Why don't women have respect for themselves nowadays? What happen

Hear the lament of Brandon T. Jackson, who with passion declared: “Why don’t women have respect for themselves nowadays? What happened to the woman who learned her grandmama’s recipes and made her man sweet potato pie? I tell you, they don’t make ’em like they used to. Will my real women stand up, please?” Though these words sound at first like nostalgia, they bear within them a cry deeper than memory: a yearning for the restoration of dignity, self-worth, and reverence for tradition. It is not merely about pie or recipes, but about respect for oneself and for the sacred bonds of family, culture, and identity.

The origin of this statement lies in a time when households were anchored by tradition, when mothers and grandmothers passed down not only food but wisdom, discipline, and love. The act of cooking, of shaping recipes by hand, was not just sustenance but a ritual of care, an offering of self. By invoking the image of grandmama’s recipes and sweet potato pie, Jackson points us back to an era where heritage was preserved in kitchens, where womanhood was honored in the balance of strength and nurture, and where self-respect meant knowing the value of one’s role in the family and the community.

Yet let us not misunderstand the cry. Jackson does not mean that women are confined to kitchens or bound only to service, but that the spirit of respect—for oneself, for one’s traditions, for the sacred worth of womanhood—has been dimmed by a culture of haste and forgetting. Just as a people who neglect their ancestors lose their roots, so too do individuals falter when they forget the dignity passed down by those who came before.

History gives us many examples. Consider the story of Sojourner Truth, who stood before a crowd in 1851 and declared, “Ain’t I a woman?” She did not plead for beauty or charm, but for respect—the recognition of her worth as a mother, a worker, a human being. Her strength, like that of the grandmothers who guarded their recipes, was a reminder that true womanhood is not measured by appearance or passing trends, but by the depth of character and the power to nurture, endure, and inspire.

The emotional strength of Jackson’s words lies in the longing for authenticity. He asks, “Will my real women stand up, please?”—not as an insult, but as a call for women to reclaim the strength, dignity, and self-respect that the world often seeks to strip away. His plea is not to return blindly to the past, but to restore the timeless values of self-worth, respect, and the honoring of tradition in a modern age.

The lesson here is profound: whether man or woman, we must not lose the roots of our identity. To respect oneself is to guard one’s body, one’s mind, and one’s heritage with care. To abandon this respect is to risk becoming hollow, chasing the fleeting praise of others while neglecting the eternal worth within. As the grandmothers knew, true strength is passed through wisdom, humility, and acts of love that nourish generations.

Therefore, let your actions reflect this teaching. For the women, honor yourselves, not by the standards of a shallow world, but by the dignity of your ancestors and the respect of your own soul. For the men, honor the women around you not as objects of service, but as bearers of wisdom, strength, and sacred worth. And for all, preserve the traditions that tie you to your roots—whether through recipes, stories, or rituals—so that future generations may know the power of respect and authenticity.

And so, remember the cry of Jackson: “Will my real women stand up, please?” Let it echo as a call not to division, but to restoration. For the real woman is she who stands in respect, who honors her roots, and who walks with dignity. And the real man is he who recognizes and cherishes her for it. Together, they weave the fabric of a stronger world, stitched with love, respect, and unbroken tradition.