TueNight 10: Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky is one of us. She’s a Gen-Xer who figured prominently in our 20s, who had to grapple with both her nascent, female power and naive mistakes on an unforgiving international stage. We witnessed and absorbed the presidential scandal (let’s be clear: the scandal was always his — not hers) with rapt fascination. And maybe we weren’t just watching the news; we were putting ourselves in her shoes, literally (I recall hosting a Halloween party in the late ‘90s where two people showed up in a blue dress and beret). Distancing ourselves, yet, perhaps wondering what we would have done in her place.
Owning her narrative. (Photo: Twitter)
In 2017, our national conversation about how women are bullied and shamed has thankfully shifted (though there’s a shit-ton of work still to be done). And at 44, who better to lead that charge than Monica, someone who has faced down ridicule on an almost unfathomable scale — and continues to fight it in her Twitter feed to this day. Monica has become a fierce advocate for anti-bullying, collaborating on a powerful PSA and leading the #ClickWithCompassion campaign during October’s Bullying Prevention month. With her advocacy work and inspirational talks (Her Ted Talk on “The Price of Shame” is one for the ages), Monica shows us that even when you are going through the worst of times, you can (eventually) flip the script. An inspiration, Monica is a resilient, beautiful, grown-ass woman who still believes in kindness, compassion and a good ol’ 80s new wave tune (see below).
Here’s her TueNight 10:
— Margit Detweiler
1. On the nightstand: Candle, water, tiny green dish to hold ear plugs, charger + a crystal.
2. Can’t stop/won’t stop: Buying crystals. (though wish I would).
3. Jam of the minute: (old school) Icicle Works “Whisper to a Scream” (more like jam of the year)
4. Thing I miss: My nephew. All of the time.
5. 80’s crush: Kirk Cameron
6. Current crush: Not Kirk Cameron
7. Will whine about: Hypocrisy + my jiggly thighs
8. Will wine about: Put a pause on drinking over three years ago
9. Best thing that happened yesterday: I did a q+a after an excellent performance of “Girls Like That” at Princeton Day School. The play was powerful… and the audience was very generous with me.
10. Looking forward to: Some friends arriving from London next week. And, of course, my next visit with my nephew. Also, winning the lottery. (Hear that, universe?)
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