Ms. Piggy: My First Strong Female Lead
When you think of the word diva who comes to mind? Depending on your age you might say Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, or Lady Gaga, Beyonce. But the first diva I ever truly experienced was none other than Ms. Piggy. Ms. Piggy is a force to be reckoned with. She has the confidence and fashion sense of a super model and all the dignity of a queen. She is not afraid to show her love but will not tolerate disrespect. She believes in her talents and is not afraid to display them. As we celebrate Woman’s day 2021, I would like to give recognition to this example of strong feminine energy. Ms. Piggy demonstrate to little girls if you be your true self, you can go from being insulted to admired.
Miss Piggy made her public debut in 1976. She was initially a singer in the Muppet choir, but her charisma and star power had her taking center stage in no time. To this day, there is still no one that embodies the essence of strength and femininity the way Ms. Piggy does. I can’t speak for anyone else but, she is the first person I ever saw karate chop someone while wearing long satin gloves and a string a pearls. A true avant-garde female ahead of her time. One thing about Ms. Piggy, she never lets anything deter her from her mission. Even if its
a mission of love.
Ms. Piggy is a modern and independent woman, but she stills believe in old-fashioned love, sort of. As the object of her affection, her amour Kermit suffered immensely as she tried to balance being a diva with dating. Her duality of extreme bossiness with a desire to be courted, left Kermit feeling confused, controlled, and sometimes abused. One minute he is being overloaded with kisses, the next minute he is receiving karate chops. No one can ever accuse Ms. Piggy of being a “pick me”. If anything, she has more of the attitude “take me as I am”.
I believe little girls growing up seeing Ms. Piggy has boosted a lot of self-esteems over the years. I remember someone calling a classmate of mine Ms. Piggy as an insult. Her comeback was, “So you are saying that I am cute, talented, and dress nicely, thank you”. That moment stuck with me because, it showed one person’s insult is another person’s compliment. The person that tried to insult my classmate was so shocked at her response. You could see the insulter didn’t know what to do once the insult didn’t take.
Over the years, the attitude that Ms. Piggy exudes has impacted many. I bet if you ask any woman if Ms. Piggy is an inspiration to her, more often than not you will get a resounding yes. Ms. Piggy is one of the archetypes of female empowerment that didn’t fit into the traditional standards of beauty. Although she is a puppet, to make her a pig that felt good about herself allowed for a change in the narrative of positive self-image. So anytime I see a woman making her way in the world on her own terms, I positively think of them as the “Daughters of Piggy Energy, or if you will the acronym DOPE. Whether you are Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Kamala Harris or Lizzo, the willingness to stay focused on your dreams no matter what naysayers have to say, is definitely Ms. Piggy energy to me.