Serena Williams’s husband, Alexis Ohanian took out a series of billboards calling his wife “the greatest momma of all time” to welcome her back to tennis.
Ohanian, who co-founded the social media site Reddit, chose billboards along the Palm Springs highway so his wife would see them on the way to the tournament in California. Here are some of our key take-outs from this smooth gesture:
1. It gives ‘You’re asking for too much’ a rest
A majority of women have heard this said about their expectations from potential or existing partners in the past. Alexis Ohanian Sr’s approach to celebrating his wife makes it clear that perhaps we haven’t been asking for too much, we’ve just been asking the wrong people. A major take-out from his gesture is proof that you really can find the person who’s just as ‘extra’ about making you know that they value you. Maybe they won’t put you up on billboards because we all know that takes a certain level of ‘ka-ching’ in the bank but enough to always have you feeling special. It’s not in your head, it’s not a fairytale, you can actually be loved to a great capacity and you know what to do when you’re not being served a good dish, maybe, just maybe, you’re asking the wrong one.
2. Marriages and familial structures are seeing a revolution
According to some news headlines, it was reported that Serena’s husband was “Baby-Sitting’ their child on Sunday at the Fed Cup in Asheville, North Carolina, when she returned to official action for the first time since Alexis Jr. was born to the uproar of many millennial women and even men who put simply, mentioned that it wasn’t an act of baby sitting if it was also his child. This initiated conversation around gender roles and partnerships. It was greatly pleasing to see that many shared the opinion that both parents should be heavily involved with caring for their child and when one parent has to work, the other should support. What a time to be alive!
3. Nothing wrong with a little PDA
On this side of Africa, you can get rather judged for being too mushy or emotional. It’s even worse for men who are supposed to be ‘manly’ (show 0 emotion). All of a sudden, this man is being celebrated and everyone is coming to terms with the idea that maybe it’s not such a bad thing to be publicly affectionate with their partners. If you want the whole world to know, go right ahead, it takes absolutely nothing away from your person. We loved that Alexis’ gesture unwittingly conveyed that message across.
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