A Word For My Sistas

A good friend of mine sent me an email with the title, “Everyone Loves A Sale!” I must have to say that this email was a great read and made a valid point and so I wanted to share it with you. The following is an excerpt from that email. Yes, it’s long, but I know it will put some things in perspective for some of you. I believe the author of the email is a woman by the name of Cheresa Purnell.

Everyone loves a sale! There are people who go into a store and walk directly to the sales rack before looking at any other merchandise in the store. Whether it’s Macy’s or Wal-Mart, seriously, who does not love a deal? Most people want to get as much as they can for as cheap as possible. Usually, items are put on sale when they have become outdated or customers didn’t show interest in purchasing the product and now the store just wants to get rid of it. To do this, they mark the price down to make it more appealing to the customers. Not only have manufacturers learned to do this with products, but we as women have begun to do this with our standards. The fear of being alone or not having a man has caused our expectations to deteriorate and our value as women to decline.

Most women generally debut as the hottest new item on the market; therefore, their standards are high. Initially, many male customers approach her. They concur that what she has to offer is great, but once they realize the price they will have to pay to get her, they begin to reconsider. They say to themselves, “I believe I saw a cheaper version of this somewhere else.” They recognize she is a name brand product and will probably work better and last longer. But they think, “I really only need something that will do for now.” As a result, they purchase the cheaper knock-off version to instantly gratify their need. At first she believes, “Ok, that was just one man, surely they all can’t think like that.” But sure enough, customer after customer continues to past her up because her price is too high.

At this point, the woman begins to panic because she can’t understand why no one wants to invest in such a great product (person). She begins to believe the notion that her price or standards are unrealistic and she will never find anyone to give her what she is asking for. Most women give in to this idea and agree that maybe if they lower their asking price, they can get more customers to be interested. Almost instantly, after cheapening her asking price, men seem to be more attracted to her. However, some men still feel that if the price dropped once, then it will probably drop again. So they give her a little more time to sit on the shelf. Finally, when she is completely frustrated from being overlooked, she marks her price down again. Sure enough, the male customers are ready to purchase now. Since she is yet a name brand product, she will still expect him to treat her as such, but instead, his treatment of her reflects the price he paid to get her.

In life, value is only placed on what one has sacrificed and worked hard to obtain. When much has not been invested, it does not matter if it gets broken because it can be easily replaced. The dilemma that most women now face is that they have become too cheap! There is nothing special about us anymore. We are willing to do just about anything for little or nothing. We give our time, our hearts, our money, and our bodies in exchange for little or no commitment. Then we wonder why men have little regard about how they treat us.