Michelle Obama Isn’t Running for Office
This weekend, Michelle Obama was interviewed by Tracee Ellis Ross at the United State of Women Summit in Los Angeles.
As you might expect, the pair had an incredible conversation about empowering young leaders, whether or not Michelle was running for office, and her daughters, Sasha and Malia.
Here are just some of the best revelations from Michelle Obama's interview:
1. On not running for office.
For those hoping that Michelle would be following in her husband's footsteps, the former First Lady nixed that idea. She told Ross (via The Hill), "When I hear people say, 'you run,' it's part of the problem. We still didn't get 'yes we can' right. It's not 'yes you can,' it's 'yes we can.' And until we get that right, it doesn't matter who runs."
Michelle firmly put the emphasis on those in the audience, encouraging every woman to run for office if they were so inclined. She wanted to make it clear that she wasn't the solution to the problem, but rather that a renewed interest in politics by people all around the country is what will bring real change.
2. On being concerned about women.
Speaking about Donald Trump's election win, Michelle said (via The Hill), "In light of this last election, I'm concerned about us as women and how we think. What is going on in our heads where we let that happen, you know?"
She continued:
"When the most qualified person running was a woman, and look what we did instead, I mean that says something about where we are. That's what we have to explore, because if we as women are still suspicious of one another, if we still have this crazy, crazy bar for each other that we don't have for men… if we're not comfortable with the notion that a woman could be our president compared to… what, then we have to have those conversations with ourselves as women."
3. On inspiring the next generation.
Speaking about sexism, Michelle said (via The Hollywood Reporter), "I wish that girls could fail as bad as men do and be okay, because watching men fail up is frustrating... If we want our daughters to dream bigger than we did we still have work to do."
4. On holding men accountable.
Speaking about inspiring the next generation of leaders, Michelle called on the men of the world to demand more from those around them, and to not be complacent about sexism and harassment in the workplace. She said (via The Hollywood Reporter), "You can’t whisper magical thoughts in your daughter's ear and go into a workplace where you tolerate [this] existence. If you are tolerating that, that's the workplace that will be waiting for your little girl, and you have sold her a bill of goods."
5. On honesty, and sex.
Michelle even took the time to open up about raising her daughters, Sasha and Malia. She revealed that as well as being their mom, she tried to maintain an ongoing dialogue with them both, so that they spoke to her about difficult topics. She explained (via PopSugar):
"You have to get that mom face right, like, 'Oh, did that happen? Tell me more.' Trying not to react so you get the good information. I tried to tell Sasha and Malia, 'Do not go to other 14-year-olds for information, 'cause all you all are dumb. Talk to me.' It's like, 'All of you are dumb. You know nothing. Love you!' So, let's just talk about it. Don't ask Olivia what she thinks about sex. She doesn't know!"
You can watch more of the United State of Women Summit, Los Angeles on YouTube:
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