That speech

I know I’ve already written about the Barbie film, but that was more about Barbie and me. I didn’t really get into specifics. 

Allow me to share with you, in case you haven’t seen the film, the speech delivered by Gloria, a wife and mother from the Real World, who ends up in Barbie Land.

That speech is the main reason I would happily take a young girl to see Barbie, and I suspect the reason many mothers were glad they took their daughters.

I didn’t see the film in the cinema, so I don’t know, but I can imagine, at a minimum, a round of applause from those mothers, if not actual hooting and hollering. Amen, sister.

Gloria is played by America Ferrera, who told Vanity Fair the speech was “one of the first things Greta mentioned to me even before I read the script. She said, ‘I wrote this monologue for Gloria, and I’ve always imagined you saying this.’” 

Greta is, of course, Greta Gerwig, director and co-writer of the film. I can’t help wondering if the reason she’d always imagined Ferrera playing Gloria and delivering that speech had anything to do with the fact that Ferrera came to fame playing the title role in Ugly Betty. 

It’s about time that young woman got her revenge.

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Oh, and, just in case you can think of anyone you’d like to send a copy of the speech, here it is.

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong. 

You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. 

You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. 

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault. 

I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know.