Scary Spice is now ‘leaning in’ in a major way
In case you were worried, girl power is very much alive and well — and Mel B (aka Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice) is here to prove it.
Earlier this week, the former Spice Girl dropped by HuffPost Live to talk about her tech investment, PingTank; a mobile app being integrated into Facebook Messenger that allows users to send pictures with an animation overlay (think explosions and kisses and zombies on your selfies). In the process, Mel B ended up dropping some major wisdom about gender inequality, the legacy of everyone’s favorite ’90s group, and good ‘ol girl power, and we’re in love with what she had to say.
“I think fundamentally as a woman, you want to be the best version of you that you can possibly be,” she told HuffPost Live‘s Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani. “Forget any outside influences. You have to do it for yourself, inside-out first.”
Brown went on to talk about how excited she is to be delving into the tech world — particularly as a woman — and about her hopes that the tides are shifting in favor of a little more equality within the industry. Silicon Valley, in particular, is notorious for its gender discrimination (perhaps most recently proven in light of the Ellen Pao case), and both Brown and PingTank CEO and founder, Jeremy Greene, agree that it’s only in hiring more women that this can change.
“Sexism is always going to be around. We do live in a very male-dominated, -driven world. But, you know, as women, we do have voices,” Brown said. “The more that we talk about it, the more we feel good about ourselves, for ourselves. That’s a good way forward.”
But more than that, Brown encourages women to support other women, as well. It’s only in helping others rise that we can collectively overcome, and Mel B agrees that to do that, we have to be actively supporting our fellow ladies.
“Women [are] pioneering a lot of stuff here and there. And I think if you see a woman in power that you want to support, jump on board,” she said. “Why not? As long as it’s something that you believe in, it’s something that you strive to be a part of.”
As for the Spice Girls, Brown was mum on any details about a possible reunion (after Modarressy-Tehrani brought up Emma’s hints from last week). But she reassured us that the girls — now very much women — were as close as ever. She even had lunch with Victoria last week!
“It’s easy for people to want to tear down something, but the reality is we’re five girls who launched something pretty incredible — girl power — and spread our music. And we’re still good friends to this day.”
“We were just five crazy ladies on a mission,” she said, “And I love the fact that I can still have that passion and that drive in different things that I do today.”
We remain as grateful as ever today that they brought a little extra girl power into the world. Watch the whole interview for yourself here!
