I have a handful of favorite female authors that are quite literally badass writers. Some, like Amy Tan, don’t allow their badass-ness to come through in their fiction writing at all.
Did you get a feeling that Amy Tan was a badass when you read The Joy Luck Club? No, of course not. But read her autobiography, The Opposite of Fate, and you’ll get the picture. And when I call Ms. Tan and others badasses, I use the label with great affection.
There is nothing more appealing to a badass woman than another badass woman that can write well.
I suppose I became conscious of my predilection when I read the book You Are a Badass and was totally captivated hearing Jen Sincero describe my personality to a T. I immediately not only accepted the fact that I wanted to be a badass but celebrated the fact that I was not alone in my desire to be overt (dare I say, out of the closet?), and that I might even revel in my pursuit of the trait.
Now, let’s be clear. We all know a lot of badass women and men, but the ones I choose to applaud are not those who are misanthropes nor those who are malevolent. The ones I herald are those willful beings who speak their minds with great clarity and conviction mixed with a little sarcasm; those who can –in a word or three–define a situation and prescribe the most direct path forward, taking full responsibility in what her own role must be.
As women, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We’ve been working hard throughout our lives and careers, but rarely have we exited our silos in order work together.
Momentum is building in our fight for equity in our workplaces; we’ve got the attention of our male peers. It’s a slippery slope between gaining their trust and alienating them (again). Each one of us must participate.
To quote Sincero, “Wanting can be done sitting on the couch with a bong in your hand and a travel magazine in your lap. Deciding means jumping in all the way, doing whatever it takes, and going after your dreams with the tenacity of a dateless cheerleader a week before the prom night.”
