Hope springs eternal
November was a good month for high-profile Millennial women. After 13 years, Britney Spears is free of her father’s tyrannical conservatorship. After nine years of trying to regain the rights to her songs, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift gave a big FUCK YOU to her previous record label by re-releasing her RED album as Taylor’s Version. It took Jessica Simpson 15 years, but she reclaims her name and brand rights - and the billion-dollar business associated with it. I’ve also loved seeing Selena Gomez in Hulu’s show, Only Murders in the Building. She carries the show, and I love seeing her thriving after a kidney transplant and bipolar diagnosis.
But wait, there’s more! OG Influencer Paris Hilton got married and Nicole Richie was there to help her celebrate, and Lindsay Lohan is making a cinematic comeback. Let’s also celebrate Adele’s first album in six years and how she got Spotify to disable the shuffle feature. Finally, Avril Lavigne, having battled Lyme disease for 7 years, shows us she’s still got it with her new single aptly titled, Bite Me.
All these women are immensely talented and have been wronged, mistreated, misunderstood, and trivialized. But true to their badass nature, they hunkered down, surrounded themselves with trustworthy advocates, and took control.
Don’t give up
It’s painful to know that in 2021, we still have to deal with misogyny and the trivialization of women. If this happens to the most successful Millennial women, we know it’s much worse for the rest of us trying to start a business, get recognized at work, or compete in sports. Don’t get me started about what is happening to women of color.
As cliche as it sounds, the moral of the story is, don’t give up. Find something to do that you genuinely love and devote yourself to mastering your craft. When you love what you do, the time spent on it doesn’t feel like a chore. Fight for what is yours. If you fail the first time, shift your perspective and fight again.
Build a squad and unabashedly support one another. There is strength in numbers. Seeing these talented Millennial women work hard, fight for what is rightfully theirs and get it, is inspirational. It gives me great hope for the next generation of women.