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Apr
08
Just Read It: PINK BOOTS AND A MACHETE by Mireya Mayor
2011 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published March 2011 by National Geographic Books
The subtitle of this book, “My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer,” says it all. Mireya Mayor’s Pink Boots and a Machete is a memoir about the kind of character arc you’d expect to be a set-up for the ever-popular stunt book, but Mayor—who went from Miami Dolphins cheerleader to Ph.D. anthropologist, National Geographic explorer, and discoverer of multiple new species—is the real deal.
Called the “female Indiana Jones” and a “real-life Lara Croft,” Mayor, whose intellect and adventurousness are on full display in Pink Boots, has spent the majority of her career not seeking to be a sex symbol but working to overcome stereotypes and sexism and remind the scientific community that a woman can be both attractive and intelligent. Sure, she wears pink hiking boots on her expeditions, and yes, maybe she stole away to dye her roots during a trek that was being filmed for TV, but she earned those letters after name, and she is well versed in the unglamorous side of science. And most of it is unglamorous.
Mayor embraces and celebrates her femininity and shows that it can—and does—peacefully coexist with ambition, curiosity, and brains. She is living proof that you don’t have to act, look, or think like a man to succeed in a male-dominated field…but you do need “boundless resilience, confidence, and strength.” And patience. One must be long on patience to deal with colleagues who see only her gender, not her credentials and years of experience.
I can’t win. If I wear tank tops, I’m vying for attention. If I cover up, it’s only because I want to be taken seriously.
In Pink Boots and a Machete, Mayor discusses her Cuban roots and the three strong women who raised her, and she traces the path that led her from cheerleader to explorer. She describes experiencing hardships and illnesses the likes of which most of us have only ever encountered while playing Oregon Trail (dysentery, anyone?), and she captures moments of fear and danger, but her book is also filled with charming, heartwarming moments that reveal the deep connection she feels to the animals she studies. And really, you can’t argue with the fact that it would be amazing to snuggle a lemur and downright surreal to walk a giraffe. (Yep, like on a really long leash.)
Mayor acknowledges that she was often infuriated by her colleagues’ treatment of her and assumptions about her, but she takes the high road in Pink Boots, addressing the issues and complications of being an attractive, intelligent woman in science without beating readers over the head with her point. (She reserves her frying pan for defending herself against great white sharks. No joke.) Mayor’s tale is the ultimate girl-power story and an important reminder that you really can’t judge a person by her appearance. Because behind the pom poms and pink boots, there is a real woman with real talent and real ambition.
And to paraphrase Mayor, come on, would hairy armpits really make her more credible?
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This definitely is an interesting read!
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Looks like something I’d love!
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