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Print copies of I’m a girl. See what I can be! are available at Kinokuniya Singapore and on www.euniceolsenmedia.com, as well as distributed to schools by Closetful of Books. From bookworm to author
After nearly an hour of obligingly undergoing numerous outfit changes at the photographer’s request, Olsen finally descends the stairs dressed comfortably in a tube romper, apologising profusely for making us wait. “It’s so hot today,” she remarks smilingly, fanning herself with one hand in an attempt to cool herself. As we marvel at the stylish minimalist interiors and décor of her Yishun mansionette, she excitedly shares that she just moved here with her boyfriend in February after several years of renting; this marks her first purchase as a proud HDB homeowner.
“I grew up with very strong female role models; my mum and her sisters were all women that I looked up to. We were a lower-middle-income family, but they were always very supportive of me. Both my parents had to work full-time to support me, but they made sure I grew up thinking I could do anything I wanted to do [career-wise]. At the time, they also taught me the values of hard work. Although they paid for my education, they wanted me to realise that money was not something you obtained at the snap of your fingers,” says Olsen, who began earning her own pocket money from the age of 16 by giving piano lessons up until her stint on Wheel of Fortune. “Through my book, I also want to reach out to young girls and boys to share the [lessons] I have learnt not only [from] these women I met [on WomenTalk TV], but also the values I learnt growing up.” The men in her family have greatly helped to shape her world views as well, she adds. Her father, Francis Olsen, was in fact the first male feminist in her life. “He has never tried to control [my mother] or tell her what she could or couldn’t do. Even after she retired and went traveling without him, he was cool with it. That was very important to me, because I saw that she could have a life of her own [beyond marriage],” she recalls. Olsen believes the term “feminist” has always been sadly misunderstood. “Feminism shouldn’t be a label. People think that it means you hate men, or that you think men are just really bad with all these negative connotations. If anything, the word is an expression of power and strength. To say ‘I am a feminist’ means to support the idea that women should have equal rights in society. That they should be able to do anything; not only just what men can do, but anything in this world. That applies to boys as well. Nobody should tell them that because you are a boy, you can’t be a ballet dancer or a nurse… Your gender is an expression of power and strength that anyone can take on.” Resonating with all ages
Beyond the obvious feminist overtones in the title, the book tackles a number of other issues, which some may consider heavy for a publication targeting children aged six and above. Financial planning, for example, is a prominent topic in Nina ‘Cute’ Rotelo (The Domestic Worker and Volunteer). In another poem entitled Melissa Sarah Wee (The Physique Competitor), Olsen expounds on the subjects of bullying and bulimia. In Olsen’s view, children and youths of today are able to understand and identify with more complex issues than one might think — something that she witnessed through focus groups held with young students prior to the publishing date. “[The focus group] wasn’t a huge sample size, but these children could instantly tell that the main message of Melissa Sarah Wee’s poem was about bullying,” says Olsen, referring to the poem she wrote about the Singapore-born physique competitor who used to be overweight. “I remember how one of them said, ‘From now on, if my classmates get bullied, I will stand up for them. I will fight bullying.’ It was very surprising to get these responses, and it really warmed my heart… One of the main things I’ve learnt is that kids relate to things you never think they would.”
