Mary J. Blige Reflects On Embracing ‘Balance’ Between Strength & Femininity

R&B superstar Mary J. Blige is taking a moment to dish on how she finds and navigates the “balance” between strength and femininity, as well as what qualities are present within “female trailblazers.”

She Breaks Down What Traits ‘Female Trailblazers’ Possess: ‘We Don’t Take Any Mess’

Blige spoke on the subject during a recent sit-down with REVOLT, and—after being referred to as “the epitome of a strong Black woman”—she began by speaking on what traits she believes “breed female trailblazers”

Specifically, Mary J. Blige highlighted that being taking a no-nonsense approach to life while persevering through the pain is a major factor. After all, these women “persevere through anything and everything.”

“Just no nonsense—our yes is our yes, and our no is no. We persevere through anything and everything. We have high pain thresholds because we don’t have a choice, we’ve been hurt so much.”

She went on to add that female trailblazers follow their instincts while not tolerating “any mess from people.” Additionally, she noted that, at the end of the day, these women are wholly committed to being “good people until you make us not good people.” IKTR!

“We follow our gut and our instincts, and we don’t take any mess from people. We try to be good people. That’s the first thing we always try to do is be good people until you make us not good people.”

Mary J. Blige Says Balance Comes From Letting Go: ‘I Had To Learn How To Pick My Battles’

Later in the interview, Mary J. Blige was asked to speak on how, as “strong Black women don’t always have the opportunity to sit back and enjoy their femininity,” she’s able to “balance” these qualities.

In response, Blige noted that she’s learned to “surrender” and “stop trying to control everything,” as she’s realized the importance of picking and choosing her battles.

“I had to learn how to pick my battles and surrender to things that I don’t have control over—stop trying to control everything. And the things I have some control over, work hard at changing them. Work hard at doing things that can benefit me in my life instead of trying to control people and things.”

The “I Can Love You” singer summed up her answer by noting, “That’s the balance: Just trying to surrender, let everything fall where it’s going to fall—and once it falls, you felt this pain before, so we fix it.”

What are your thoughts on Mary J. Blige’s recent commentary, and do you agree with her assessment on what qualities “breed female trailblazers”?