If youβre a woman and you check your email every day, you need to subscribe to Lenny Letter. The brainchild of Lena Dunham and her friend, Jenni Koner, βLennyβ is a newsletter geared towards women covering the essentials: feminism, politics, style, health, friendship, and just about everything in between. As a ritual reader of theSkimm myself, I was concerned that subscribing to Lenny would be redundant and clutter my mailbox. Yet, I remained loyal to Lena Dunham, the writer and star of HBOβs Girls, and decided to try it out. Now, I read it almost more ritually than the theSkimm and think itβs the perfect way to start my morning!
One of my favorite elements of Lenny Letter is that the newsletter features of some of the most incredible women of our time. Through fun, engaging interviews and personal essays about the hardest days of work or menstruation, Dunham and Koner truly create an honest celebration of women.
This past week, Lenny featured an essay by Jennifer Lawrence titled βWhy Do I Make Less Than My Male CoβStars?β We all know J-Law as our favorite leading lady in countless films. A positive body-image advocate, a stunning presence on the red carpet, and just downright hilarious, sheβs won the hearts of basically everyone in America. Sheβs done it again with this flawless essay touching on the wage gap in her own experience as a working woman.
Though her experience isn’t exactly relatable for us as a multimillionaire, she raises some of the most relatable issues that women face every day. She struggled to negotiate harder, fearing that she would be perceived as a βspoiled brat,β while her male counterparts pushed harder for more money and wonβ likely without any negative consequences. She struggled to voice her opinion without being perceived as aggressive and argumentative. As a result, she ended up making millions of dollars less than the men in her movies. Clearly, no matter how rich, famous and successful you are or how respected you are as an actress, the barriers women are presented with do not crumble.
The issue of a gender wage gap is nothing new; youβve probably heard a lot about it from Hillary Clinton recently. You also probably heard a lot about it this summer after the Womenβs World Cup. βAccording to the U.S. Department of Labor, women make approximately 78 cents for every dollar a man makes.β There are more male CEOs with the name John than the total number of woman CEOs! Have you ever had to tone down your own voice, emotions, or opinion in fear of being perceived as βbossy,β or worse, βb*tchy?β I’m with Lawrence when she says, βIβm over trying to find the βadorableβ way to state my opinion and still be likable.β While we have to constantly question how to navigate speaking our mind, men are celebrated for taking charge.
As I read Lawrenceβs article, I too could recall countless times I opted to stop an argument or hold back my opinion in fear of being perceived negatively. But this is not a tirade against men. It is not the fault of men nor the fault of women, but a norm in our society that needs to be changed. In fact, the discrimination may not even be conscious. Most men you talk to would undoubtedly agree that a wage gap is wrong, yet they too fall victim to making the same comments and practicing the same sexism that they are against. So, what can we do about it? I say we all take a lesson from J-Law, from BeyoncΓ©, from Nicki Minaj and from all of the other powerful women we have as role models in Hollywood; own being a bad*ss chick, and stop worrying about being a βbratβ or about being βbossy.β We, as women, have just as much right to be celebrated, to be strong, and to be successful!
Read more of J-Lawβs interview and subscribe to Lenny Letter!
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