Get It, Girls
June 2013
13 posts
Melissa McCarthy Laughs It Off →
hellogiggles.com
Melissa McCarthy responds to her critics, the ones who insult her body in their movie reviews, with empathy and a beautiful understanding of how to be happy. Get it, girl.
“
We do a much greater disservice to girls, because we raise them to cater to the fragile egos of men. We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls: ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise you will threaten the man. If you are the breadwinner in your relationship with a man, you have to pretend that you’re not, especially in public otherwise you will ‘emasculate’ him.’
But what if we questioned the premise itself— why should a woman’s success be a threat to a man? What if we decide to simply dispose of that word? And I don’t think there’s an English word I despise more than ‘emasculation.’
” —Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, TedxEuston (x)
(via blackinasia)
Totally. I think men can handle themselves quite nicely given the chance, without being tip-toed around. And it would be both more honest and fair to give women credit for all that we do. What is this charade covering up?
“I have accepted fear as a part of life, specifically the fear of change, the fear of the unknown. I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: Turn back, turn back; you’ll die if you venture too far.”
—Erica Jong
A Daughter's Struggle To Overcome A Legacy Of Segregation : NPR →
npr.org
Peggy Wallace Kennedy, daughter of former Alabama Governor George Wallace, speaks to NPR about the firm and famous anti-segregation stance her father took in 1963. Former Gov. Wallace stood in front of the doors of the University of Alabama to block the first black students to attend after federal de-segregation efforts.
Peggy is determined to use her voice for good and to encourage racial healing, rather than to be a mere descendant of an image of hate. She talks about the ways in which her father’s views progressed and about forgiveness.
It’s a short interview worth listening to. Inspiring.
“Approaching and befriending women who I identify as smart and powerful (sometimes actively pursuing them, as with any other crush) has been a major revelation of my adult life. First, there’s the associative property of awesomeness: People know you by the company you keep. I like knowing that my friends are so professionally supportive that when they get a promotion, it’s like a boost for my résumé, too, because we share a network and don’t compete for contacts. Also, it’s just plain tough out there — for all the aforementioned reasons about the economy and the dating scene and body-image pressures. I want the strongest, happiest, smartest women in my corner, pushing me to negotiate for more money, telling me to drop men who make me feel bad about myself, and responding to my outfit selfies from a place of love and stylishness, not competition and body-snarking.”
—
From Ann Friedman’s essay for The Cut, “Shine Theory: Why Powerful Women Make the Greatest Friends.” (via quintessentiallyquirky)
(via megsokay)
This is great :) Collaboration instead of competition.
“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and dis-enchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.”
— Rachel Carson (via womenorgnow)
May 2013
5 posts
Love this. Paradox.
don’t be too clingy
don’t be such a ‘girl’
be a woman
but be hairless like a childdon’t wear skimpy outfits
don’t be such a ‘slut’
be modest
but take it off when i ask
don’t assert yourself
don’t be such a ‘bitch’
be nice to me
but don’t be a fucking doormat
don’t be ignorant
don’t be such a ‘bimbo’
be intelligent
but don’t argue your opinion with me
don’t wear make-up ever
don’t be so ‘insecure’
be yourself
but don’t complain if i don’t like it
Female, Bi-Partisan Committee on Sexual Assault in the Military Making Progress →
npr.org
I love reading about intelligent and civilized debate :) Cheers to the 14 women and 2 men from both sides of the aisle who are genuinely collaborating to find solutions to the problem of sexual violence and abuse in the military.
Female Programmer, Sarah Allen - Awesome. →
npr.org
Sarah Allen led the team of programmers that developed Flash video player. Now she is the CEO of Blazing Cloud, creating software and design for mobile devices.
On All Things Considered, Sarah talks about how she fell in love with coding, why she is encouraging more women to work in the field, and how some firms hire a woman as a “window dressing.”
My fave thing Sarah said is that coding is a great career for working parents:
Allen says, being a programmer has been a great career for her as a mom. Allen is married and has a 15-year-old son. “The women that I went to college with who are lawyers or doctors had a much harder time raising a family. They have to be there at certain times. I had an incredible amount of freedom, especially because I worked as a coder when I was a new mom and then I can work whenever I want, wherever I want,” she says.
