My identity is a superpower -- not an obstacle | America Ferrera | TED
Summary
TLDRIn this powerful speech, the speaker recounts her journey as a Latina actress in Hollywood, facing stereotypes and discrimination. Despite the industry's resistance to authentic representation, she persevered, eventually landing roles that celebrated her identity. The success of 'Real Women Have Curves' and 'Ugly Betty' challenged norms but industry change was slow. She calls for a cultural shift, urging individuals to question their beliefs and embrace their identities as superpowers, advocating for a more inclusive and reflective media landscape.
Takeaways
- 🎭 The speaker's childhood dream was to become an actress, inspired by dancing and singing to the movie 'Gypsy'.
- 🌟 Despite facing discouragement due to her ethnicity and background, she believed in the American ideal that anyone could achieve anything.
- 🎬 Her first professional audition included a request to 'sound more Latina' in English, which led to a realization about stereotypes and casting expectations.
- 🚫 The speaker faced numerous rejections for roles that were stereotypical and didn't align with her aspirations for complex and multidimensional characters.
- 💔 She experienced the harsh reality of the entertainment industry's limited view of her identity and potential, which led to feelings of rejection and shame.
- 🔄 In an attempt to fit in, she tried to change her appearance and mannerisms to be less 'ethnic', but this didn't lead to the desired outcomes.
- 🌈 The breakthrough role as Ana in 'Real Women Have Curves' showcased her authenticity and resonated with diverse audiences, proving the value of her story.
- 🏆 Success in 'Real Women Have Curves' and 'Ugly Betty' did not lead to immediate change in the industry's approach to diverse representation.
- 🤔 The speaker reflects on the systemic barriers that persist despite her achievements, questioning the industry's excuses for lack of diversity.
- 💡 She calls for a change in fundamental values and beliefs, urging individuals to align their actions with their intentions for true representation.
- 🌍 The speech concludes with a powerful message that identity should be embraced as a superpower, not an obstacle, and that collective authenticity is the world's reality.
Q & A
What was the speaker's childhood dream, and how did she express it?
-The speaker's childhood dream was to become an actress. She expressed it by dancing and singing to the made-for-TV movie 'Gypsy,' starring Bette Midler, with a sense of urgency and burning desire.
What challenges did the speaker face in pursuing her dream of becoming an actress?
-The speaker faced challenges such as not seeing representation of people who looked like her in Hollywood, being warned by family and friends that people like her didn't make it in the industry, and experiencing stereotypes and limited roles due to her ethnicity and background.
What was the casting director's request during the speaker's first professional audition, and how did it make her feel?
-The casting director asked her to 'sound more Latina,' which implied speaking in broken English. This request left her confused and made her realize that being an authentic Latina didn't seem to matter in the audition.
How did the speaker's manager respond to her desire for roles that were not stereotypes?
-The manager responded by suggesting that someone should tell her she had unrealistic expectations, indicating that he did not believe in the possibility of her landing such roles.
What was the ironic twist in the speaker's career that led to her breakthrough?
-The ironic twist was that the role that made her dreams come true was one that required her to be exactly who she was—a brown, poor, fat Latina in 'Real Women Have Curves.'
How did the audience react to the speaker's performance in 'Real Women Have Curves'?
-The audience, regardless of their age, ethnicity, or body type, saw themselves in her character, Ana, and the film was a critical, cultural, and financial success.
What was the speaker's expectation after the success of 'Real Women Have Curves'?
-She expected that the success would lead to a change in the industry, with more stories about people like her being told and more opportunities for diverse representation.
What was the reality of the industry's response to the success of 'Ugly Betty'?
-Despite 'Ugly Betty' being nominated for 11 Emmys in its first year, there was no significant change in the industry. No other television show led by a Latina actress appeared on American television for eight years after its success.
How did the speaker feel about being the first and only Latina to win an Emmy in a lead category?
-The speaker felt deep frustration, not because of the award itself, but because the lack of representation and diversity in the industry meant that it was not a point of pride but rather a point of deep frustration.
What realization did the speaker come to regarding the entertainment industry's value system?
-She realized that she was never actually asking the system to change; she was asking it to let her in. She understood that she couldn't change what the system believed about her while she believed the same things.
What conclusion did the speaker reach about the need for change in the industry?
-The speaker concluded that change will not come by identifying the good guys and the bad guys but by each person questioning their own fundamental values and beliefs and ensuring that their actions align with their best intentions.
Outlines
🎭 Overcoming Stereotypes in Hollywood
The speaker recounts her childhood dream of becoming an actress, despite the lack of representation for someone of her background in the entertainment industry. She describes the challenges she faced, including the expectation to 'sound more Latina' by speaking broken English and the limited, stereotypical roles offered to her. The speaker's struggle with the industry's narrow view of her identity and her determination to play complex, multidimensional characters are highlighted. She also touches on the unrealistic expectations placed on her by the industry and her own manager, and the realization that her identity was seen as an obstacle rather than an asset.
🌟 Authentic Representation and Its Impact
This paragraph details the speaker's breakthrough role as Ana in 'Real Women Have Curves,' a character that authentically represented her identity as a Latina. The role's success demonstrated that there was an audience for diverse stories, contrary to industry beliefs. The speaker reflects on the impact of this role and the subsequent role of Ugly Betty, which also found critical acclaim and a large audience. However, she expresses frustration that despite these successes, the industry did not change its approach to diverse representation. The story of Malala, who was inspired by 'Ugly Betty,' underscores the power of representation in shaping dreams and possibilities.
🔄 The Illusion of Progress and the Need for Change
The speaker discusses the disillusionment she felt as she witnessed the lack of progress in the industry despite her successes. She describes the repeated excuses for not casting diversely and the heartbreaking realization that her identity was still seen as a barrier. The paragraph culminates in a personal moment of revelation, where she acknowledges her own complicity in perpetuating the system's beliefs by trying to fit in. She calls for a change that starts with questioning one's own values and ensuring actions align with intentions. The speaker concludes by embracing her identity as a superpower and urging the industry to reflect the true diversity of the world.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dream
💡Identity
💡Stereotype
💡Opportunity
💡Representation
💡Authenticity
💡Barrier
💡Emmy
💡Change
💡Superpower
💡Resistance
Highlights
The speaker's childhood dream of becoming an actress was fueled by the belief in the American ideal that anyone can achieve anything, regardless of their background.
Despite facing stereotypes and limited representation in Hollywood, the speaker persisted in pursuing her dream.
The casting director's request for the speaker to 'sound more Latina' by speaking in broken English exposed the industry's misunderstanding and stereotyping of her identity.
The speaker's early career was marked by rejections due to her not fitting the narrow and stereotypical roles available for Latinas.
The speaker's manager's comment about her 'unrealistic expectations' highlights the systemic bias against diverse representation in the entertainment industry.
The role of Ana in 'Real Women Have Curves' was a breakthrough for the speaker, as it allowed her to play a complex and multidimensional character that reflected her own identity.
The success of 'Real Women Have Curves' demonstrated that there is an audience for diverse stories, contrary to industry assumptions.
The speaker's experience with 'Ugly Betty' showed that even critical and commercial success does not necessarily lead to increased diversity in the industry.
Despite being the first and only Latina to win an Emmy in a lead category, the speaker notes the lack of progress in representation over the following years.
The speaker reflects on the power of representation, as evidenced by Malala's inspiration from 'Ugly Betty', to influence dreams and aspirations.
The speaker challenges the excuses made by the industry for not casting diversely, such as financial risk and lack of audience interest.
Personal anecdotes from the speaker's career illustrate the systemic barriers she faced, including being told a movie wasn't financeable until a white role was cast.
The speaker's realization that she was not asking the system to change, but to be included in it, led to a shift in her approach to advocacy.
The speaker calls for a change in fundamental values and beliefs, rather than identifying 'good guys' and 'bad guys', as a path towards real progress.
The speaker's journey from trying to make herself invisible to embracing her identity as a superpower reflects a broader call for authenticity and self-worth.
The closing message emphasizes that our collective identity is the true reflection of the world, and that systems should reflect this reality without resistance.
Transcripts
On the red tiles in my family's den
I would dance and sing to the made-for-TV movie "Gypsy,"
starring Bette Midler.
(Singing) "I had a dream.
A wonderful dream, papa."
I would sing it with the urgency and the burning desire of a nine-year-old
who did, in fact, have a dream.
My dream was to be an actress.
And it's true that I never saw anyone who looked like me
in television or in films,
and sure, my family and friends and teachers all constantly warned me
that people like me didn't make it in Hollywood.
But I was an American.
I had been taught to believe that anyone could achieve anything,
regardless of the color of their skin,
the fact that my parents immigrated from Honduras,
the fact that I had no money.
I didn't need my dream to be easy,
I just needed it to be possible.
And when I was 15,
I got my first professional audition.
It was a commercial for cable subscriptions
or bail bonds, I don't really remember.
(Laughter)
What I do remember is that the casting director asked me,
"Could you do that again, but just this time, sound more Latina."
"Um, OK.
So you want me to do it in Spanish?" I asked.
"No, no, do it in English, just sound Latina."
"Well, I am a Latina, so isn't this what a Latina sounds like?"
There was a long and awkward silence,
and then finally,
"OK, sweetie, never mind, thank you for coming in, bye!"
It took me most of the car ride home to realize that by "sound more Latina"
she was asking me to speak in broken English.
And I couldn't figure out why the fact
that I was an actual, real-life, authentic Latina
didn't really seem to matter.
Anyway, I didn't get the job.
I didn't get a lot of the jobs people were willing to see me for:
the gang-banger's girlfriend,
the sassy shoplifter,
pregnant chola number two.
(Laughter)
These were the kinds of roles that existed for someone like me.
Someone they looked at and saw as too brown, too fat,
too poor, too unsophisticated.
These roles were stereotypes
and couldn't have been further from my own reality
or from the roles I dreamt of playing.
I wanted to play people who were complex and multidimensional,
people who existed in the center of their own lives.
Not cardboard cutouts that stood in the background of someone else's.
But when I dared to say that to my manager --
that's the person I pay to help me find opportunity --
his response was,
"Someone has to tell that girl she has unrealistic expectations."
And he wasn't wrong.
I mean, I fired him, but he wasn't wrong.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Because whenever I did try to get a role that wasn't a poorly written stereotype,
I would hear,
"We're not looking to cast this role diversely."
Or, "We love her, but she's too specifically ethnic."
Or, "Unfortunately, we already have one Latino in this movie."
I kept receiving the same message again and again and again.
That my identity was an obstacle I had to overcome.
And so I thought,
"Come at me, obstacle.
I'm an American. My name is America.
I trained my whole life for this, I'll just follow the playbook,
I'll work harder."
And so I did, I worked my hardest
to overcome all the things that people said were wrong with me.
I stayed out of the sun so that my skin wouldn't get too brown,
I straightened my curls into submission.
I constantly tried to lose weight,
I bought fancier and more expensive clothes.
All so that when people looked at me,
they wouldn't see a too fat, too brown, too poor Latina.
They would see what I was capable of.
And maybe they would give me a chance.
And in an ironic twist of fate,
when I finally did get a role that would make all my dreams come true,
it was a role that required me to be exactly who I was.
Ana in "Real Women Have Curves"
was a brown, poor, fat Latina.
I had never seen anyone like her, anyone like me,
existing in the center of her own life story.
I traveled throughout the US
and to multiple countries with this film
where people, regardless of their age, ethnicity, body type,
saw themselves in Ana.
A 17-year-old chubby Mexican American girl
struggling against cultural norms to fulfill her unlikely dream.
In spite of what I had been told my whole life,
I saw firsthand that people actually did want to see stories about people like me.
And that my unrealistic expectations
to see myself authentically represented in the culture
were other people’s expectations, too.
"Real Women Have Curves"
was a critical, cultural and financial success.
"Great," I thought, "We did it!
We proved our stories have value.
Things are going to change now."
But I watched as very little happened.
There was no watershed.
No one in the industry was rushing to tell more stories
about the audience that was hungry and willing to pay to see them.
Four years later, when I got to play Ugly Betty,
I saw the same phenomenon play out.
"Ugly Betty" premiered in the US to 16 million viewers
and was nominated for 11 Emmys in its first year.
(Applause)
But in spite of "Ugly Betty's" success,
there would not be another television show
led by a Latina actress
on American television for eight years.
It's been 12 years
since I became the first and only Latina
to ever win an Emmy in a lead category.
That is not a point of pride.
That is a point of deep frustration.
Not because awards prove our worth,
but because who we see thriving in the world
teaches us how to see ourselves,
how to think about our own value,
how to dream about our futures.
And anytime I begin to doubt that,
I remember that there was a little girl, living in the Swat Valley of Pakistan.
And somehow, she got her hands on some DVDs
of an American television show
in which she saw her own dream of becoming a writer reflected.
In her autobiography, Malala wrote,
"I had become interested in journalism
after seeing how my own words could make a difference
and also from watching the "Ugly Betty" DVDs
about life at an American magazine."
(Applause)
For 17 years of my career,
I have witnessed the power our voices have
when they can access presence in the culture.
I've seen it.
I've lived it, we've all seen it.
In entertainment, in politics,
in business, in social change.
We cannot deny it -- presence creates possibility.
But for the last 17 years,
I've also heard the same excuses
for why some of us can access presence in the culture
and some of us can't.
Our stories don't have an audience,
our experiences won't resonate in the mainstream,
our voices are too big a financial risk.
Just a few years ago, my agent called
to explain to me why I wasn't getting a role in a movie.
He said, "They loved you
and they really, really do want to cast diversely,
but the movie isn't financeable until they cast the white role first."
He delivered the message with a broken heart
and with a tone that communicated, "I understand how messed up this is."
But nonetheless, just like hundreds of times before,
I felt the tears roll down my face.
And the pang of rejection rise up in me
and then the voice of shame scolding me,
"You are a grown woman, stop crying over a job."
I went through this process for years of accepting the failure as my own
and then feeling deep shame that I couldn't overcome the obstacles.
But this time, I heard a new voice.
A voice that said, "I'm tired.
I've had enough."
A voice that understood
my tears and my pain were not about losing a job.
They were about what was actually being said about me.
What had been said about me my whole life
by executives and producers
and directors and writers and agents and managers
and teachers and friends and family.
That I was a person of less value.
I thought sunscreen and straightening irons
would bring about change in this deeply entrenched value system.
But what I realized in that moment
was that I was never actually asking the system to change.
I was asking it to let me in, and those aren't the same thing.
I couldn't change what a system believed about me,
while I believed what the system believed about me.
And I did.
I, like everyone around me,
believed that it wasn't possible for me to exist in my dream as I was.
And I went about trying to make myself invisible.
What this revealed to me was that it is possible
to be the person who genuinely wants to see change
while also being the person whose actions keep things the way they are.
And what it's led me to believe is that change isn't going to come
by identifying the good guys and the bad guys.
That conversation lets us all off the hook.
Because most of us are neither one of those.
Change will come
when each of us has the courage
to question our own fundamental values and beliefs.
And then see to it that our actions lead to our best intentions.
I am just one of millions of people
who have been told that in order to fulfill my dreams,
in order to contribute my talents to the world
I have to resist the truth of who I am.
I for one, am ready to stop resisting
and to start existing as my full and authentic self.
If I could go back and say anything
to that nine-year-old, dancing in the den, dreaming her dreams,
I would say,
my identity is not my obstacle.
My identity is my superpower.
Because the truth is,
I am what the world looks like.
You are what the world looks like.
Collectively, we are what the world actually looks like.
And in order for our systems to reflect that,
they don't have to create a new reality.
They just have to stop resisting the one we already live in.
Thank you.
(Applause)
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