KATE BILLING on "Je Suis Trop"...
The following content is taken from two posts on LinkedIn by my sister Kate Billing. Read on for her thoughts about what wearing the Je Suis Trop tee means for her, and for ways to join her as she (1) elevates the importance of menopause in the lives of female leaders in Aotearoa and across the globe and (2) levels up in her quest to bring "invisible" middle aged women out of the shadows.
If you would like to read the Listener article featured above, tap the photo or find it HERE.
Enjoy. xAB
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Being TOO MUCH [...fill in the blank...] is something girls and women are told all their lives.
Too loud.
Too quiet.
Too strong (bossy!).
Too weak.
Too opinionated.
Too emotional.
Too caring.
Too fat.
Too skinny.
Too young.
Too old.
Too needy.
Too smart.
Too intense.
All at once we're too much AND not enough!
It's the cause of the most ridiculous amount of intra-personal conflict, lost confidence, wasted potential, silent struggle, and missing magic from the world. At a time when there is a drive for greater representation of women in business and leadership, this is creating all kinds of chaos - especially the historical and still pervasive unconscious social narrative for midlife women (40+):
That we become invisible.
Because in the past, we have.
That after 50 we should tone ourselves down.
[An example from my own experience: being told that I should colour my hair and change to wearing subtle makeup - especially no coloured eye shadow and most definitely NO MORE SPARKLES! That would be TOO MUCH for a woman of my age…and this from another woman…]
Well, there's a new generation of women 'coming of (middle) age' and we’re going to do things differently 👍 .
We feel like we're just getting going, that this time in life presents a new starting point, and we know that bringing ALL of ourselves - ESPECIALLY THE BITS THAT MIGHT BE TOO MUCH FOR SOME - is what we now need to do to lead the changes we want to in our lives, in our organisations, and in society.
If that's YOU, then join the growing #jesuistrop tribe of women proudly owning their WHOLE selves with courage.
Being told you're "TOO MUCH [fill in the blank]" is part and parcel of growing up a girl/woman.
My post on this last week has had a huge level of engagement from women who identify with my call to embrace, not deny, your WHOLE self.
'Je Suis Trop' means "I am too much" in French (there's a story behind the French bit) and it's something that I'm proud to declare.
If you identify with this message and the tribe building behind it, then the t-shirt pre-order is still open until the evening of Sunday 30 January.
I encourage you to follow the #jesuistrop hashtag on LinkedIn and Instagram so you can track posts from other women sharing how they are beginning to value their too-muchness and becoming whole and authentic in their self-expression.
I also host 'Je suis trop' on-line/in-person events for the tribe to gather and energise - the next one of those coming on International Women's Day - Tuesday the 8 March. It's about ageism and women - we're too young or too old for pretty much everything in someone else's eyes...including our own...
BTW - all profits go to my sister Amanda, the creator of the tees. As an artist, actor, and photographer her ability to create income during the past two years has been hugely impacted by COVID. This is a way you can create a WIN:WIN...
(1) get yourself an awesome gift and
(2) support another 'too much woman' doing the work she loves : )
Keep being YOUR special version of TOO MUCH.
I'm pretty sure it's exactly what the world needs!
x Kate B
#leadership #authenticity #fullyhuman