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Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.47,0:00:02.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Four years ago today, exactly, actually,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.56,0:00:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started a fashion blog called Style Rookie.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.66,0:00:09.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Last September of 2011, I started an online magazine
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.78,0:00:13.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for teenage girls called Rookiemag.com.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.65,0:00:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My name's Tavi Gevinson, and
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.84,0:00:20.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the title of my talk is "Still Figuring It Out,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.98,0:00:23.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the MS Paint quality of my slides
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.23,0:00:26.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a total creative decision in keeping with today's theme,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.54,0:00:28.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and has nothing to do with my inability
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.16,0:00:31.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use PowerPoint. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.50,0:00:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I edit this site for teenage girls. I'm a feminist.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.06,0:00:38.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I am kind of a pop culture nerd, and I think a lot about
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.94,0:00:41.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what makes a strong female character,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.35,0:00:43.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, you know, movies and TV shows,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.44,0:00:47.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these things have influence. My own website.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.71,0:00:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I think the question of what makes a strong female
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.50,0:00:52.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,character often goes misinterpreted,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.87,0:00:56.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and instead we get these two-dimensional superwomen
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.17,0:00:59.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who maybe have one quality that's played up a lot,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.76,0:01:02.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a Catwoman type,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.35,0:01:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or she plays her sexuality up a lot,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.23,0:01:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's seen as power.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.42,0:01:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they're not strong characters who happen to be female.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.82,0:01:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're completely flat,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.55,0:01:15.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're basically cardboard characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.03,0:01:16.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The problem with this is that then
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.87,0:01:20.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people expect women to be that easy to understand,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.71,0:01:23.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and women are mad at themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.04,0:01:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for not being that simple,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.38,0:01:27.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when, in actuality, women are complicated,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.34,0:01:30.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,women are multifaceted -- not because women are crazy,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.74,0:01:32.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but because people are crazy,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.49,0:01:36.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and women happen to be people. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.15,0:01:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the flaws are the key.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.44,0:01:40.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not the first person to say this.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.28,0:01:42.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What makes a strong female character
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.33,0:01:47.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a character who has weaknesses, who has flaws,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.23,0:01:49.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is maybe not immediately likable,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.21,0:01:51.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but eventually relatable.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.68,0:01:53.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't like to acknowledge a problem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.14,0:01:55.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without also acknowledging those who work to fix it,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.81,0:01:58.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so just wanted to acknowledge shows like "Mad Men,"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.88,0:02:01.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,movies like "Bridesmaids," whose female characters
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.76,0:02:05.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or protagonists are complex, multifaceted.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.89,0:02:10.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lena Dunham, who's on here, her show on HBO
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.10,0:02:12.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that premiers next month, "Girls,"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.30,0:02:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she said she wanted to start it because she felt that
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.81,0:02:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every woman she knew was just a bundle of contradictions,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.80,0:02:20.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that feels accurate for all people,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.01,0:02:22.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you don't see women represented like that as much.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.67,0:02:26.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Congrats, guys. (Laughs)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.26,0:02:29.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I don't feel that — I still feel that there are some types
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.96,0:02:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of women who are not represented that way,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.50,0:02:34.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one group that we'll focus on today are teens,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.95,0:02:38.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I think teenagers are especially contradictory
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.23,0:02:41.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and still figuring it out,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.27,0:02:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in the '90s there was "Freaks and Geeks"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.62,0:02:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and "My So-Called Life," and their characters,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.40,0:02:50.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lindsay Weir and Angela Chase,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.06,0:02:52.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, the whole premise of the shows
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.74,0:02:56.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were just them trying to figure themselves out, basically,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.19,0:02:59.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but those shows only lasted a season each,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.29,0:03:04.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I haven't really seen anything like that on TV since.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.25,0:03:10.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is a scientific diagram of my brain — (Laughter) —
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.64,0:03:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around the time when I was,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.11,0:03:14.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I started watching those TV shows.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.75,0:03:16.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was ending middle school, starting high school --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.94,0:03:19.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a sophomore now —
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.21,0:03:21.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was trying to reconcile
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.96,0:03:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of these differences that you're told you can't be
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.62,0:03:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when you're growing up as a girl.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.97,0:03:28.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't be smart and pretty.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.59,0:03:31.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't be a feminist who's also interested in fashion.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.41,0:03:35.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't care about clothes if it's not for the sake
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.31,0:03:38.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what other people, usually men, will think of you.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.34,0:03:41.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I was trying to figure all that out,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.31,0:03:44.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I felt a little confused,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.61,0:03:46.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I said so on my blog,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.36,0:03:50.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I said that I wanted to start
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.54,0:03:53.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a website for teenage girls
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.04,0:03:56.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was not this kind of one-dimensional
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.48,0:03:59.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,strong character empowerment thing
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.19,0:04:02.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I think one thing that can be very alienating
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.18,0:04:04.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about a misconception of feminism is that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.81,0:04:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,girls then think that to be a feminist, they have to live up to
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.40,0:04:10.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being perfectly consistent in your beliefs,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.89,0:04:14.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,never being insecure, never having doubts,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.30,0:04:17.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,having all of the answers. And this is not true,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.21,0:04:21.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, actually, reconciling all the contradictions I was feeling
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.26,0:04:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became easier once I understood that feminism
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.02,0:04:27.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was not a rulebook but a discussion,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.21,0:04:29.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a conversation, a process,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.33,0:04:32.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is a spread from a zine that I made last year
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.50,0:04:35.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I -- I mean, I think I've let myself go a bit
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.85,0:04:37.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the illustration front since.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.95,0:04:41.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.94,0:04:46.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I said on my blog that I wanted to start this publication
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.34,0:04:48.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for teenage girls and ask people to submit
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.83,0:04:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their writing, their photography, whatever,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.95,0:04:52.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be a member of our staff.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.60,0:04:55.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got about 3,000 emails.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.53,0:04:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My editorial director and I went through them and
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.20,0:05:01.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put together a staff of people,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.20,0:05:03.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we launched last September.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.80,0:05:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is an excerpt from my first editor's letter,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.16,0:05:09.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I say that Rookie, we don't have all the answers,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.51,0:05:12.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're still figuring it out too, but the point is not to
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.24,0:05:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,give girls the answers, and not even give them permission
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.20,0:05:18.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to find the answers themselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.77,0:05:20.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but hopefully inspire them to understand that
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.94,0:05:22.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can give themselves that permission,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.66,0:05:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can ask their own questions, find their own answers,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.55,0:05:28.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of that, and Rookie, I think we've been trying to make it
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.30,0:05:33.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a nice place for all of that to be figured out.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.64,0:05:35.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'm not saying, "Be like us,"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.58,0:05:37.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and "We're perfect role models," because we're not,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.94,0:05:43.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we just want to help represent girls
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.06,0:05:46.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a way that shows those different dimensions.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.08,0:05:49.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, we have articles called
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.87,0:05:53.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"On Taking Yourself Seriously: How to Not Care What People Think of You,"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.05,0:05:55.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we also have articles like,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.02,0:05:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,oops -- I'm figuring it out!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.98,0:06:01.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ha ha. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.51,0:06:05.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you use that, you can get away with anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.31,0:06:06.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also have articles called
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.50,0:06:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"How to Look Like You Weren't Just Crying in Less than Five Minutes."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.00,0:06:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So all of that being said, I still really appreciate
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.04,0:06:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those characters in movies and
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.00,0:06:18.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,articles like that on our site,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.82,0:06:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that aren't just about being totally powerful,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.06,0:06:25.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe finding your acceptance with yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.11,0:06:30.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and self-esteem and your flaws and how you accept those.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.67,0:06:34.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what I you to take away from my talk,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.29,0:06:38.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lesson of all of this, is to just be Stevie Nicks.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.51,0:06:41.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, that's all you have to do. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.88,0:06:44.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because my favorite thing about her,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.76,0:06:47.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other than, like, everything, is that
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.82,0:06:50.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she is very -- has always been
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.23,0:06:53.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unapologetically present on stage,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.13,0:06:55.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and unapologetic about her flaws
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.94,0:07:00.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and about reconciling all of her contradictory feelings
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.08,0:07:03.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she makes you listen to them and think about them,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.67,0:07:05.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yeah, so please be Stevie Nicks.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.05,0:07:10.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you. (Applause)