When Girls are Forces of Nature: An Être Interview with Kate T. Parker

Are you ready for it?

Force of Nature: A Celebration of Girls and Women Raising Their Voices, from bestselling author-photographer Kate T. Parker, hits bookstores tomorrow and I could not be more excited. Perfectly timed for International Women’s Day this Friday and Women’s History Month, Parker’s electrifying new book celebrates girls and women finding, using, amplifying, and sustaining their voices to empower themselves and change the world…right now.

Être girls were more than ready for it, having loved her Strong Is the New Pretty series since its release in 2017, and bombarded me with questions in advance of my interview with Parker. What to ask a world-famous author, photographer, director and Ironman whose work has led to collaborations with brands like The Walt Disney Company, Athleta, Kellogg Company and NBCUniversal? Having posed questions to Parker once before in The Epic Mentor Guide, Être girls were ready.

Below is a lightly edited version of my conversation last week with Kate T. Parker – who is, herself, a force of nature.

Ê: Okay, you know that we are such big fans of your work – from Strong is the New Pretty to Play like a Girl to Heart of a Boy…you just had us. So Force of Nature is a stunner. How did the concept for this book come about?

KP: Thanks! It's so nice to connect because I think we're both trying to try to accomplish the same thing in different ways. The idea of the book started with the cover image. It's this image (pivots screen to show spectacular print on her wall) of my youngest daughter standing her ground.

She's just…really just feeling herself which I loved. She’s confident, she's soaking wet, she absolutely didn't care. She looks like she's screaming at the top of her lungs with joy. What’s amazing is that the image had been made into a meme, and someone tagged me in it. So I went to see what it was and the image had been shared, like, 40,000 times! And I thought – that’s pretty powerful.

“It clicked with me. I thought - whatever that feeling is…that’s what I want this next book to be about. A reclaiming of us for us. As women. That power of using our voice and reminding our daughters that they have power in their voices. It couldn’t have been more clear to me.”

Ê: The confidence she’s feeling…

KP: Yes. I just want to encourage women, especially, to do those things that make them feel that way. You're fully present…alive…fully yourself, and confident.

Ê: Do you feel like we need this book more now? More than in the past?

KP: I definitely do. I think for women and girls, our voices and our choices are getting curtailed more than ever. I just think it's important for us to speak and use our power and not lose any more of the things that are our rights.

The girls know it, too. There’s a section in the book where a group of high school girls were unhappy with the way Title IX was altered recently. They felt unsafe, so they decided to hire a lawyer and sue the US government to reinstate what Title IX had been before the changes. I don’t think I ever would have thought of that when I was in high school!

“The book is about reminding girls of the power they have with their voice, and recognizing that when things are not right you don’t have to live with it.”

Ê: When you do a book like this, what's the process? Do you have a theme in mind at the start or is it derived from one particular photo or one girl’s story?

KP: I basically start with a list of all of the ideas that I have – here it was a way that girls can use their voices. And then I start outreach, search for specific stories that I may have heard or seen in the news. I’ll do a social media outreach on my pages, and also an outreach to organizations like Boys and Girls Club. I want to make sure that the books and the stories are as diverse as possible. And then sometimes people reach out to me, and that’s the best. A story I might not have heard about comes to life. I really love making the books so much.

Ê: It does seem like such a joyful project – even if a book may have serious undertones or the stories have a lot of gravity to them. Is that how it feels in the moment?

KP: Yeah, it truly is. The book is broken into sections: Find your voice, Use your voice, Amplify your voice, and Sustain your voice. And I feel like I have the unique privilege of trying to help amplify others’ voices. It's such a responsibility, and I love talking to kids and hearing their stories. Even if it’s a small thing…it is heroic.

Ê: Was there anything that surprised you in the creation of Force of Nature?

KP: One of the things I learned was the different ways we can use our voice, even if we don't have a physical voice. Just the ways we can communicate! There’s a girl, Elizabeth, who is Autistic and non-speaking, so she communicates solely through a speaking device. She was valedictorian of her college class and gave the commencement speech through her speaking device! This was one of the most amazing things I had ever heard! I could never have imagined it, but her story came my way and it had to be in the book. I just love the way that the girls continually inspire hope.

Ê: We couldn’t agree more. Okay, along those lines – last question from one of our girls: what is one thing you think the girls in the book would want other girls to know?

KP: One thing that I think they would say, and what I would say to them, is if you look at these girls who are doing amazing things – they’re valedictorian of their class, suing the US government, or starting nonprofits – they are doing it scared. They are not fully confident in their voice or their actions. They just had a thought, and they found the courage. You can do that.

You can do that.

Let Kate T. Parker’s words ring in your ear as her photographs and stories steep in your mind. You can do that. The idea you’ve been toying with, the words you’ve been holding back, the action you’ve been weighing and the voice you are ready to raise.

You can do that.

Force of Nature hits stores tomorrow – are you ready for it?

Looking forward,

Illana