America Ferrera / My identity is a superpower — not an obstacle America Ferrera / Meine Identität ist eine Superkraft - kein Hindernis America Ferrera / Mi identidad es un superpoder, no un obstáculo America Ferrera / Mon identité est un super pouvoir, pas un obstacle America Ferrera / La mia identità è un superpotere, non un ostacolo アメリカ・フェレーラ／私のアイデンティティは超能力であり、障害ではない America Ferrera / Mano tapatybė yra supergalia, o ne kliūtis America Ferrera / Mijn identiteit is een superkracht - geen obstakel America Ferrera / Moja tożsamość to supermoc - nie przeszkoda America Ferrera / A minha identidade é um superpoder - não um obstáculo Америка Феррера / Моя личность - это суперсила, а не препятствие America Ferrera / Kimliğim bir süper güç - bir engel değil Америка Феррера / Моя ідентичність - це наддержава, а не перешкода 美国费雷拉 / 我的身份是一种超级力量，而不是障碍 亞美莉卡·費雷拉 / 我的身分是一個超級大國，而不是一個障礙

On the red tiles in my family's den I would dance and sing to the made-for-TV movie "Gypsy," starring Bette Midler. Auf den roten Fliesen im Wohnzimmer meiner Familie tanzte und sang ich zu dem Fernsehfilm "Gypsy" mit Bette Midler in der Hauptrolle. Sur les carreaux rouges de la salle de séjour de ma famille, je dansais et chantais sur le film "Gypsy", avec Bette Midler, qui avait été réalisé pour la télévision. Nos ladrilhos vermelhos da sala da minha família, eu dançava e cantava o filme feito para a TV "Gypsy", estrelado por Bette Midler. (Singing) "I had a dream. A wonderful dream, papa." I would sing it with the urgency and the burning desire of a nine-year-old who did, in fact, have a dream. My dream was to be an actress. And it's true that I never saw anyone who looked like me in television or in films, and sure, my family and friends and teachers all constantly warned me that people like me didn't make it in Hollywood. But I was an American. I had been taught to believe that anyone could achieve anything, regardless of the color of their skin, the fact that my parents immigrated from Honduras, the fact that I had no money. I didn't need my dream to be easy, I just needed it to be possible. And when I was 15, I got my first professional audition. It was a commercial for cable subscriptions or bail bonds, I don't really remember. (Laughter)

What I do remember is that the casting director asked me, "Could you do that again, but just this time, sound more Latina." "Um, OK. So you want me to do it in Spanish?" I asked.

"No, no, do it in English, just sound Latina." "Well, I am a Latina, so isn't this what a Latina sounds like?" "Bem, eu sou uma latina, então não é assim que uma latina soa?" There was a long and awkward silence, and then finally, "OK, sweetie, never mind, thank you for coming in, bye!" Es herrschte eine lange und peinliche Stille, und dann schließlich: "OK, Süße, schon gut, danke fürs Kommen, tschüss!" Houve um silêncio longo e constrangedor e, finalmente, "OK, querida, não importa, obrigado por ter vindo, tchau!" It took me most of the car ride home to realize that by "sound more Latina" she was asking me to speak in broken English. Levei a maior parte da viagem de carro para casa para perceber que, por "soar mais latina", ela estava me pedindo para falar em um inglês ruim. And I couldn't figure out why the fact that I was an actual, real-life, authentic Latina didn't really seem to matter. Et je n'arrivais pas à comprendre pourquoi le fait que je sois une authentique Latina, dans la vraie vie, ne semblait pas avoir d'importance. E eu não conseguia entender por que o fato de eu ser uma latina autêntica da vida real realmente não parecia importar. Anyway, I didn't get the job. De qualquer forma, não consegui o emprego. I didn't get a lot of the jobs people were willing to see me for: the gang-banger's girlfriend, the sassy shoplifter, pregnant chola number two. Ich habe nicht viele der Jobs bekommen, für die mich die Leute sehen wollten: die Freundin eines Gangmitglieds, die freche Ladendiebin, die schwangere Chola Nummer zwei. Je n'ai pas obtenu beaucoup de postes pour lesquels les gens voulaient me voir : la petite amie du gangster, la voleuse à l'étalage impertinente, la chola enceinte numéro deux. (Laughter)

These were the kinds of roles that existed for someone like me. Someone they looked at and saw as too brown, too fat, too poor, too unsophisticated. Alguém para quem eles olhavam e viam como muito moreno, muito gordo, muito pobre, muito pouco sofisticado. These roles were stereotypes and couldn't have been further from my own reality or from the roles I dreamt of playing. Diese Rollen waren Stereotypen und hätten nicht weiter von meiner eigenen Realität oder von den Rollen, die ich zu spielen träumte, entfernt sein können. Esses papéis eram estereótipos e não poderiam estar mais longe da minha própria realidade ou dos papéis que eu sonhava representar. I wanted to play people who were complex and multidimensional, people who existed in the center of their own lives. Eu queria interpretar pessoas complexas e multidimensionais, pessoas que existiam no centro de suas próprias vidas. Not cardboard cutouts that stood in the background of someone else's. But when I dared to say that to my manager -- that's the person I pay to help me find opportunity -- his response was, "Someone has to tell that girl she has unrealistic expectations. Mais lorsque j'ai osé dire cela à mon supérieur hiérarchique - la personne que je paie pour m'aider à trouver des opportunités - sa réponse a été : "Quelqu'un doit dire à cette fille qu'elle a des attentes irréalistes. " And he wasn't wrong. I mean, I fired him, but he wasn't wrong. Quero dizer, eu o demiti, mas ele não estava errado. (Laughter)   (Applause)

Because whenever I did try to get a role that wasn't a poorly written stereotype, I would hear, "We're not looking to cast this role diversely. Chaque fois que j'essayais d'obtenir un rôle qui n'était pas un stéréotype mal écrit, j'entendais dire : "Nous ne cherchons pas à distribuer ce rôle de manière diversifiée. Porque sempre que eu tentava conseguir um papel que não fosse um estereótipo mal escrito, eu ouvia: "Não estamos procurando escalar esse papel de maneira diversa. " Or, "We love her, but she's too specifically ethnic. " Or, "Unfortunately, we already have one Latino in this movie. " I kept receiving the same message again and again and again. That my identity was an obstacle I had to overcome. Dass meine Identität ein Hindernis war, das ich überwinden musste. And so I thought, "Come at me, obstacle. Und so dachte ich: "Komm auf mich zu, Hindernis. J'ai donc pensé : "Viens à moi, obstacle. I'm an American. My name is America. I trained my whole life for this, I'll just follow the playbook, I'll work harder. Ich habe mein ganzes Leben lang dafür trainiert, ich werde mich einfach an die Regeln halten, ich werde härter arbeiten. " And so I did, I worked my hardest to overcome all the things that people said were wrong with me. "E foi o que fiz, dei o meu melhor para superar todas as coisas que as pessoas diziam que estavam erradas comigo. I stayed out of the sun so that my skin wouldn't get too brown, I straightened my curls into submission. Je restais à l'abri du soleil pour que ma peau ne devienne pas trop brune, je lissais mes boucles pour les soumettre. I constantly tried to lose weight, I bought fancier and more expensive clothes. Eu tentava constantemente perder peso, comprava roupas mais chiques e caras. All so that when people looked at me, they wouldn't see a too fat, too brown, too poor Latina. Tout cela pour que les gens ne voient pas en moi une Latina trop grosse, trop brune, trop pauvre. They would see what I was capable of. And maybe they would give me a chance.

And in an ironic twist of fate, when I finally did get a role that would make all my dreams come true, it was a role that required me to be exactly who I was. E em uma ironia do destino, quando finalmente consegui um papel que tornaria todos os meus sonhos realidade, era um papel que exigia que eu fosse exatamente quem eu era. Ana in "Real Women Have Curves" was a brown, poor, fat Latina. I had never seen anyone like her, anyone like me, existing in the center of her own life story. Ich hatte noch nie jemanden wie sie gesehen, jemanden wie mich, der im Zentrum ihrer eigenen Lebensgeschichte stand. Je n'avais jamais vu quelqu'un comme elle, quelqu'un comme moi, exister au centre de l'histoire de sa propre vie. I traveled throughout the US and to multiple countries with this film where people, regardless of their age, ethnicity, body type, saw themselves in Ana. J'ai voyagé à travers les États-Unis et dans de nombreux pays avec ce film où les gens, quel que soit leur âge, leur ethnie, leur type de corps, se sont vus dans Ana. A 17-year-old chubby Mexican American girl struggling against cultural norms to fulfill her unlikely dream. Une jeune Américaine mexicaine de 17 ans, grassouillette, lutte contre les normes culturelles pour réaliser un rêve improbable. Uma gordinha mexicana-americana de 17 anos lutando contra as normas culturais para realizar seu sonho improvável.

In spite of what I had been told my whole life, I saw firsthand that people actually did want to see stories about people like me. En dépit de ce que l'on m'avait dit toute ma vie, j'ai pu constater de visu que les gens voulaient vraiment voir des histoires sur des personnes comme moi. Apesar do que me disseram durante toda a minha vida, vi em primeira mão que as pessoas realmente queriam ver histórias sobre pessoas como eu. And that my unrealistic expectations to see myself authentically represented in the culture were other people's expectations, too. Und dass meine unrealistischen Erwartungen, mich in der Kultur authentisch repräsentiert zu sehen, auch die Erwartungen anderer Leute waren. "Real Women Have Curves" was a critical, cultural and financial success. "Great," I thought, "We did it! We proved our stories have value. Things are going to change now." But I watched as very little happened. Mas eu assisti como muito pouco aconteceu. There was no watershed. No one in the industry was rushing to tell more stories about the audience that was hungry and willing to pay to see them. Ninguém na indústria estava com pressa para contar mais histórias sobre o público que estava faminto e disposto a pagar para vê-los.

Four years later, when I got to play Ugly Betty, I saw the same phenomenon play out. Quatro anos depois, quando interpretei Ugly Betty, vi o mesmo fenômeno acontecer. "Ugly Betty" premiered in the US to 16 million viewers and was nominated for 11 Emmys in its first year. (Applause)

But in spite of "Ugly Betty's" success, there would not be another television show led by a Latina actress on American television for eight years. Mas, apesar do sucesso de "Ugly Betty's", não haveria outro programa de televisão liderado por uma atriz latina na televisão americana por oito anos. It's been 12 years since I became the first and only Latina to ever win an Emmy in a lead category. Já se passaram 12 anos desde que me tornei a primeira e única latina a ganhar um Emmy na categoria principal. That is not a point of pride. That is a point of deep frustration. Not because awards prove our worth, but because who we see thriving in the world teaches us how to see ourselves, how to think about our own value, how to dream about our futures. Nicht, weil Auszeichnungen unseren Wert beweisen, sondern weil wir von denjenigen, die wir in der Welt gedeihen sehen, lernen, wie wir uns selbst sehen, wie wir über unseren eigenen Wert nachdenken und wie wir von unserer Zukunft träumen. Non pas parce que les prix prouvent notre valeur, mais parce que ceux que nous voyons s'épanouir dans le monde nous apprennent à nous voir nous-mêmes, à réfléchir à notre propre valeur, à rêver à notre avenir. 不是因为奖项证明了我们的价值，而是因为我们看到谁在世界上蒸蒸日上，教会了我们如何看待自己，如何思考自己的价值，如何梦想自己的未来。

And anytime I begin to doubt that, I remember that there was a little girl, living in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. 每当我开始怀疑时，我记得有一个小女孩，住在巴基斯坦的斯瓦特河谷。 And somehow, she got her hands on some DVDs of an American television show in which she saw her own dream of becoming a writer reflected. D'une manière ou d'une autre, elle a mis la main sur des DVD d'une émission de télévision américaine dans laquelle elle a vu se concrétiser son propre rêve de devenir écrivain. E de alguma forma, ela conseguiu alguns DVDs de um programa de televisão americano no qual ela viu seu próprio sonho de se tornar um escritor refletido. In her autobiography, Malala wrote, "I had become interested in journalism after seeing how my own words could make a difference and also from watching the "Ugly Betty" DVDs about life at an American magazine. Dans son autobiographie, Malala écrit : "Je me suis intéressée au journalisme après avoir constaté que mes propres mots pouvaient faire la différence et après avoir regardé les DVD d'"Ugly Betty" sur la vie dans un magazine américain. "   (Applause) For 17 years of my career, I have witnessed the power our voices have when they can access presence in the culture. Por 17 anos de minha carreira, testemunhei o poder que nossas vozes têm quando podem acessar a presença na cultura. I've seen it. I've lived it, we've all seen it. In entertainment, in politics, in business, in social change. We cannot deny it -- presence creates possibility. But for the last 17 years, I've also heard the same excuses for why some of us can access presence in the culture and some of us can't. Our stories don't have an audience, our experiences won't resonate in the mainstream, our voices are too big a financial risk. Unsere Geschichten haben kein Publikum, unsere Erfahrungen finden im Mainstream keinen Widerhall, unsere Stimmen sind ein zu großes finanzielles Risiko. Just a few years ago, my agent called to explain to me why I wasn't getting a role in a movie. He said, "They loved you and they really, really do want to cast diversely, but the movie isn't financeable until they cast the white role first. Il m'a dit : "Ils t'ont aimé et ils veulent vraiment, vraiment, faire une distribution diversifiée, mais le film n'est pas finançable tant qu'ils n'ont pas distribué le rôle blanc en premier. Ele disse: "Eles amaram você e realmente querem um elenco diversificado, mas o filme não é financiável até que lancem o papel branco primeiro. " He delivered the message with a broken heart and with a tone that communicated, "I understand how messed up this is. "Il a délivré son message le cœur brisé et sur un ton qui disait : "Je comprends à quel point c'est le bordel. " But nonetheless, just like hundreds of times before, I felt the tears roll down my face. And the pang of rejection rise up in me and then the voice of shame scolding me, "You are a grown woman, stop crying over a job. J'ai senti monter en moi la douleur du rejet, puis la voix de la honte qui m'a grondée : "Tu es une adulte, arrête de pleurer pour un travail. E a pontada de rejeição surge em mim e então a voz da vergonha me repreendendo: "Você é uma mulher adulta, pare de chorar por causa de um trabalho. " I went through this process for years of accepting the failure as my own and then feeling deep shame that I couldn't overcome the obstacles. " Ich habe diesen Prozess jahrelang durchlaufen, indem ich das Scheitern als mein eigenes akzeptierte und mich dann tief schämte, dass ich die Hindernisse nicht überwinden konnte. "Passei por esse processo por anos aceitando o fracasso como meu e depois sentindo uma profunda vergonha por não ter conseguido superar os obstáculos. But this time, I heard a new voice. A voice that said, "I'm tired. I've had enough. Eu já tive o suficiente. " A voice that understood my tears and my pain were not about losing a job. They were about what was actually being said about me. What had been said about me my whole life by executives and producers and directors and writers and agents and managers and teachers and friends and family. Ce qui a été dit sur moi toute ma vie par des cadres, des producteurs, des réalisateurs, des écrivains, des agents, des managers, des professeurs, des amis et des membres de ma famille. That I was a person of less value. Que eu era uma pessoa de menos valor.

I thought sunscreen and straightening irons would bring about change in this deeply entrenched value system. Ich dachte, Sonnenschutzmittel und Glätteisen würden dieses tief verwurzelte Wertesystem verändern. Je pensais que la crème solaire et les fers à lisser allaient faire évoluer ce système de valeurs profondément ancré. Achei que protetor solar e chapinhas trariam mudanças nesse sistema de valores profundamente arraigado. But what I realized in that moment was that I was never actually asking the system to change. Mas o que percebi naquele momento foi que nunca pedi que o sistema mudasse. I was asking it to let me in, and those aren't the same thing. I couldn't change what a system believed about me, while I believed what the system believed about me. Ich konnte nicht ändern, was ein System über mich glaubte, während ich glaubte, was das System über mich glaubte. Je ne pouvais pas changer ce qu'un système croyait à mon sujet, alors que je croyais ce que le système croyait à mon sujet. And I did. Und ich tat. I, like everyone around me, believed that it wasn't possible for me to exist in my dream as I was. Ich glaubte, wie alle um mich herum, dass es mir nicht möglich war, in meinem Traum so zu existieren, wie ich war. Comme tout le monde autour de moi, j'ai cru qu'il n'était pas possible d'exister dans mon rêve tel que j'étais. And I went about trying to make myself invisible. What this revealed to me was that it is possible to be the person who genuinely wants to see change while also being the person whose actions keep things the way they are. Dies hat mir gezeigt, dass es möglich ist, die Person zu sein, die wirklich Veränderungen sehen will, und gleichzeitig die Person zu sein, deren Handlungen die Dinge so halten, wie sie sind. Ce que cela m'a révélé, c'est qu'il est possible d'être la personne qui souhaite sincèrement le changement tout en étant la personne dont les actions maintiennent les choses telles qu'elles sont. O que isso me revelou foi que é possível ser a pessoa que genuinamente deseja ver a mudança e, ao mesmo tempo, ser a pessoa cujas ações mantêm as coisas do jeito que estão. And what it's led me to believe is that change isn't going to come by identifying the good guys and the bad guys. Ce qui m'a amené à penser que le changement ne se fera pas en identifiant les bons et les méchants. That conversation lets us all off the hook. Dieses Gespräch lässt uns alle vom Haken. Cette conversation nous libère tous de nos responsabilités. Essa conversa deixa todos nós fora do gancho. Because most of us are neither one of those. Denn die meisten von uns sind weder das eine noch das andere. Porque a maioria de nós não é nenhum desses.

Change will come when each of us has the courage to question our own fundamental values and beliefs. And then see to it that our actions lead to our best intentions. Und dann sorgen Sie dafür, dass unser Handeln zu unseren besten Absichten führt. I am just one of millions of people who have been told that in order to fulfill my dreams, in order to contribute my talents to the world I have to resist the truth of who I am. Sou apenas uma entre milhões de pessoas que ouviram que, para realizar meus sonhos, para contribuir com meus talentos para o mundo, preciso resistir à verdade sobre quem sou. I for one, am ready to stop resisting and to start existing as my full and authentic self. Ich für meinen Teil bin bereit, mit dem Widerstand aufzuhören und als mein volles und authentisches Selbst zu existieren. Eu, pelo menos, estou pronto para parar de resistir e começar a existir como meu eu completo e autêntico.

If I could go back and say anything to that nine-year-old, dancing in the den, dreaming her dreams, I would say, my identity is not my obstacle. My identity is my superpower. Because the truth is, I am what the world looks like. Parce que la vérité, c'est que je suis ce à quoi ressemble le monde. Porque a verdade é que eu sou o que o mundo parece. You are what the world looks like. Vous êtes ce à quoi ressemble le monde. Você é o que o mundo parece. Collectively, we are what the world actually looks like. Coletivamente, somos o que o mundo realmente parece. And in order for our systems to reflect that, they don't have to create a new reality. Und damit unsere Systeme dies widerspiegeln, müssen sie keine neue Realität schaffen. They just have to stop resisting the one we already live in.

Thank you.

(Applause)