Fine lady Quote by Miranda Hart
““Time for an exercise, which I shall call 'Say It Out Loud With Miranda'. Please take a moment to sit back, breathe and intone: 'I am taking myself seriously as a woman.' Note your response. If you're reading this on the bus, or surreptitiously in the cinema, or in any other public scenario, then please note other people's responses. (If you are male, and teenaged, and reading this in a room with other teenage boys, then for your own safety I advise you not to participate.) The rest of you – what comes to mind when you say those words? Is it a fine lady scientist, a ballsy young anarchist with tights on her head or a feminist intellectual from the 1970s nose-down in Simone de Beauvoir? Or is it what I think my friend meant when she said 'woman' which is really 'aesthetic object'. Clothes-horse. Show pony. General beautiful piece of well-groomed stuff that's lovely to look at? I reckon, to my great dismay, that she did indeed mean the latter. And in saying that I don't take myself seriously in this regard her assessment of me is absolutely bang-on. If taking oneself seriously as a woman means committing to a like of grooming, pumicing, pruning and polishing one's exterior for the benefit of onlookers, then I may as well heave my unwieldy rucksack to the top of a bleak Scottish hill and make my home there under a stone, where I'll fashion shoes out of mud and clothes out of leaves.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “Say It Out Loud With Miranda” (online personal essay, 2020)
Encourages women to confront how societal expectations shape self‑perception and to examine the tension between authenticity and external validation.
In simple terms: Women should reflect on how they view themselves versus how others view them.
Question your assumptions about gendered self‑respect.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- public speaking exercises
- personal journaling
- group workshops on gender perception
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does public affirmation affect your self‑image?
- What pressures influence your definition of “taking yourself seriously”?
May overlook intersectional experiences and diverse cultural contexts.