Featured Photo by Destiny Mizell
Story by Destiny Mizell
Brittany Broski flew from Los Angeles to Murfreesboro to answer student-asked questions about her current heartthrobs, music taste and experiences as a female content creator and comedian.
Students nearly covered the perimeter of the Student Union Building’s second floor waiting for the event to start Thursday night. Empty seats in the Student Union Ballroom were scarce.
Signs displaying the event’s information and a QR code to submit questions cropped up in multiple locations on Middle Tennessee State University’s campus about a month before Broski’s arrival.
Women in Film President, Mak Johnson, sat across from Broski and quizzed her on the material submitted as well as her own questions.
Both getting over colds, they endured scratchy, swollen throats throughout the conversation. Neither wanted to miss the opportunity to speak with one another, though. Broski expanded the discussion between the two of them and engaged with multiple students in the crowd as well.
Questions varied in seriousness from “Do you like ranch?” to “What makes you so confident in yourself and in your work?” Broski alternated between “deep” answers and cracking jokes at each.
Most of her responses were met with applause, laughter or affirmations such as “Amen,” “Yes queen” and “Slay.”
Confidence and female empowerment held a heavy influence on the conversation. Several of the questions and responses explored how Broski navigates being a popular comic on social media as a woman who doesn’t show the haters attention.
Though she enjoyed Broski’s content in the past, Johnson didn’t consider herself a part of the “Broski Nation” until after she got the opportunity to moderate the event; She was selected by the National Women’s History Month Committee in partnership with Student Programming and Raider Entertainment. After getting more in touch with Broski’s content and getting to know her, Johnson realized the correlation between the two of them.
“It became clear why I was sought to do this thing. She’s a woman, paving her way, just as I am. Only, I think she possesses a confidence I never quite ventured for,” Johnson said. “The biggest inspiration Brittany could provide is how to talk and be committed to what you’re saying.”
The pair spent a lot of time discussing some of Brittany’s favorite male celebrities such as Harry Styles, Hozier and Pedro Pascal, but they also discussed the patriarchy and its effect on women in the media.
Broski referenced other relevant issues in today’s world such as racial injustice and homophobia. She discussed finding the balance between using her platform — which she said only goes so far as a female influencer — and still entertaining her audience.
“To sit next to a woman who feels inclined to shift the internalized societal normative, it was amazing. The future of media, it’s female, non-binary and queer and it’s beyond beautiful,” Johnson said. “That future exists in both me and Brittany. It exists in so many of us.”
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on Twitter at @Sidelines_News.
