You probably already know Shonda Rhimes as the creator, writer, and producer of the holy trinity of ABC shows—Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. But, when she isn’t finding new ways to make us cry into our popcorn every Thursday night, she has been working on her new, wonderful website– shondaland.com. Let’s talk about it.
If you don’t know anything about Shonda Rhimes, allow me to enlighten you. Although she may be very active in the entertainment industry, Rhimes also is very outspoken in the political world. She uses her platform as a way to get people, specifically women, educated about and involved in our current events. Her website also features publications of women discussing a wide variety of topics such as modern politics, social interactions, mental and physical health, breaking news, celebrity news, relationship qualms, and even Rhimes’ forte– entertainment. Since it’s launching last May, shondaland.com has published many articles, interviews, and essays written on these topics by women for women, including an entire section of articles written by the infamous, fabulous Rhimes herself.
The articles on shondaland.com are put under one of seven umbrella topics: by Shonda, live, inspire, watch, act, style, and my personal favorite, real women. The real women section encompasses interviews and features of women looking to make an impact in both their community and the world. This section in particular really shows the resilience and strength found in powerful women by putting out the message that we can make a difference. Yes, thank you, I do have a tear in my eye.
In her own section, Rhimes delves deep and covers some issues closer to her heart. She talks about her own experience as a woman of color, discussing her body image and determined “place” in society. But, while Rhimes may discuss these more serious issues, she does it with her classic charm that we love her for. Her article “On the Topic I Hate Discussing” pokes fun at her experience losing weight saying, “I hate maintaining my weight… I miss eating all the fried chicken.” And while this statement couldn’t be any more relatable, it’s important to point out that Rhimes also offers some truth in this article, saying, “Being thinner doesn’t make you a different person. It just makes you thinner.” Preach it, Shonda!
Outside of Rhimes’ personal section, the rest of the articles on her site cover pretty much every end on the spectrum when it comes to tone. Some articles are more serious and hard-hitting, while others will literally make you laugh out loud. On the website’s About page, the women of the Shondaland community make sure to clearly state their purpose, saying, “Showing you the extraordinary possibilities of your story is why we exist.” I’m sorry, but you’re lying if you say you weren’t the least bit inspired by that message.
Her website provides a wonderful platform to educate women everywhere on themselves and the world around them, and if you couldn’t tell already, we love it.
On behalf of women everywhere, thank you Shonda. Truly.