Bossypants

I am in love with Tina Fey’s brain.

Tina Fey begins her book Bossypants by saying there are a couple reasons as to why someone would read her book. One reason is to raise “an achievement-oriented, drug-free, adult virgin” (3). Awesome. 

Anyways, Tina Fey then goes into a short chapter about how she was a happy accident to a pair of forty-something year-old parents and about how she received a scar to the face from a stranger at a young age. No worries though. This scar proved handy in later years, making her the recipient of candy and pity throughout her childhood.

The next chapter talks about Tina Fey “growing up and liking it” (11). It basically talks about Fey’s first period and gynecologist appointment as well as a really rocking white denim suit.

The book then turns a corner, and Fey turns her attention to body image issues. As she puts it, girls today are supposed to have:

• Caucasian blue eyes
• full Spanish lips
• a classic button nose
• hairless Asian skin with a California tan
• a Jamaican dance hall ass
• long Swedish legs
• small Japanese feet
• the abs of a lesbian gym owner
• the hips of a nine-year-old boy
• the arms of Michelle Obama
• and doll tits

She on the other hand has Greek eyebrows, droopy eyes, a wad of lower-back fat, dough-around-a-soda-can hips, and flat, pale feet amongst other equally desirable features. Fey abides by one rule of beauty: “Who cares?” (114) 

The next chapter talks about Fey’s experience at a local theatre filled with heartbreaker boyfriends, blonde dancers, and a handful of gay and lesbian friends. Here, Fey begins to deviate from her more generic childhood memories and talks more about her introduction to the theatre. Except in the funniest way possible. 

Fey then takes a break from talking about her life, and instead talks about her father. Who is, apparently, a truly awe-inspiring man who fey describes as a “badass” (48). 

The next chapter is a quick and dirty rundown of Fey’s college years. By which I mean it’s a story about how Fey tries to find love in college, climbs a mountain for a guy she likes, and climbs down the mountain as boyfriend-less as ever. Oh, Tina.

Next, in the post-college era, Fey gets a job at the YMCA, convinces herself that she likes this job, and then realizes that it sucks and that she would much rather be doing improv. 

And this brings us to the next chapter which is about Fey’s time with the Second City improv group. Except not really because she was a newbie, and newbies don’t get to perform at the Second City theatre in Chicago but instead tour the city visiting small companies and church basements. Fey shares some secrets to great improv, the most important of which is to agree with everything, and then gets promoted to an actual comedian for Second City (but only because Amy Poehler moved to New York). 

Next chapter? A cruise excursion slash honeymoon slash near-death experience in which Fey and her husband, Jeff, get stuck on a cruise ship that nearly goes up in flames. No big deal. 

Next chapter’s a list of Fey’s beauty tips, one of which is “space lasers” (106). 

The subsequent two chapters are about what it’s like to be “very very skinny” and “a little bit fat” (115, 117). 

And that’s where I stopped. 

Tina Fey’s Bossypants is a quick and enjoyable read for a number of reasons, the main ones being Tina Fey is hilarious and the book has rather large print and the occasional page-consuming picture. I would recommend this book to any of my female friends as it touches on some issues that are very important (especially to girls) such as body image, (lack of) love, and discrimination in the workplace. The great thing about Fey’s book is that while it does touch on some hard issues, it talks about them in the funniest way possible whether it be through Fey’s childhood stories or through a sarcastic list peppered with Fey’s trademark biting wit. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Bossypants and would recommend it over The World is Flat and Un Lun Dun any day. Can’t wait to read it some more next week.