In an interview released today on the podcast 2 Dope Queens, Michelle Obama talked about how shouting in frustration can often leave women unheard.
Speaking to the podcast hosts Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson, the former First Lady said, 'If you're a woman and you're too angry, people stop hearing the point. They don't hear you. And I'd love to be able to get in [and] change that.'
Obama recalled her famous line, 'When they go low we go high' when she told listeners, 'I'm not gonna pretend like I'm not angry. But if I'm trying to move an issue, if my anger doesn't work to move the issue, then it's not helpful… And that's what going high means. Going high means you don't ignore it. Going high doesn't mean you don't acknowledge the fear. Usually your goal isn't to just be angry.'
Addressing how it feels to fail as a woman when you don’t have a strong support network, she said, 'The difference between success and failure when you're a woman, when you're a minority, is really slim. And, if you get the wrong message, it sits with you the wrong way. If you don't have an advocate, if you don't have opportunity you're sunk.'
As one of the greatest modern champions for equality and education she noted the global reach of this problem: 'There are millions of girls around [the] world that are in that position, because talent and potential knows no country. It knows no race. It knows no gender.'
She said, 'We're all struggling and stumbling and trying. So I try to free young people up to not be afraid of stuff going wrong. That's all life is, is a bunch of stuff going wrong.'
Obama told 2 Dope Queens that she teaches her daughters Sasha and Malia not to fear things going wrong but instead tries 'to get them used to maybe overstepping a little bit because sometimes with women you don't step up enough'. She explained, 'You don't use your voice enough because you're told that you’re mouthy or you’re bossy or to be quiet... I want to practice boldness.'
The former First Lady is currently travelling the world promoting her new book, Becoming. A UK appearance planned at the Royal Festival Hall was an instant sell-out, with tickets being resold for as much as £70,000.
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