I’m going to be straight with you: there are a lot of things I don’t like in this world. Some of my dislikes are totally justified, like racism and boys who don’t understand Mean Girls references, while others are a little harder to understand, like mushrooms and butterflies coming too close to me. But more than anything else, I don’t like it when people tell me what to do and how I should be living my life.
As a frequent Dean’s List recipient and finance major with dreams of someday becoming an elementary school teacher, author, or a stay-at-home mom (in addition to an investment banker, mind you), I’ve gotten a lot of flack for my ambitions. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time somebody told me that I’m wasting my talents or that I have the wrong priorities, I’d have a lot of money. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve wanted to argue with someone for saying that, I’d have, well, twice as much money.
It turns out that the Daily Show’s Jessica Williams is just as averse to being told what to do as I am. A recent article posted on Hollywood Reporter outlines a debacle involving Williams and Ester Bloom, a writer for the Billfold. In Bloom’s article entitled “On the Daily Show’s Jessica Williams, the Latest High-Profile Victim of Imposter Syndrome”, Bloom asserts that Williams doesn’t know her own self-worth because she said she wasn’t qualified to replace Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.
Bloom even goes so far as to say that Williams is a victim of the “imposter syndrome,” which she defines as “a well-documented phenomenon in which men look at their abilities vs. the requirements of a job posting and round up, whereas women do the same and round down, calling themselves ‘unqualified,’” and claims Williams needs a pep talk. After publishing her article, Bloom shared a link to it on Twitter, saying Williams “needs the biggest Lean In group ever.” Williams responds within the hour, expressing how offensive she found the article. (To her credit, Bloom later apologizes and says it was not her intention to offend Williams.)
Other replies to Bloom’s tweet capture much of the same outrage that Williams expressed, and more. Twitter user @lilymischief tweeted, “There’s a difference between Imposter Syndrome and having your own standards and vision for your career,” while @FilmFatale_NYC tweeted, “This article on Jessica Williams was condescending and gross. No wonder feminism is so divided […].” The most recent reply to Bloom’s original tweet by @stereowilliams also raises a good point: “She ‘needs’ some type of intervention because she doesn’t meet the standard you’ve set for her in your own mind?”
While I’m in the same boat as Williams and many of her Twitter fans, I want to give Bloom the benefit of the doubt and believe she had good intentions. I mean, she probably wouldn’t have written her article in the first place if she didn’t think Williams was incredibly talented. Heck, Bloom is probably pretty talented herself. But to assert that Williams is a “victim” of a syndrome just because she, as an individual, has decided she wouldn’t feel comfortable hosting the Daily Show? To say that she “rejects” Williams’ humility? To claim that one can almost hear a group of “old white people” saying “We did it […] we have succeeded in instilling in yet another competent, confident woman a total lack of understanding of her own self worth! […] Well done all. Good show. Let’s play eighteen holes and then hit up Hooters for lunch”? That’s a little way too much.
Bloom has since added two addendums to her original article and apologized for insensitivity, but the damage may already be done. Thankfully, Williams seems tough enough to get through this ordeal with more grace and hilarity than the average person. I’d quote her entire Twitter feed if I could, but instead, I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite tweets.
“But I am not yours”? “My worth is not my job”? Wow. (Also, can we take a moment to appreciate how sassy and witty “lean the f*ck away from me for the next couple days” is?) I know Williams is a comedian, but if that doesn’t pan out, writing or poetry could be in her future; she definitely knows how to make a statement.
Feminism is a good thing. Wait no – feminism is a really freaking great thing. To be honest, I’ve never read Lean In, but I’m sure it’s an awesome book. I’m even sure the “imposter syndrome” is very real, and that Bloom’s article was coming from a good place. Unfortunately, it seems to me that Bloom chose to use feminism as a vehicle with which to project her own agenda onto somebody else.
To all my feminists, equality activists, and good people out there: by all means, you do you. You’re hyperaware of an unfortunate social inequality, and you (and likeminded thinkers) will be the catalyst for change. But if Bloom has taught us anything, it’s don’t forget to be careful – good intentions don’t always translate into good actions, no matter how well intentioned you are.