Page 17 - Tracy Anderson Magazine | Spring 2021 Issue

I have been teaching our girls about activism. For me, it’s words and ideas and double standards meant to tear us
how I was raised, how my mom and aunt were raised. My down. Phenomenal Woman. Phenomenally Black. Electable.
daughters are still quite young, but they, like many kids, Ambitious. These words aren’t insults or drawbacks, they
are beginning to understand the world around them and are our superpowers! It’s actually why I decided to write
big concepts like fairness, racism, and activism. my newest book, Ambitious Girl, after realizing that not
everyone saw female ambition the same way I did. I
My mom was a single mom, so when I was little she took was taught that ambition was a good thing, that it meant
me everywhere—rallies, meetings, even to class. And it courage, and living your purpose. But to a whole lot of
had a lasting positive impact on me. One of the reasons other people, ambition—women’s ambition, that is—was
I wrote the book is if you only start talking about issues code for taking up space that wasn’t intended to be yours.
like pay inequity, for example, when women are in the We’ve gotten better at recognizing these double standards
workplace, it’s almost too late. I think it’s so important for and sexist dog whistles, but we still hear them all the time.
parents to start that conversation now. It’s important to Not just “ambitious,” but also its evil stepsisters: loud,
talk to our kids about the issues we care about. assertive, bossy, persistent. You could spend your whole
life hiding from these words. Instead, we need to reframe
What was the tipping point that ultimately led to and reclaim them.
you founding your company, Phenomenal, in 2017?
Even though my career had been mostly in big law We’re so excited about your new book, Ambitious
and tech, I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Girl. What does this word mean to you, and how do
But I actually started Phenomenal shortly after the you hope it inspires the next generation of women
2016 election. Like a lot of people, in that moment, I and girls?
found myself wondering what I personally could do I want my daughters, and every other girl in the world,
to lift up women, make our voices heard, and support to believe that the word “ambitious” is positive, that it
issues I cared about. It started as a small initiative to means owning and living your purpose. Given how I was
raise money for women’s organizations—I had made a raised, it never occurred to me until I was much older that
handful of “Phenomenal Woman” T-shirts for the first women’s ambition could be anything but something to
Women’s March in 2017, and I decided to sell them on celebrate. I’ve always worked hard to make sure my own
International Women’s Day through Women’s History daughters are raised with these same fundamental values
Month. that shaped my childhood. With this book, I want to
make sure my kids—and girls all over—have the tools and
The original T-shirt was inspired by my favorite Maya language to reframe, redefine, and reclaim what they will
Angelou poem, “Phenomenal Woman.” A lot of people inevitably hear about female ambition in the “real world.”
know Angelou as an iconic author and poet. But she was My greatest hope is that girls who read my book dare to
also a fierce advocate—a true pioneer of the Civil Rights define their own unique purpose in the world, and that
Movement, and a good friend of both Martin Luther King they grow into strong, ambitious women.
Jr. and Malcolm X. The more I thought about Maya the
activist and that powerful poem, and about the energy We at Tracy Anderson reflect and renew one day,
and engagement I was feeling all around me in the wake one week, one year at a time. What does your
of the 2016 election, the more the poem started to feel growth mindset look like?
like a rallying cry. I wanted to honor the work of Black Last year was such a hard year for so many, and we may
women like Maya Angelou who came before me and not be through the worst of it. In 2021, I’m keeping my
paved the way, while also celebrating the historic moment growth mindset and hopes pretty simple—for healthy
that was the Women’s March. We thought it was going to family and friends, being able to gather safely together
be a small thing, but we ended up selling 2,500 T-shirts in once again, and for empathetic and compassionate
one day, and the rest is history. leadership to be restored in our federal government.
And recently, we launched Phenomenal Media to If you could design one Phenomenal T-shirt with a
continue to bring greater awareness to issues affecting message to encapsulate your hope for 2021, what
underrepresented communities. would it be?
If 2020 was “I’m speaking,” this year would be “I’m still
Within this particular issue, we’re highlighting the speaking!”■
idea of the comeback. Do you mind sharing with
us the power that comes from reframing words or To order Meena Harris’s latest book, Ambitious Girl, please visit
perspectives to progress in both life and career? phenomenalgirl.com.
A lot of my work with Phenomenal is about reframing

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