Tina Fey — Comedienne and Role Model

Fearless. Probably not the word most commonly associated with comedians; however, it is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Tina Fey. She is my heroine. For as long as I can remember the female ideal for comedy has been a chesty, long-haired ditz. Women seemed to most frequently be the butt of the joke, not in on it, and certainly not telling it. Then came Tina, with her nerdy glasses and swarthy (her word, not mine) features to turn comedy on its ear.

Sure, Carol, Gilda, and Jane are the shoulders upon which Tina can exist. Yet Tina succeeded where no women had before her — the writing room of Saturday Night Live. She is the first woman in the history of that bastion of “male-dom” to serve as Head Writer. She made humor that didn’t require nudity, but did require you to think. And her impact goes further than simply being funny.

When I first saw her on SNL’s “Weekend Update” I felt like I was finally seeing someone that truly represented me, quirks and all. My favorite Tina trait? A smart, funny woman (finally) became sexy, but she doesn’t seem to care. Instead, she shows us that we don’t have to fit into anyone’s idea of what or who we should be, to be amazing. She says it best in her book Bossypants — “If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?”

-Mercedes Pino