If you have no idea who Lucy Worsley is you have a treat in store. Her proper job is Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces. She is also an author and a television personality. She presents TV programmes on history in a really accessible and entertaining form and seems not to give a monkey’s ( a monkey’s what, I am suddenly wondering?) about what people think of her, as long as she is getting her message across.
Why Do I Admire Lucy Worsley?
1. Ambition and Women
She is an ambitious woman, hooray. Lucy Worsley has spoken very openly about the fact that she is ambitious. For that ‘crime’ she earned some disapprobation because we all know, of course, that women should be seen and not heard and disport themselves in a quiet and becoming manner. An ambitious woman? That will scare the horses. Being an ambitious woman is so often portrayed as something undesirable, too competitive, not a trait to be encouraged in young girls. That may sound outdated and positively Jane Austen like but sadly very recent research shows it to be true. Check out No More Boys and Girls.
Here’s a quote from Sheryl Sandberg:
“Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women who display these same traits often pay a social penalty. Female accomplishments come at a cost.
That came from Sandberg’s book ‘Lean In’, a book I didn’t entirely sign up to because it seemed to be telling women to become like men and I never advocate that. (Sandberg herself changed her mind, too). We want to be valued for who we are, not have to behave like the dominant gender to succeed. Women can do ambition but maybe overall we might do it a bit differently. Ambition does not have to be about treading on someone else to reach the highest shelf, as it is so often portrayed. It’s about knowing yourself, knowing what you want, and devising plan to get there. I know lots of women do this from coaching, but I also know that they often don’t share their plans, or ask for help, support or mentoring along the way for fear of being thought pushy and aggressive. Role models like Lucy can help challenge these old fashioned tropes.
Says Lucy:
..ambition is considered to be a dirty word for women. In fact, I once had a letter of complaint from someone that said “I don’t like Lucy Worsley, she’s ambitious’ Funnily enough it was from a man.
Unfortunately, lots of women have been conditioned to think ill of their ambitious sisters. We all need to check our unconscious bias from time to time. (Check out – Unconscious Bias – Bringing Your Brain Into Line)
2.Women and Children
Lucy Worsley has also spoken openly about choosing not to have children. Notwithstanding that this seems to be have been a joint decision with her partner, it was Lucy who copped for a load of flak on that one. As if it’s anyone business but hers. As I’ve said so many times, because we have not updated our childcare practices, thoughts and beliefs on the rearing on the children since God was a girl, it’s very hard for a woman to have both a career and a family. Until we sort out the parenting thing it’s not an equal choice. Said Lucy back in 2012:
I have been educated out of the natural reproductive function. I get to spend my time doing things I enjoy. I don’t think my life is wasted. It seems to fascinate people. I have become the poster girl for opting out of reproduction.
If you Google Lucy you will see that is true; it is referenced in almost single interview precisely because most women do not talk about it. It is still tacitly assumed that if a woman does have children there must be a reason for it and simply choosing not to is not an acceptable one. And yes, I do see the irony of me referencing it here yet again…
3. Being Inspiring in the Time of Isolation
This is what prompted this post really. To confess, I am a bit of a magazine addict. I love books, too, but I cannot bear to part with books (hence my overflowing bookcases). However, I love to share magazines about and I also use them occasionally when coaching or running courses to create vision boards and have a bit of gluing and sticky creative play, (I used to run a playgroup, but honestly you’d never know).
I came across an interview with Lucy in an edition of Good Housekeeping magazine (outdated title but the content isn’t, and it plays well to my Mrs Tiggywinkle type fantasies). She was asked if she felt optimistic about the future by journalist Ella Dove. This is pre the time of ‘The Great Isolation (I love that phrase, makes me feel as if I’m in a chapter of His Dark Materials) and this is what she said:
I do. I think you have to be. History leaves with you a sense that nothing is inevitable. The past is not a guide to the future and sometimes things go backwards, but history shows us that it doesn’t have to be the way it is. Once you appreciate that everything changes all the time, there is hope that maybe the world will be better again, one day.”
And it will, of that I have no doubt.
Lucy Worsley’s Latest Book
Lucy is also a prolific writer and her latest book for children this time, was published early in April. I doubt that she needs any publicity from me, but I am going to share the link anyway! The Austen Girls by Lucy Worsley.
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Posted on April 19th, 2020 by Jane
