Fine Women Friday With Bree Essrig
First off… let me just start off by saying YES! Yes, yes, and more yes to the interview I did with Bree! (@breeessrig) This girl is not afraid of being bold and Our Sisters are here for it! For the ladies needing a little motivation to overcome that obstacle standing in your way, for way too long, this is the interview to read!
Bree gets into the success of having a voice in the workforce as a woman, and why it's important. And just like me, you'll feel inspired in so many ways from Bree sharing her personal journey into being an on-screen host! Check it out!
1. What does women empowerment mean to you?
I feel like "women empowerment" in the digital age has been reduced to tweeting "you go girl" or "yasss queen" to everybody with a hot take, but there is so much more to it than that. Empowerment definitely involves amplifying the voices of people who are marginalized, and the occasional "PREACH" with a prayer hand emoji is a nice confidence booster, but there's also something to taking the time to really listen to what those people want and what they need and actually helping them attain those things. For example, we need to be including women and non-binary individuals in male-dominated fields and actually allow them to fully participate so they aren't left feeling like a diversity hire! It's so important to have different thoughts and ideas oscillating through the workplace! We need to let women, and everyone for that matter, have agency over their own bodies. Other ways we can empower one another? Decriminalizing sex work, providing easier access to a good education, and for the love of God, LETTING US RUN THE DAMN SHOW! I swear, most of us know what we're doing!
2. How do you define sisterhood?
Sisterhood to me is a community of women and non-binary people who take the time to listen to one another and work together in the fight towards equality.
3. What advice do you give to women younger than you?
The best advice I can give to young people is to fight like hell for what you believe in. It's so easy to feel small in a world where it feels like nobody is listening, but I can assure you, somebody is always listening. With social media and the internet in general, it's easier than ever to connect with people and spread your message. Also, don't give up. Pop psych writer Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to truly become a master in any field and I really do believe that. As easy as it is to give up, someday you will be so relieved you didn't.
4. What do you do for a living? Did you always know you'd be in this position or did you have alternative future plans at another point in your life? If so when and what made that change?
I'm a working actor, writer, and host. I always knew I'd end up here, well, maybe not with the hosting (I was extremely shy growing up), but I knew I'd be in the entertainment industry in some capacity. I'm truly lucky to be where I am now, but make no mistake, I've spent my entire life working on my craft and taking my career very seriously. I worked my ass off to get to where I am now, and I'm damn proud!
5. So you're an actress! Where can we see some of your work?!
Yes! I'm an actor and a writer! You can find a ton of my sketch comedy on YouTube. Just go to my channel, youtube.com/BREEessrig. Currently, I'm the host of Twitter's first ever daily show. It's called #WhatsHappening and you can catch me every Monday through Friday, 5pm PST 8pm EST on @HappeningDaily.
6. Being in media, what challenges do you face as a woman?
The biggest challenge I face as a woman in the media is having my voice heard and my opinions taken seriously. I'll share a story. I was employed as a comedy writer and host at a digital company. I had just written, produced, and starred in a sketch about lesbian "vloggers". I was in the process of doing a watch down of the sketch, which had turned out beautifully, when my boss came in and watched it over my shoulder. When it was finished, he turned to me and said, "I just don't think this is funny. Our audience won't get it. We can't put this online." After trying to convince him that it wasn't a sketch for "him" but for the LGBTQ+ community, he told me he'd need a second opinion in order to put it up. So, of course, he asked two of my male co-workers to come watch it and decide whether or not it was funny enough to put online. Luckily, they were on my side. The sketch ended up online and out-performed the majority of our other sketches. Having my ideas not only heard but respected has been like pulling teeth and has been endlessly frustrating.
7. I’m loving everything about your product on CZND.co! How'd you get started? What made you start your brand?
Yeah, @cznd is wonderful! I initially reached out to them because Elizabeth Banks launched her merch line with them and I'm obsessed with her. I'd been looking for somewhere to launch some of my silly yet hopefully #relatable slogans and cznd.co seemed like the best fit for what I was trying to do. I'm thrilled to be in such great company with the likes of Bethenny Frankel, Elizabeth Banks, Janel Parrish, Felicity Huffman, and Kate Walsh! I mean, COME ON!
8. Who inspires your success and why?
I hope this doesn't come off as conceited, but I inspire my own success. I have plenty of successful people to look up to (um, hi, Tracee Ellis Ross!), but I've struggled my entire life to really find my voice and learn how to love all of me. I only recently developed this unabashed confidence, so yeah, I'm just gonna throw this out there: IT'S OKAY TO THINK YOU'RE THE SHIT! I compare my past self to my current self and that really does inspire me to keep going moving towards my goals.
9. What keeps you motivated throughout life's challenges?
The biggest thing that keeps me motivated is all the people out there who have yet to share their stories or their art with the world. I consider myself one of those people. Even though I'm constantly sharing (or as my mom would say, "over-sharing"), I still feel like I have more to do in this world. Just knowing that I can help somebody, that anybody can affect somebody's life in some small way is truly special, and I think it's something we all seem to take for granted.
