Ayesha Curry: The Attention Seeker?

If you’ve followed pop culture news, you’ve seen Ayesha Curry in a recent Red Table Talk episode that dropped earlier this week. This episode of the series featured the women of the Curry family – Sonya Curry (mother), Ayesha Curry (Stephen Curry’s wife), Callie Rivers (Engaged to Seth Curry), and Sydel Curry (Youngest Curry Sibling, Married to Damion Lee). Each woman brought to the table, their experience as women engaged or married to men who have spotlight careers. At one portion of the interview, Ayesha began discussing the struggles she often faces in juggling being a wife, mom, and businesswoman. Ayesha went on to say,

“Something that really bothers me, and like, honestly has given me a sense of a little bit of an insecurity is the fact that – yea, there are all these women like throwing themselves (at Stephen), but me, the past ten years I don’t have any of the that. I have zero, this sounds weird, but like male attention. And so then I begin to internalize it and I’m like, is something wrong with me?” ... “I don’t want it (male attention), but it would be nice to know someone’s looking.”

Many videos of this clip have spread all throughout social media and have received a variety of responses. I created a video sharing my opinion about it on both my Instagram pages on Wednesday. My video created quite a stir in the comments as some of my followers joined in a conversation about their viewpoints toward the interview. Many men shared that they feel she is an insecure, attention seeker. One of my followers went so far as to say that he felt she was disrespecting her marriage. He believes that she should have known that her husband would always receive more attention as he was a basketball player when they met. Another male follower shared that he feels her desire for other male attention should have disappeared once she said, “I do.” I thought I’d use this week’s blog post as an opportunity to further share my thoughts.It is disheartening that when a woman opens up about the realities of growing with a man and balancing multiple roles, she is torn down. I believe it was extremely courageous of Ayesha to go on such a popular platform and share such vulnerable feelings. At no point in the interview do I feel she disrespected her husband or her marriage, rather she shared her own internal struggles. The desire for validation is a natural part of life, but she has been shamed for it. Having referred to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (psychology theory) - esteem, love, and belonging are essential parts of human motivation. I feel that those who believe otherwise are confused about the facts of nature. Additionally, I noticed most of the negative comments were from men. In my opinion, it is difficult for men to understand how Ayesha feels as men are taught and conditioned to believe they are great from birth. Having been with the same man since high school, having given birth to three children, and having to live a life as “Steph Curry’s wife” - it is normal to wonder if she’s “still got it.” For many to crucify her for these feelings, worries me about the ability of people to let others be human. In all honesty, I prefer to hear celebrity interviews like Ayesha’s because they are genuine and relatable. Who I am as a woman would never let me idolize someone who pretends to be perfect even when it is a fact that everyone is flawed.

Let’s further the conversation! How do you feel about the interview?

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