Transcriber: Anna Sobota Reviewer: Keira White
How many of us have covered up something,
whether that be a hobby, an interest or an ability
from the world around you?
Not all of us,
but some of us have been told not to express ourselves.
Or we’ve hidden away something
because we are scared of someone’s reaction.
Whether that be we don’t fit traditions or the status quo,
as women we are told a thousand ways not to be ourselves.
As a girl, I was told what to play with and what to be interested in:
“Band is for nerds, video games are for boys,
play with these Barbies”
or “Don’t wear that, it’s too baggy”
or “Don’t wear that, you need to cover up”.
A perfect example of a cover-up situation women face in society
is discrimination in video games.
A survey says 59% of women hide gender
in order to avoid harassment while gaming online.
More specifically, women have said to receive comments about their skills
and/or patronizing actions as well as unsolicited relationships asks.
And this online society makes it easier
to receive this weird and unacceptable behavior.
We live in a social media society
where trends are what to follow, not your own heart.
“Cover up”, I’ve been told,
but it wasn’t just the confinement of what I wore in school
or family outings,
it was who I loved to be, shot down by the world around me.
Now, I’m not saying
there isn’t a time and place for things.
Maybe you shouldn't wear a bikini to Big Bear,
but women shouldn’t be confined
based on fear.
Now, I was watching this TikTok of a young woman’s poem,
Maddie Malekos,
and I think it perfectly describes the type of confinement we face.
You wouldn’t like authenticity, not to its full extent.
Too much vulnerability is weird,
it’s gross.
And then for those next few minutes, I kept thinking
about what it meant to be truly authentic,
to not hide away from the world, to not cover up what I liked.
But growing up, that’s never been the case,
women have to cover up to save themselves from inappropriate comments,
which is what we learned growing up,
instead of teaching young boys not to talk women down.
Teens are scared of what the world views on them,
and then as adults they either fold to those pressures of society
or they learn to fight against them.
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist
of the 1800s who wrote the coming of age story “Little Women”.
Now, this book was about her life from childhood to womanhood,
and it was published under her own name,
but some of her other books were published under her made-up name,
or her pseudonym, A.M. Barnard.
Her thriller books were seen as too sensational,
and didn’t fit the genre she represented.
An example being “Pauline’s Passion and Punishment”,
where she focused on the type of psychological terror
that happens in the home, particularly to women.
As a children and young woman’s author
this was done to maintain her pure and wholesome image in the public eye.
It was deemed unacceptable for a woman to write such graphic novels,
and while she accomplished so much in her writings,
it was hardwired into her brain,
like many of us still, to keep a piece of her hidden.
But not all of us have to remain with that image ingrained into us.
Ideally, we should look at empowering women we have today.
For instance,
we have Jamie Lee Curtis, actress and writer,
best known as the original “Scream Queen”.
Now Jamie Lee Curtis is an amazing actress,
and in one of her most recent Instagram posts,
Curtis had decided she was done concealing
or covering up anything about her appearance.
“I’ve been sucking in my stomach since I was 11”, she said,
“when you start being conscious about boys and bodies,
and the jeans are super tight”.
Now in her upcoming film:
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”,
Curtis decides that she won't cover anything about her appearance.
An amazing role model I hope we can all follow.
Another example we have is Megan Rapinoe,
Olympic gold medalist and soccer player on the United States national team,
and along with being an amazing player on the field,
Megan Rapinoe supports social justice, fights for gender equality
and civil rights for the LGBTQIA+ community.
In an interview for “The Guardian”, she said:
“As I’ve grown older,
I’ve really got to understand how powerful one voice can be,
my voice can be and the team’s voice can be
so to hold that back and not use that seems selfish in a way”.
And that couldn't have been said better in any other way.
Holding your voice back, covering yourself up,
is just as hurtful as lying,
it’s lying to yourself and the world around you.
So what can we do about that?
How do we change our way of thinking and our way of learning?
Well, we have to teach differently,
and we have to continue to learn and grow and educate ourselves constantly
as we fight for equality.
We need to understand that we might be different,
yes, but that’s okay.
We can stand out, be our own people, and we shouldn’t have to worry
about what a superficial society might think,
and that all starts with us.
We need to be able to support each other and our own uniqueness.
We need to not just imagine a world,
but create a world where we unlock everyone’s creativity.
We need to not just imagine a world,
but create a world where we don’t need to cover up.
Now, whether that be not covering up fashion sense
or not covering how they can beat everyone else at “Fortnite”,
girls and everyone else out there deserves respect,
respect to uncover what they love and share it with the world,
and I’ll start.
(Applause)
(Music)
(Music ends)
(Applause)
Now it’s your turn.
Uncover your truths to the world!
Ok
(Applause)
(Music)