Meghan Markle says she didn’t feel double standard until dating Prince Harry, noting “ambition is a terrible, terrible thing, for a woman”
On Tuesday, Meghan Markle appeared on the first episode of her “Archetype” podcast with guest Serena Williams. “I don’t remember ever personally feeling the negative connotation behind the word ‘ambitious’ until I started dating my now-husband,” Markle admitted.
“Apparently ambition is a terrible, terrible thing, for a woman. That is, according to some,” she continued. “Since I’ve felt the negativity behind it, it’s [been] really hard to un-feel it.”
The former Suits actress noted that she “can’t unsee it, either, in the millions of girls and women who make themselves smaller – so much smaller – on a regular basis.”
Meghan Markle, Serena Williams Open Up Feeling Double Standards
Williams agreed with Meghan and opened up about the double standards she’s experienced in the past as a female athlete.
The Grand Slam champion highlighted her 2004 US Open Quarterfinals match against Jennifer Capriati. Her ball was continuously called out of bounds even when it was in the lines, leading to a tiff with the ref.
The Grand Slam champion was labeled “aggressive” and accused of having “meltdowns.” However, men in similar situations were described as “passionate” players, as per a PageSix report.
Williams said that she “didn’t deserve” that treatment. “I remember playing in Australia years, years later, [and] I just didn’t have the Serena in me because I was afraid,” she recalled. “I was afraid to be Serena because of all the experiences that I’ve had.
“I ended up losing a match because I was afraid to challenge, or to be myself,” Williams continued. “I can’t win being someone different, I have to win being Serena.”
Interestingly, she and Meghan are also familiar with double standards in parenting.
“The [difference] between how men and women are treated after having kids is so, so real,” said Markle, who is the mother of Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1. “I’ve felt it.”
“Part of the humanizing and the breaking through of these labels and these archetypes and these boxes that we’re put into is having some understanding on the human moments behind the scenes that people might not have any awareness of and to give each other a break,” Meghan said.
Williams added that no one really knows what’s going on behind the scenes while she’s sparing no effort to balance her career with her daughter Olympia, 4, whom she shares with husband Alexis Ohanian.
“I would drop anything at any time to whatever I had to do for Olympia,” Williams said. “[In the] middle of a Grand Slam final, I would leave if I had to.”
Do you agree with Meghan Markle’s statement: “ambition is a terrible, terrible thing, for a woman”? Let us know in the comments below.
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