Bossypants

Author: Tina Fey

I read “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler and “Bossypants” by Tina Fey in quick succession and am having a hard time in differentiating the two. They both have similar themes. Amy and Tina are talented young women who broke into the male-dominated Improv culture in the late nineties and early 2000s. Their books chronicle the first half of their life — since the second half has not yet been lived out.  While their early upbringing was different, it did not stand out in any particular way from the experience of millions of young girls in suburban American. What set’s them apart is that they were not afraid to challenge the status quo and embraced the Improv culture that was just coming of age in the US. They both got their first taste of a national audience with the Saturday Night Live show. SNL shaped their careers and gave them an opportunity to express their talent and get noticed. Amy went on to make Parks and Recreation and Tina Fey went on to produce 30 Rock, which accumulated a total of 112 Emmy Nominations over the course of 6  years.

Tina is known for her self-deprecating humor and the book is a veritable testament to her style. You would never guess that she was once ranked in the Hot 100 list in Maxim Magazine, who named her the “thinking man’s sex symbol”. The book has some very down-to-earth advice and home truths that are both funny and sobering. I couldn’t help be both shocked and amused when I heard Amy say, “Now every girl is expected to have:  Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits.”

Amy uses her comedic skills to make us aware of the double standards that we have in society today especially around women. She says, “The topic of working moms is a tap-dance recital in a minefield.”  To learn more about  these landmines, I recommend listening to the audio book to hear Amy tell it like it is.