P v. R, Exclusive Video Premiere, Gender Roles and More at Life Chat’s 1 Year Anniversary

The ladies of Tha Afterparty Radio’s LifeChat Radio, Esther Calloway and Feleceia Benton, really outdid themselves, going all out in celebration of their 1^st year anniversary on the air. Housed at the Angelika Movie Theater, there was a red carpet for photo ops, gift bags for VIP’s and press to welcome in attendees to a unique and thought-provoking event.

Guests were treated to a group of panelists from all walks of life: female and male, multicultural, varying professions, representing a wide range of ages and relationship statuses. The first half was based on “P” or pursuing. Why do people pursue relationships? What makes them passionate about pursuit? Is it okay for women to pursue? How have gender roles shifted?

Not surprising, the discussion got a little heated when it came to gender roles. For example, one panelist argued ardently that women’s pursuit has shifted gender roles too much and goes against the natural laws of nature, culture and religion. A minister offered his unique take that the Bible doesn’t actually preach that women must be submissive but that interpretations vary and the idea of the submissive woman is socially constructed.

This led to a lot of spirited, back-and-forth discussion among and between panelists and the audience. It was capped off by a marriage counselor in the audience who gave her perspective of how a man should be head of the household which was met with rousing applause.

After intermission, it was the world premiere of Dallas-based spoken hip-hop artist Shy Speaks’ video, “P v. R,” which highlighted both the pursuit and “R,” or retreating, aspects of relationships between men and women. Beautifully filmed with great styling and direction, it featured several couples, displaying their unique interactions in the pursuit phases as well as the fall-out and dissolution of relationships based on the retreat aspects. All set to Shy’s melodic prose as the backdrop, it was a clever introspective into relationships.

After an enthusiastic response from the audience, the panel moved onto the “R” section where panelists led the conversation about retreating in relationships. A sampling of topics included: Is retreating based on turn-offs or timing? Can you retreat in a marriage? What leads to retreating in marriages and how do you come back?

It led to an interesting take on how men seem to value respect above all in relationships where women put a priority on love and how this could affect whether or not there is retreating. One panelist poignantly brought up the fact that the issue is based more on language and we need to re-evaluate our thinking of gender roles and needs.

The event was capped off with E. Calloway’s reading of the definition of “respect” and the importance of the role of language in relationships.

All in all, this was a great way to get a dialogue going between men and women, exploring relationships in a real, raw and honest way in a respectful atmosphere, while getting fresh, new perspectives.

If you get a chance to attend a future LifeChat event, you definitely will not want to miss out.

And you can always catch the ladies of LifeChat Radio on Tha Afterparty Radio on Thursdays 10:00 a.m. to noon CST.