オックスフォード通信(142)Beyoncé

ビヨンセ、というとモデル、歌手であることは知っていましたがそれ以上は何ら知りませんでした

新聞を読んでいる中で、雑誌『Vogue』の中で彼女のこれまでの歩みを振り返る記事が掲載されていることを知りました。

ビヨンセがオックスフォード大学で学んでいたことも意外でしたが、双子の女の子を出産していたことにも興味を持ちました。記事の中では、Non-whiteとして、女性としての生き方、そして自分の子供達への希望が語られています。

Oxford, where I’d dreamed of going since I was a bookish fifth-grader, saved my skin. Oxford in those days couldn’t care less that you hadn’t played varsity hockey or helped build orphanages in Costa Rica; they didn’t even seem to know what an SAT score was. All they cared about was how you did on their entrance exams. Luckily, my enthusiasm for English literature was just as fervent as my taste for nightclubs. When I scraped through the admission tests and was offered a place at Oxford’s Magdalen College, I vowed that I was going to reform. I did.

My mother taught me the importance not just of being seen but of seeing myself. As the mother of two girls, it’s important to me that they see themselves too; in books, films, and on runways. It’s important to me that they see themselves as CEOs, as bosses, and that they know they can write the script for their own lives; that they can speak their minds and they have no ceiling. They don’t have to be a certain type or fit into a specific category. They don’t have to be politically correct, as long as they’re authentic, respectful, compassionate, and empathetic. They can explore any religion, fall in love with any race, and love who they want to love. (Beyoncé, 2018, in Her Own Words: Her Life, Her Body, Her Heritageより)

自分の人生の主人公になるとよく言われますが、人から自分がどう見られるかではなく、自分をどう見るかという言い方も興味深いものです。

(2018.8.16)

★今回の教訓:生き方についてはいろいろな言葉を持っておくほうがいい。

© Wakazemi 1-20