Being Nice < Be You

A handpainted textile that I created in 2004.

Women are taught to be nice. Being nice really means not to offend anyone. Being nice means not showing real feelings and thoughts. It means not showing who you are to people because you are trying not to offend. Some women, like me, really take this lesson to heart. And we suffer in amiable silence. And no, we can’t just easily speak our minds. This is something that we are raised to believe as truth. It's a habit that must be unlearned. 

In conference rooms and classrooms around the world, there are women afraid to speak their mind. Maybe they are afraid of upsetting the status quo with their idea. In a group of friends, there may be two women who disagree with their friends on an equally split lunch bill but both are too nice to say something. Somewhere there is a woman who is too afraid to wear a new dress around anyone she knows because she may change people’s perceptions about her. 

“Be You” isn’t a license for being an asshole. But it is an affirmation for you to give yourself permission to express yourself. If people don’t care for that thing you do/say then another group of people may love it. 

Let me add to those that offend easily. If it doesn’t hurt you, then let people be.