Maya Angelou’s poem Phenomenal Woman reads: “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. / I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size / But when I start to tell them, / They think I’m telling lies. / I say, / It’s in the reach of my arms, / The span of my hips, / The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips. / I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me.”
Inspired by her powerful (if cheeky) words, lawyer and activist, Meena Harris, launched the “Phenomenal Woman” t-shirt – a simple idea but with a powerful twist. Sported by celebrities like Alicia Keys and Jane Fonda, the proceeds from the t-shirt support non-profit organizations.
“I thought I was going to create 20 or so shirts and send them off with my friends,” remarked Harris in an interview with Shape. But after the Women’s March, the t-shirt became something of a best seller. “Instead of saying ‘ok, we hit our goal, let me go back to my regular life,’ I thought ‘holy cow, I have to keep growing this, right? We’re really onto something here,’” she recalled thinking. “Saying that women are resilient and phenomenal in their own individual ways and, together, we can get through this—that’s really what inspired me to commit to this long-term.”
And so, what started off as an idea inspired by a poem, turned into a full-blown movement. A couple of years later, and the t-shirt turned into The Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign – a female-powered organization that brings awareness to social causes, supporting a wide range of initiatives. “And here I am now, over two and a half years later, talking about it,” says Harris. “I never thought that it would be anything bigger than one month.”
