Gina Hatzis delivers a powerful speech on how she embraced her power after a life-changing encounter that made her question everything.
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00:00 I'm the too much woman and I am dangerous, can't you see?
00:04 My truth, my words, my hips, my curves, two handfuls,
00:09 maybe three.
00:10 Too loud, too big, too bold, too wild, too sexy,
00:15 yeah, that's me.
00:16 And I won't sit down, shut up or dim, turn it off,
00:19 hide away, baby.
00:21 I was born a too much little girl
00:25 in a big fat Greek family.
00:27 And I was fed compliments along with second helpings
00:30 of everything because food and words
00:32 are how we love in my family.
00:34 They called me beauty queen and blue-eyed princess
00:38 and mm, those words, they tasted as good as mama's cooking.
00:42 And I learned early on that my body was a form of currency,
00:47 that with the bat of an eye and a sweet smile
00:49 and the tilt of my head,
00:51 I could buy me more love and attention.
00:55 And that worked for a while.
00:57 Until it didn't.
00:59 Until the beauty of my body started to entice customers
01:02 that I did not want in my store.
01:05 And so I started to backpedal,
01:07 to become small and afraid and to dim my too muchness.
01:11 Well, I trained as a dancer and slowly came back
01:15 to loving my body again, to feeling strong in my skin
01:19 and confident in my stride.
01:21 And at a crisp fall day in grade nine,
01:23 I was surrounded by 20 older girls
01:26 who pinned my arms behind my back,
01:29 kicking, punching, spitting, scratching,
01:32 punishing me for my too muchness and my love of my body.
01:35 And as the blood dripped from my nose,
01:38 so did the light in my spirit.
01:39 And once again, realizing that I wasn't safe in this body,
01:44 I dimmed it down.
01:45 Well, fast forward, I'm a grown woman now,
01:49 smart, professional, delivering a keynote
01:52 to a sea of over 300 executive men in suits,
01:55 deciding this would be my defining moment.
01:59 Once and for all, I was gonna be seen,
02:01 not for my body, but for my art,
02:04 for my craft, for what I brought to the table.
02:06 So I manned up, severe pantsuit, button to the top,
02:11 breasts hidden, hair slicked back into a severe bun.
02:16 I even bought me some fake glasses.
02:18 I dimmed down all the juiciness of my too much body.
02:22 And yeah, I knocked that baby right out of the park
02:25 and I flew off the stage to a standing ovation,
02:28 thinking I had finally won the battle
02:30 by dimming this body down.
02:32 And there I was, strolling along in my self-celebration
02:36 when I was approached from a man from the audience
02:38 who asked if he could walk me to my car.
02:41 And out in the parking lot, he grabbed my arm.
02:44 His nails were like talons digging into my skin.
02:50 And he pulled me close, very close, too close,
02:55 so close that I could smell the stale coffee
02:59 and misogyny on his breath as he hissed,
03:02 "I have a fetish for librarian types."
03:05 (audience laughing)
03:06 Say what?
03:07 All I remember is driving fast,
03:11 driving on the highway and watching my whole life
03:14 fly past in front of me and ricochet off the windowsill,
03:17 the shaming, the hiding, the dumbing down, the shunning,
03:21 letting my hair blow wild and the tears flow free
03:24 and deciding I would no longer deny the love of my body.
03:28 From now on, I would dare to be seen
03:30 in my all that juicy, over-the-top-ness.
03:33 (audience cheering)
03:34 You know, people carelessly say, "Love your body,"
03:39 but what they don't say is, "Baby, it's a dangerous game."
03:42 People are gonna shun you, objectify you.
03:46 They're gonna ignore you.
03:48 They're gonna be afraid of you.
03:49 And I say, "Yes, baby, all that yes, but guess what?
03:54 "Do it anyway."
03:55 You know, the church says this body is a sin.
03:58 Science says this body is a machine.
04:02 Business says this body is a product,
04:04 but this body says I'm a freaking fiesta.
04:07 (audience cheering)
04:08 So to all the too-much women in the audience,
04:11 I want you to stand up, stand up and be seen in your glory.
04:16 (audience cheering)
04:17 We are not a piece of human.
04:20 We are not flesh and ass and temptation.
04:22 We are feminine energy with masculine force.
04:26 We are sexy brilliance and we are hot determination.
04:29 We are bigger than our breasts
04:30 and more powerful than our thighs.
04:32 And our curve is mightier than any sword
04:35 and our wit stronger than any insult.
04:38 We are not here to radiate, to taunt you,
04:41 to provoke you, to threaten you.
04:43 We shine not for your adoration.
04:46 We shine because baby, you just can't dim the sun.
04:49 (audience cheering)
04:52 (upbeat music)
04:55 (audience cheering)
04:58 (upbeat music)
05:00 (upbeat music)
05:03 you