Tavi Gevinson: A teen just trying to figure it out

Translator: Róisín Healy Reviewer: Róisín Healy

Four years ago today, exactly, actually,

Ceithre bliana ón lá inniu, mar a tharlaíonn sé,

I started a fashion blog called Style Rookie.

bhunaigh mé blag faisean dár teideal Style Rookie.

Last September of 2011, I started an online magazine

Meán Fomhair seo caite, i 2011, bhunaigh mé iris ar líne

for teenage girls called Rookiemag.com.

dírithe ar chailiní sna déagóirí dár teideal rookiemag.com

My name's Tavi Gevinson, and

Tavi Gevinson is ainm dom, agus

the title of my talk is "Still Figuring It Out,"

is é teideal na hóráide seo ná "Fós ag Iarraidh é a Oibrigh Amach"

and the MS Paint quality of my slides

agus ba chinneadh cruthaitheach amach is amach é

was a total creative decision in keeping with today's theme,

MS Peint a úsáid ar mo shleamhnáin, chun cloí le téama an lae,

and has nothing to do with my inability

agus níl sé fíor nach féidir liom

to use PowerPoint. (Laughter)

PowerPoint a úsáid. (Gáire)

So I edit this site for teenage girls. I'm a feminist.

Cuirim an suíomh do chailiní sna déagoirí seo in eagar. Is feimineach mé.

I am kind of a pop culture nerd, and I think a lot about

Is cineál neird an chultúir pobail mé, agus smaoiním go minic ar

what makes a strong female character,

cad is carachtar baineann atá láidir ann,

and, you know, movies and TV shows,

agus, bíonn tionchar ag

these things have influence. My own website.

scannáin agus ag cláir teilifíse. Mó shuíomh idirlíne féin.

So I think the question of what makes a strong female

Mar sin, ceapaim nach bhfuil freagair ró-shoiléir ar an gceist

character often goes misinterpreted,

"Cad is carachtar baininscneach atá láidir ann?"

and instead we get these two-dimensional superwomen

agus mar fhreagra, faighimid na spéirmná follasacha seo

who maybe have one quality that's played up a lot,

a bhfuil tréith amháin acu a chuirtear chun tosaigh é,

like a Catwoman type,

carachtair cosúil le Catwoman

or she plays her sexuality up a lot,

a chuireann a cuid collaíochta chun tosaigh,

and it's seen as power.

agus feictear ar sin mar chumhacht.

But they're not strong characters who happen to be female.

Ach ní carachtair láidir iad atá bainscneach i chomh maith,

They're completely flat,

tá siad go hiomlán lom,

and they're basically cardboard characters.

agus is carachtair aontaobhacha iad don chuid is mó.

The problem with this is that then

Is é an fhadhb atá le seo ná

people expect women to be that easy to understand,

go gcreideann daoine ansin go bhfuil sé chomh éasca sin mná a thuiscint

and women are mad at themselves

agus braitheann mná feargach orthu féin

for not being that simple,

ós rud é nach bhfuil siad chomh shimplí sin,

when, in actuality, women are complicated,

nuair, mar a tharlaíonn sé, tá mná casta,

women are multifaceted -- not because women are crazy,

tá mná iltaobhacha -- ní go bhfuil mná ar mire

but because people are crazy,

ach bíonn daoine ar mire,

and women happen to be people. (Laughter)

agus is daoine iad mná. (Gáire)

So the flaws are the key.

Mar sin, is iad na lochtanna na gnéithe is tábhachtaí.

I'm not the first person to say this.

Nílim an chéad duine chun é seo a rá.

What makes a strong female character

Is é atá taobh thiar don charachtar bainiscneach atá láidir

is a character who has weaknesses, who has flaws,

ná carachtar a bhfuil laige aici, a bhfuil lochtanna aici,

who is maybe not immediately likable,

duine nach dtaithníonn sí leat i dtús,

but eventually relatable.

ach is féidir í a thuiscint ag an deireadh.

I don't like to acknowledge a problem

Ní mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt don fhadhb seo

without also acknowledging those who work to fix it,

gan dóibh siúd a obríonn chun é a réiteach a luath,

so just wanted to acknowledge shows like "Mad Men,"

mar sin, ba mhaith liom cláir cosúil le "Mad Men" a luath,

movies like "Bridesmaids," whose female characters

scannáin cosúil le "Bridemaids" a bhfuil carachtair baininscneacha

or protagonists are complex, multifaceted.

nó príomhcharachtair atá casta, iltaobhacha le fáil iontu.

Lena Dunham, who's on here, her show on HBO

Lena Dunham, atá ar fáil anseo, a clár ar HBO

that premiers next month, "Girls,"

"Girls," a thosaíonn an mhí seo chugainn,

she said she wanted to start it because she felt that

dúirt sí gur theastaigh uaithi an clár a chruthú mar bhraith sí

every woman she knew was just a bundle of contradictions,

gur mhéascan do chosarsnachtaí ab ea gach bean a raibh aithne aici uirthi,

and that feels accurate for all people,

agus tá sé sin fíor do gach duine,

but you don't see women represented like that as much.

ach ní fhaigheann tú an léargas sin ar mhná.

Congrats, guys. (Laughs)

Comhghairdeachas, a chairde.

But I don't feel that — I still feel that there are some types

Ach ní bhraithim é sin - Braithim go bhfuil grupaí ban ann

of women who are not represented that way,

nár chuirtear ós ár gcomhair sa tslí sin

and one group that we'll focus on today are teens,

agus dirímid isteach ar dhéagoirí inniu,

because I think teenagers are especially contradictory

mar ceapaim go bhfuil déagóirí líon lán le codarsnachtaí

and still figuring it out,

agus go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh gach rud a oibrigh amach,

and in the '90s there was "Freaks and Geeks"

agus sna 90idí bhí "Freaks and Geeks" againn

and "My So-Called Life," and their characters,

agus "My So-Called Life" agus a gcarachtair againn,

Lindsay Weir and Angela Chase,

Lindsay Weir agus Angela Chase, againn

I mean, the whole premise of the shows

Ba é bunchloch na gclár seo ná

were just them trying to figure themselves out, basically,

na daoine a bhí ag iarraidh iad féin a oibrigh amach, a bheag nó a mhór,

but those shows only lasted a season each,

ach níor mhair na cláir seo ach ar feadh sraith amháin

and I haven't really seen anything like that on TV since.

ach ní fhaca mé aon rud mar sin ar an teilifís go dtí seo.

So this is a scientific diagram of my brain — (Laughter) —

Anois, seo léaráid eolaíoch don inchinn agam - (Gáire)

around the time when I was,

ón uair nuair a bhíos,

when I started watching those TV shows.

nuair a thosnaíos ag féachaint ar na cláir seo.

I was ending middle school, starting high school --

Bhí an scoil mhéanach ag teacht chun deireadh, bhíos ag tosnú san ardscoil --

I'm a sophomore now —

Is sofamór anois mé

and I was trying to reconcile

agus bhíos ag iarraidh tabhairt chun réiteach

all of these differences that you're told you can't be

na codarsnachtaí a deirtear leat nach féidir iad a réitiú

when you're growing up as a girl.

nuair a fhásann tú aníos mar chailín.

You can't be smart and pretty.

Ní féidir bheith eirimiúil agus dathúil

You can't be a feminist who's also interested in fashion.

Ní féidir bheith i do fheimineach a bhfuil suim agat san fhaisean.

You can't care about clothes if it's not for the sake

Ní féidir suim a bheith agat in éadaí nuair is cuma leat

of what other people, usually men, will think of you.

cad a cheapann daoine eile, fir ach go háirithe, fút.

So I was trying to figure all that out,

Bhíos ag iarraidh an méid sin a thabhairt chun réiteach

and I felt a little confused,

agus bhí beagánín mearbhall orm,

and I said so on my blog,

agus dúirt mé é sin ar mo bhlag,

and I said that I wanted to start

agus dúirt mé gur theastaigh uaim

a website for teenage girls

suíomh idirlíne dírithe ar chailíní sna déagóirí a bhunú

that was not this kind of one-dimensional

agus níor bhain sé seo

strong character empowerment thing

le cumhacht an charachtair láidre aontaobhacha

because I think one thing that can be very alienating

mar ceapaim go gcuirfeadh misthuiscint áirithe

about a misconception of feminism is that

faoin fheimineachas as do dhaoine nuair a chreideann

girls then think that to be a feminist, they have to live up to

cailiní, chun a bheith in bhfeiminigh, go gcaithfidh siad

being perfectly consistent in your beliefs,

cloí go dlúth lena gcuid prionsabail,

never being insecure, never having doubts,

agus nach bhfuil cead acu beith neamhchinnte, amhrasach,

having all of the answers. And this is not true,

go caithfidh na freagraí ar fad a bheith acu. Agus níl sé sin fíor,

and, actually, reconciling all the contradictions I was feeling

agus bhí sé níos éasca na codarsnachtaí seo a réitiú

became easier once I understood that feminism

nuair a thuigeas ní leabair rialacha í an fheimineachas

was not a rulebook but a discussion,

ach plé,

a conversation, a process,

comhrá, próiseas,

and this is a spread from a zine that I made last year

agus seo sliocht as zín a rinne mé an bhliain seo caite

when I -- I mean, I think I've let myself go a bit

nuair a -- Tá meath tagtha

on the illustration front since.

ar mo scileanna léaráide ón uair sin.

But, yeah.

Ach pé scéal é.

So I said on my blog that I wanted to start this publication

Dúirt mé ar mo bhlag gur theastaigh uaim an fhoilseachán seo a chur le chéile

for teenage girls and ask people to submit

do chailiní sna déagóirí agus d'iarr mé ar dhaoine a gcuid scríbhneoireachta, grianghraifadóireachta,

their writing, their photography, whatever,

cibé rud, a thabhairt isteacht, chun a bheith ina

to be a member of our staff.

bhall don fhoireann.

I got about 3,000 emails.

Fuaireas tuairim is 3,000 rphoist.

My editorial director and I went through them and

Chuaigh mé agus mo stúirtheoir eagarthóireachta tríd agus

put together a staff of people,

chuireamar foireann le chéile,

and we launched last September.

agus d'fhoilsíomar don chéad uair an Mhéan Fomhair seo caite.

And this is an excerpt from my first editor's letter,

Agus seo sliocht as an chéad litir eagarthóra a scríobh mé

where I say that Rookie, we don't have all the answers,

nuair a deirim nach bhfuil na freagraí ar fad ag Rookie.

we're still figuring it out too, but the point is not to

go bhfuilimid fós ag iarraidh gach rud a oibrigh amach freisin, ach níl sé mar aidhm againn

give girls the answers, and not even give them permission

na freagraí a thabhairt do chailíní, agus ní chun cead a thabhairt dóibh fiú

to find the answers themselves,

chun freagraí a fháil dóibh féin,

but hopefully inspire them to understand that

ach iad a spreagadh chun go dtuigfidh siad

they can give themselves that permission,

gur féidir leo an cead sin a thabhairt dóibh féin,

they can ask their own questions, find their own answers,

gur féidir leo a gceisteanna féin a chur, a bhfreagraí féin a aimsiú,

all of that, and Rookie, I think we've been trying to make it

agus ceapaim go bhfuil iarracht déanta ag Rookie

a nice place for all of that to be figured out.

spás deas a chruthú chun gach rud a oibriú amach.

So I'm not saying, "Be like us,"

Nílimid ag rá 'Bí ar nós linne",

and "We're perfect role models," because we're not,

agus "Is eiseamláirÍ foirfe muid," mar níl muid,

but we just want to help represent girls

ach ba mhaith linn cailiní a léiriú

in a way that shows those different dimensions.

ar bhealaí a leiríonn na taobhacha éagsúla seo.

I mean, we have articles called

Mar shampla, tá ailt againn dár teideal

"On Taking Yourself Seriously: How to Not Care What People Think of You,"

"Ag Caint go Dáiríre: Conas neamhaird a thabhairt ar thuairimí Einne Eile"'

but we also have articles like,

ach tá ailt eile againn, mar shampla,

oops -- I'm figuring it out!

oops -- táim ag iarraidh é a oibriú amach!

Ha ha. (Laughter)

Ha ha. (Gáire)

If you use that, you can get away with anything.

Má úsáideann tú an líne sin, tá leithscéal agat do gach rud.

We also have articles called

Tá ailt againn dár teideal

"How to Look Like You Weren't Just Crying in Less than Five Minutes."

"Conas a Chuir in Iúl Nach Raibh tú ag Gol Cúig Nóiméad ó shin.

So all of that being said, I still really appreciate

Agus an méid sin ráite, is ábhar sásaimh do

those characters in movies and

iad na carachtair i scannáin agus

articles like that on our site,

in ailt mar sin ar ár suíomh,

that aren't just about being totally powerful,

nach mbaineann leis an gcumhacht amháin,

maybe finding your acceptance with yourself

ach a bhaineann le féinghlacadh chomh maith

and self-esteem and your flaws and how you accept those.

agus le féinmheas agus le do lochtanna agus conas iad a ghlacadh.

So what I you to take away from my talk,

Ba mhaith liom dá nglacfadh sibh an chomhairle seo ón óraid,

the lesson of all of this, is to just be Stevie Nicks.

ceacht an lae, ná bí Stevie Nicks.

Like, that's all you have to do. (Laughter)

Sin a bhfuil le déanamh agat. (Gáire)

Because my favorite thing about her,

Mar, is é an rud is ansa liom fuithi,

other than, like, everything, is that

thar aon rud eile ná

she is very -- has always been

go bhfuil sí, go raibh

unapologetically present on stage,

láithreacht chinnte aici ar an stáitse,

and unapologetic about her flaws

agus go raibh sí oscailte faoina lochtanna

and about reconciling all of her contradictory feelings

agus faoin réitiú a dhéanann sí ar na mothúcháin grithráiteacha

and she makes you listen to them and think about them,

agus cuireann sí dualgas ort éisteacht leo agus machnamh a dhéanamh orthu,

and yeah, so please be Stevie Nicks.

agus sin é, bí Stevie Nicks le bhúr dtoil.

Thank you. (Applause)

Go raibh maith agaibh.