Is there anything Michelle Obama can’t do? As well as being a lawyer, style icon and pianist, she’s now a journalist too.
Michelle interviewed actress extraordinaire Meryl Streep for the US woman’s monthly magazine More. (She also guest edited it). As you can imagine the two had many wise insights to share. Take a read. These are our favourite bits
On their daughters
Meryl: People will say to me, ‘You’ve played so many strong women,’ and I’ll say, ‘Have you ever said to a man, “You’ve played so many strong men?”’ No! Because the expectation is [men] are varied. Why can’t we have that expectation about women? My girls [Mamie, 32; Grace, 29; and Louisa, 24] came into the world strong – which was terrifying.
Michelle: I try to remind them that I actually do know the answers and that I don’t want them getting their best advice from another 14-year-old. I never sit down and lecture them about self-confidence. You sneak those conversations in when you’re talking to them about their friendships, or about the challenges they faced in a game, or something that their dad said that made them mad. That’s when I find they’ll hear the messages most.
On their mothers
Meryl: My mentor was my mother [Mary Streep]. [She] walked into a room and lit it up, and people were sad when she left. That, to me, is what really matters: who you touch and how. She was a mentor because she said to me, ‘Meryl, you’re capable. You’re so great.’
Michelle: It’s so interesting, because what you say about your mom is a mirror image of what I think about mine. If I point to anything that makes me who I am, it’s that I have a whole lot of common sense. I’ve got a good mind and a good ability to read people and situations. A lot of that is because that’s who my mother is.
On education
Michelle: [The biggest obstacle facing girls today is] education, education, education. There are too many kids who think high school is a pit stop to fame and fortune. I want girls in this country to think education is the coolest, most important thing they could ever do in their lives.
On supporting other women
Michelle: Sometimes we, as women, are critical of each other’s choices: ‘Should I have a career? What if I want to stay home and raise my kids? What if I don’t want power?’ We’re all different people with different aspirations and goals.
Meryl: There’s another specific challenge facing women and girls right now: we’re viewed as equals – but we’re still not there yet. For the first time, we have the expectation that we can have a broad array of choices, that we could lead in almost any part of society. And yet we face resistance.
This feature originally appeared on goodhousekeeping.com
