Chiara Ferragni's moving speech
"BEING A WOMAN IS NOT A LIMITATION"..
Chiara Ferragni gives an emotional speech about women's bodies, motherhood and female empowerment.
With her emotional speech at the Sanremo Festival, influencer Chiara Ferragni made a statement that everyone is talking about right now because it encompasses so many important messages.
It's probably the most emotional speech we've seen in a long time. Chiara Ferragni, one of the world's most famous influencers with over 28 million followers on Instagram, gave a speech at the Sanremo Festival on 7 February 2023. The first thing that caught her eye was her custom-made Dior Haute Couture Naked Dress, in the colour of her skin and studded with countless sparkling stones. Just a fashion statement piece, as worn by many celebrities on red carpets these days? Not quite, because Chiara Ferragni wants to draw attention to an important issue with this sheer, figure-hugging dress.
Specifically, the way women's bodies are talked about and discussed. But not only that: in an emotional letter that the Italian wrote to her younger self and read aloud on stage, she also talked about being a mother and self-acceptance.
Chiara Ferragni is emotional when it comes to drawing attention to female empowerment.
"The body of us women should never cause hatred or shame," says Chiara Ferragni on stage in Sanremo before reading out the emotional letter. "I have always tried to make you proud," the influencer writes, referring to the young Chiara. And yet, it was never enough for her, as she tells her younger self. "You were enough and always have been. Whenever you felt you weren't pretty enough, smart enough or basic enough, you were." In her moving speech She talks about self-love, insecurities and doubts.
Issues that most of us can probably identify with.
"How often does society make mothers feel guilty?"
"Yes, you'll be a mother too one day. Isn't that absurd?" she asks her younger self. "And you know what else is absurd? You'll still be the same person, with the same insecurities. Will it be easy to be a mother? Never. It will be the hardest job of all," writes Chiara Ferragni. She talks about the fact that women, in particular, often feel guilty for leaving their children alone because of their careers or for pursuing other dreams that have nothing to do with family. "Our society and our culture have taught us that once you become a mother, you acquire a whole new identity".
It's a feeling many mothers know: being reduced only to their new role. "Think about how often society makes mothers feel guilty when they work despite having children. How often are men treated this way? Never. A pause follows, during which the audience applauds loudly. Finally, Chiara Ferragni sums up: "As long as you always give the best to your children and think about them every day, you can put away doubts about yourself, because then you are a good mother. It's not perfect, but it's good enough.
"Being a woman is not a limitation.
Towards the end of the letter, Chiara Ferragni talks about the role of women in our society. About how well-read women still have to fight too many battles to prove their worth. "We have to work twice as hard as men to be taken seriously, we can't live freely in our bodies because we are called a nun if we hide it and a prostitute if we show it". She concludes by advising her younger self and, by extension, all other (young) women:
"Be aware of everything and don't be afraid of the consequences of being yourself". Being a woman is not a limitation. Tell yourself, tell your friends and shout it out to the world so that something changes.
After just under nine minutes, the emotional speech ends and Chiara Ferragni receives a standing ovation. For a letter to her younger self, which many of us would probably also write to ourselves and which hits the nail on the head.
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