223 Two girls. One hill.

“Hidden beneath the mandate of effortlessness is another, older mandate: lack of agency. It’s okay to have it all, but it’s not okay to want it all. It’s not okay to work too hard to get it. It has to happen passively, somewhere beyond consciousness. The appearance of effortlessness is the way young women reconcile such conflicting demands. ‘I just happen to be beautiful and brilliant, I can’t help it. Don’t hold it against me.’ Effortless also counters the feminine taboo against competition. It’s okay to win, but not okay to try to win.”