It was recently announced that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the 2013 Golden Globe awards, and I couldn’t be happier; I’m not huge of awards shows (the stuff I like rarely wins and the boring parts are too paint drying-y for my taste), but this is probably the best news I’ve heard all month.
In a world where women are more widely revered for maintaining concave stomachs than for being successful at, well, almost anything, Fey and Poehler have managed to infiltrate the most-superficial industry possible—and be smarter and funnier than they are pretty (Don’t get me wrong—these women are gorgeous by anyone’s standards…they’re just really funny). And they are being rewarded with a huge audience. Together. To me, this accomplishment is a sort-of miracle.
Fey and Poehler have been friends for a long time. They started out as nobody’s together (both began their careers experimenting with improv as part of The Second City), they’ve enjoyed great success together (Saturday Night Live’s 2008 election specials featuring Fey as Sarah Palin and Poehler as Hillary Clinton both captured and satirized a momentous occasion in history), and they’ve endured some not-so-victorious times together, too (think Baby Mama). Through it all, they’ve supported each other, and continued to create comedy gold, both jointly and individually.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about real life Mean Girls. There are a lot of women out there that view the successes of other women as a threat, and will do anything to cut them down. There are a lot of women out there that are willing to destroy the lives of other women by participating in affairs with other people’s partners. There are a lot of women that will go out of their way to make other women feel worthless. And for what?
I’ll admit that I too have been the mean girl at times, but I’ve also been lucky enough to have a few women who’ve stood by me and supported me unconditionally (thanks, Michelle).
So, girls, if Amy and Tina can be better together, can’t we all learn from their example? If nothing else, let’s all tune in to the Golden Globes in January and show our support for them. After all, “Girl Power” is more than just something to embroider on a Spice Girl’s bustier; it’s a way of life.
SHARON MIKI
