What “Daisy Jones & The Six” Taught Me About Womanhood
Be a wild soul, be a rockstar, be a mother — because there’s more than one way to be a strong woman
There are some books that you read, and you feel like the author reached into your mind, into the very core of your feelings, and wrote your emotions so articulately, you wonder if it was written solely for you. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and The Six, with its poignant story of music, heartbreak, womanhood, and defying society’s expectations, is one of those books for me.
While I have never been an international rockstar struggling with addiction and beloved by every soul I speak with, this book resonated with me so strongly and pulls at my heartstrings every time I pick it up.
In my eyes, more than anything else, Daisy Jones and The Six is a book about strong women. The three main women in the story, Daisy, Karen, and Camila, are vastly different, but each is strong in their own way, refusing to accept a life that is less than they deserve.
Daisy Jones
The wild soul.
“I used to care when men called me difficult. I really did. Then I stopped. This way is better.” — Daisy, Daisy Jones and The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Throughout the novel, Daisy is defined by her passion. She knows who she is, and she refuses to fit into the mould of a woman that society expects her to be. She goes on stage barefoot and wears crop tops because that’s how she wants to dress, that’s what makes her comfortable, and she doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about it.
Daisy’s struggle with addiction is a prevalent theme of the story. At first glance, some might assume that her penchant for drugs makes her weak. I would beg to differ. Daisy is a woman who is shamelessly herself in a society and an industry that wants her to be small, to be palatable. Her passion for life is what makes her an incredible songwriter and an independent woman. When her addiction becomes too severe, and when her feelings threaten the relationships of those around her, she is self-aware enough to realize this and remove herself from the situation. She gets help. She becomes the woman she wants to be.
Daisy Jones is a passionate, independent, unapologetically original woman. She’s not perfect, and she never once pretends that she is. Her flaws and her passion make her a strong character that every reader can’t help but fall in love with.
“It was a man’s world… You either acted like one of the boys, which is the way I found. Or you acted real girlie and flirty… But Daisy, from the beginning, was sort of outside of all that. She was just sort of ‘Take me or leave me.’” — Karen, Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Karen Karen
The rockstar
“What I wanted didn’t fit in with having a husband. I wanted to be a rock star.” — Karen, Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
In the novel, Karen wants to be a rockstar since she was a child. She never wants to settle down, live a life with a picket fence, a husband, 2.5 children, and a dog. Her drive and determination to succeed don’t allow for that sort of life. Karen knows she is an extremely talented keyboardist; she also knows that she is a woman in a male-dominated field. Does she let that deter her from pursuing her rockstar dream? Absolutely not.
Karen wants to be respected for her talent, not to be sexualized for her gender. So, as a contrast to Daisy’s crop tops, Karen performs in turtlenecks, setting aside traditional ideas of what it looks like to be feminine and sexy and opting to be her own person. She consistently refuses to let anyone else define for her what a female rockstar should look like.
“I had this really great mini-dress… I didn’t wear it. Because I knew they’d see a girl. And I wanted them to see a keyboardist.” — Karen, Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Karen knows that strong women don’t just look like wives and mothers. Strong women can also look like rockstars.
Camila Dunne
The mother
“She was no wallflower. You just had to be paying attention to see it.” — Karen on Camila, Daisy Jones and The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Camila’s confidence is her defining characteristic throughout the novel. Camila Dunne is a woman in full control of who she is and what she wants for her life, and she refuses to let anyone get in the way of that vision. She is a wife and mother in a world of rockstars, but she knows that she doesn’t have to be famous to find worth and strength; she finds that for herself through her family.
While her husband struggles with maintaining sobriety, Camila supports him when he needs it and steps aside when he’s earned her trust. She fights for her family against drugs and beautiful women that threaten to tear her world apart because she knows that her family is something worth fighting for. She’s not a woman to stand on the sidelines and watch her world burn down; she’s the one to step in and douse the flames before they become an inferno.
Despite her husband’s closeness to Daisy Jones, Camila never sees Daisy as an enemy but as a woman. Camila sees Daisy’s struggles, tries to support her, and, most importantly, calls her out when Daisy needs it most. Camila knows her strength and is confident in it, and consistently serves as a solid support system for those around her.
Passion. Drive. Confidence.
The women of Daisy Jones and The Six are crafted in such a way that you want to emulate the best parts, and maybe even the messy parts, of all of them. Like so many others, they are forced to be strong in a world that wants all women to fit inside a mould of what society defines as “woman.” But they refuse to let society tell them who they should be.
They told Daisy to be less. She said I am who I am.
They told Karen to be feminine. She said I am a rockstar.
They told Camila to be passive. She said I am a fighter.
These characters show me, more than anything else, that womanhood is strength. I see my own emotions reflected in theirs, and it breaks my heart while simultaneously reminding me that I am not alone. But I think the best characters always do that.
