lifestyle, afforded by a man; married or an aristo.
Phase III
The phase of virality and vertical usage we currently find ourselves.
At the point of male derogatory interpretation, feminists kicked up a fuss and the rebound has been commendable.
Small Girl, Big God has recovered its empowerment traits, with a vindictive undertone and an unspoken defiance like“We're all small girls with big Gods. Kill yourself.’
The idea has been simple; destroy the patriarchy with an overkill, make them unable to distinguish between us and destroy male derogation by attaching the catchphrase to peng pictures. The strong part was license it afforded all women for its usage.
Over the month of July, especially on Sundays, Nigerian girls continue to riddle social media platforms with peng pictures and the caption Small Girl, Big God.
As this watershed moment continue its evolution into a bona fide pop culture phenomena, its greatest win has been warping its definition into a more general and positive ideal.
Soon, the moment of male derogation shall pass, and its new connotation will be subconsciously ingrained.
The Win
The advent of slut-shaming has forever been affected by this viral catchphrase. While prostitution and whoring cannot be encouraged, it is a positive reality for some - in fact, maybe their only reality.
Asides that, we all crave that helper. That one who will transform our destinies and lighten our financial loads. If he's unmarried, or an Alhaji, permitted by religion and with the means, the girl should get hers. Her N80,000 salary is not your problem. If you had that helper too, you will grab your copy in an instant.
During its Phase II, this catchphrase, it was overly generalized. Genuinely independent and thriving women also got insensitively hit.
The Phase III rebound has successfully liberated them from hawk-eyed vindictive judges of means by creative a generally applicable definition. It basically says “We are small girls with big Gods”.
For this, we thank women. This catchphrase is a victory by women and for the women on its way to becoming a genuine pop culture phenomenon. We ask for more.
However, we will be watching its abusers and take notes accordingly.