There is one moment in the new Barbie movie that is impossible to forget.
It’s when America Ferrara’s character, Gloria – aka the mom – delivers a moving speech to her daughter and Barbie.
Normally this blog is for my words, not those of other people, but in this case, I want to pay homage to Greta Gerwig’s amazing writing.
Here’s the stunning monologue in its entirety:
“It is literally impossible to be a woman.
You are very beautiful and very smart… and it breaks my soul that you think you’re not good enough, like we’re always supposed to be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.
We have to be skinny, but not too much and you must not say you want to be skinny. You must say you want a healthy weight, but also… YES you have to be skinny.
You must have money, but you can’t ask for money because that would be rude. You gotta be a boss, but you can’t be tough. You must lead, but you cannot crush other people’s ideas.
You’re supposed to love being a mom, but you don’t talk about your kids all the time.
You have to be a professional, but also always take care of everyone else.
You are responsible for men’s misbehavior, WHICH IS CRAZY, but if you notice that, you’re accused of being a whine.
You’re expected to keep yourself pretty for men, but not so pretty you ‘try them too much’ or threaten other women… because you’re supposed to be part of the sorority.
You must always stand out and always be very grateful… but never forget the system is fixed, so find how to acknowledge it but remember to be grateful.
You must never grow old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never stumble, never fail or show fear and, of course, you must never be sassy.
It’s very 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 that happens is YOUR FAULT.
I’m tired of seeing myself and every woman doing the impossible for others to love us.”
How ironic that a movie about dolls and pink plastic perfection may have just done so much to move feminism and women’s rights forward. At the very least, it put these important thoughts and ideas in front of most women and girls in America.
Thank you to Greta, Margot Robbie, America and all those involved in the making of this film – this moment was truly appreciated by all of us moms and women out here grinding!
