“Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.” ~ Ellen DeGeneres
This week in Juicy Bites, we hear from:
- Gloria Steinem, mother of feminist activism
- Layla Shaikley, Muslim hipster
- Yoko Ono, pioneering conceptual artist
- Debbie Sterling, engineer and founder of GoldieBlox
- Maysoon Zayid, comedian, actress and advocate
At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:
1. Gloria Steinem – Feminist Activist via MAKERS
Gloria Steinem’s 80th birthday made for such a beautiful week of stories about feminism online. Watch Gloria talk about the beginnings of the movement and the momentum that led to her life of activism in this inspiring MAKERS profile video.
“In my heart I think the only alternative to being a feminist is being a masochist.” – Gloria Steinem
2. The Surprising Lessons of the ‘Muslim Hipsters’ Backlash via The Atlantic
Have you seen the #Mipsterz viral video yet? MIT Media Lab alumna Layla Shaikley made the music video to express her own experience as a young Muslim American. It’s awesome. And so is Layla’s reflective and insightful response to the mixed reactions the video received from the Muslim American community.
“I made a music video to share my own story as a Muslim woman in America. In doing so, I was expected to share every other Muslim woman’s story, too.” – Layla Shaikley
3. Yoko Ono show at Guggenheim shines light on pioneering conceptual artist via The Guardian
Yoko Ono is a woman who has never let public opinion steer her away from her personal truth. The artist, peace activist, and musician is unapologetically herself as she explores and experiments through her visionary work. Read this article for a vivid picture of Yoko’s charm, mystery, and mission.
“Most people didn’t want to know and I wasn’t about to explain about it. My art was different from what was considered as art. My idea was that maybe one day 50 years later or 100 years later people might discover it.” – Yoko Ono
4. GoldieBlox’s Debbie Sterling on Changing Gender Stereotypes and Taking Big Risks via Fast Company
When Debbie Sterling told her mother she wanted to study engineering, her mother said, “Ew.” Since then, Debbie has not only become a successful engineer, she has made it her mission to tackle the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and math. Have you seen the awesome Beastie Boys “Girls” parody video that went viral last year? That’s her, living her truth.
“We get fired up about these incredibly audacious goals, and what’s surprising is you can actually hit them. When you hit a goal like that, this whole thing becomes all the more believable, that what we’re doing is going to work.” – Debbie Sterling
5. A Gorgeous Woman Shakes Her Body On Stage… And The Crowd Goes Wild via Upworthy
Where has this woman been all our lives? We’d describe how Maysoon Zayid, disabled Arab-American comedian, is living the truth of who she is, but she does it so much better herself in this TED Talk. Watch it now!
“If a wheelchair user can’t play Beyoncé, then Beyoncé can’t play a wheelchair user.” – Maysoon Zayid
Tell us who inspires you so that they can inspire the tribe, too! Join in the conversation with a comment below:
Like what you’re hearing? Dive deeper with us this October at Emerging Women Live 2014. Special discounts when you register before July 31st.
