Women Should Have Opportunities Because They Are Human, Not Because They Have Talent

One reason I have a hard time with shows like Mrs. Maisel is because shows like that portray a woman who already has a natural talent for something (comedy) fighting for a space in a world of men. While this is one sort of story, it’s not the typical story for the rest of us. It perpetuates an idea that the reason we should accept a woman is because she is already brilliant and why wouldn’t we give her a chance?

She’s not accepted simply because she is human, and everyone deserves a shot. 

This type of story can sustain the idea that if we’re going to give a woman a seat at the table, or an opportunity or a chance, she must already be an expert at said thing. 

 Nobody. Nobody becomes an expert on their first run. Not even and especially men. We have little space in our minds and hearts for women to try their hand at things. For women to be mediocre. For women who fail.

I am a good writer. I get opportunities to write on a regular basis. But the first 10 years of my writing career, on a good day, my writing was mediocre. On a bad day, my writing was terrible. I struggled and failed (and had the best time!) in relative obscurity, because that is the nature of writing. Most professions are not like this. If I’d gone the traditional route of taking classes in a public context, where teachers and classmates scrutinized my bad writing, I might have determined I was not a gifted writer. I might have given up.

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As it was, I continued to pursue writing, not because I was good at it, but because I liked it. Because it brought me joy. I eventually became good at it. (You can’t really do something for 20 years and not become somewhat competent.) But most of my skill is not natural talent. I have some. Others have much more. The only reason people took any notice of my writing is because I just kept doing it and eventually they realized this little hobby wasn’t going away. 

I can tell you that I agonized over the choice to use the word “good” to describe my writing just now. Perhaps I should just call myself a writer and let other people decided if my writing is good or not. I’m still not sure about using that word, but I recognize society conditioned me to downplay my gifts and competencies.

If we only give chances to women who are brilliant at something, and then we tell them not to brag about themselves, we put women in the position of only achieving greatness if someone else notices their brilliance. But what if they aren’t brilliant yet? What if they have a lot of potential? Are we going to ignore them until they have achieved their full potential on their own? If this is true, how many women actually have a shot?

After the monumental success of the film Barbie, people say more women should direct films, because look what Greta Gerwig has achieved! No. More women should direct films because they just should. Not because they are brilliant filmmakers, but because they are human beings who deserve an opportunity to do something they love.