I could probably write a book and fill it with the things I do instead of studying for exams. It seems like every time I have a tight deadline or an upcoming final, I find the most interesting things to do with my time. I either discover new places to go, or find cool stuff on the Internet or decide that I need to colour code my closet—No, really. I actually did that once instead of studying for an exam. Well, this time around I found a really good book. My girl Beyonce Knowles Carter recommended it to me personally in her interview with GARAGE magazine. Basically, she said all her fans should read this book. So I read the book. When Bey tells you to do something, you don’t really question it. I probably get distracted by Beyonce at least twice a day, if not more… whether I get caught up watching her music videos or come across a new picture on instagram, or see a clip from a concert, it always seems take up a good chunk of my time. She’s just unreal and does everything on another level. I could probably write a book about that too. Can anyone really blame me? I mean, her voice, her body, her work ethic it’s all Goals. Whoever is reading this just personally witnessed my third time getting distracted by Beyonce today.
ANYWAYS
I read this book called “What Will it Take to Make a Woman President.” By Marianne Schnall. It’s an amazing collection of interviews and quotes by unbelievably talented and intelligent women and men. She uses a woman president as a symbol, but the book is much more generally about the need to encourage women and girls into leadership positions, and highlights the changing paradigms in politic and in our culture at largeThe interviews are insightful and aim to bring light to the inequities between genders. Although it focuses on the problems today and highlights what needs to be changed, there is a beacon of hope as each person points out that we have come a long way but we’re still fighting and we need all the help we can get.
Below are just a few of my favourite quotes and favourite people she interviewed!
Maya Angelou
Before I even read the beginning of the book, I skipped to her section. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. This woman is inspiring, to say the least. If you don’t know who she is (really???) you need to look up her writing because she is incredible. Here are some of the quotes from her interview that really resonated with me.
“If we really think that the majority of women in the world are also always in the kitchen and in the kindergarten and in the places just to look after the young and men, then we do ourselves and everybody a disservice. Because women offer so much more than it would seem we offer. It would seem we offer kindness and the chance to be cared for and nursed in more ways than just medical. And I think that the whole country needs to know that women are much smarter—we’re more than that. We’re that and more than that.”
“Try [your] best to develop courage. It’s the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, you cant practice any other virtue consistently… You develop a little courage so that if you decide, ‘I will not stay in rooms where women are belittled; I will not stay in company where races, no matter who they are, are belittled; I will not take it; I will not sit around and accept dehumanizing other human beings—‘ if you decide to do that in small ways, and you continue to do it—finally you realize you’ve got so much courage.”
“I encourage courtesy—to accept nothing less than courtesy and to give nothing less than courtesy. If we accept being talked to any kind of way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And if we have the effrontery to talk to anybody with less than courtesy, we tell ourselves and the world that we are not very intelligent.”
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
A filmmaker, speaker, actress, and advocate for women, girls and their families. Another incredible woman, who wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary (one of my favourites) Miss Representation. After you finish reading this book, go watch that documentary and prepare to feel a fiery passion ignited inside of you. After I watching it I felt a combination of anger and inspiration mixed with hopefulness. This is what she had to say in her interview:
“Having a daughter and a son, and another daughter on the way, I want so badly to shift this and create a healthier culture where we just raise the boys to be true to who they really are—these authentic, beautiful, emotional beings. But we as parents and as teachers and as educators in all forms . . . we’re so stuck in what we’ve accepted as normal. This is what it is to be a man. This is what it is to be a woman. We’re creating a very painful and lonely existence for both our men and our women.”
“If you can see it, you can be it. But you don’t even have to see it at this point. You are it. Your voice matters, most importantly. Every voice counts. Every voice matters and that voice needs to be heard. And by not using your voice, you’re doing a disservice, not only to yourself, but to the community and to the world at large. So I actually like to approach it from, “It’s your responsibility, girls. Get over your looks. Get over your insecurities. You have a responsibility to all of us. We need your help. I think girls and women are our heroes and they need to start seeing themselves as our heroes and to come help us out of the mess that we’re in.”
Joy Behar
Joy Behar is an Emmy-winning talk-show host, comedian, best selling author and actress. She is a humorous lady who believes in using comedy to speak out on important issues.
“I think that humor is a powerful tool to use . . . When I first started stand-up comedy, I think part of my motivation for getting into it was that I felt powerless as a woman in this society. I was becoming invisible. I was already thirty-nine. After thirty-five you become invisible, pretty much, certainly to men. I was just becoming more and more invisible, and I was like, I have things to say. I have to do it… Of course, no one was going to listen to me if I was just talking, so I had to make them laugh, and then they listened to me. So I think that it has a very powerful effect on people.”
These are just a few out of the 50 people interviewed for this book. There are so many more inspiring male and females, and quotes worth reading. Beyonce and I HIGHLY recommend you read this book. Make sure to put it at the top of your summer reading list.