The Mindy Effect
I’ve followed Mindy Kaling for all of my teenage life. I watched her as Kelly Kapoor, the business bitch, in The Office and then move on to become Mindy Lahiri, OB-GYN and role model to herself, in The Mindy Project. In between, I’ve read and immensely related to both of her books and liked her every social media post. I’ve tweeted about The Mindy Project so much that the show’s Twitter direct messaged me asking if they could mail me Mindy Lahiri themed pins to thank me for my devotion. I’ve lost track of the number of people who have watched the show and then expressed to me, “You remind me exactly of Mindy!” It’s my favorite compliment. I consider her my spirit animal, my soul mate even? (I’m still waiting for a tweet back to confirm) In my eyes, she can do no wrong. And honestly, she really hasn’t.
After writing, co-producing and acting in The Office, Mindy made the bold decision to write and produce her own show, The Mindy Project, where she is the lead character. However, after six incredible seasons, Mindy, who is currently pregnant, announced that the current airing season will be her last.
Throughout the production of the show, Mindy Kaling has had an undeniable impact on women who were for the first time able to relate to and see themselves represented not just as a woman in a supporting role, but as the star. As a curvier woman of color, Mindy Kaling is not the ideal Hollywood choice as the star of a romantic comedy television show, which is why Mindy insisted on creating her own role. Her ability to write, produce and star as a working mother looking for love on a successful television show is powerful. Her work ethic and passion for impressing on to young women the importance of working hard to get to where you want to go and become who you want to be is inspiring. Mindy is a gift to the entertainment industry, and her success only helps prove that women, especially women of color, are the future in media.
Mindy Kaling has not only significantly impacted the entertainment world, but her character, Mindy Lahiri, has also impacted the fashion world. Mindy Lahiri’s fashion is feminine, colorful and bold. She doesn’t stereotypically dress for her body type. She confidently embraces her curves, and wears and layers form-fitting, sparkly, bright, patterned clothing, showing average-sized women that no matter your size, you can wear fun fashion. Even as a workaholic OB-GYN and a single mother, she still prioritizes fashion, going to work every day in a perfectly put-together outfit. Mindy sends the message that women with any job and any body type can be fashionable and glamorous.
Salvador Perez, Mindy’s Emmy-nominated costume designer who both buys and custom makes her clothing, plays an important role in the empowerment of Mindy and the viewers of her show through her clothing. Mindy’s bold fashion has become so popular, he’s planning to release a Mindy Lahiri inspired retail line soon. Hulu even recently hosted an exhibit in Los Angeles showing a variety of Mindy’s iconic outfits from all six seasons, solidifying the importance of Mindy’s outfits in the show and the admiration that fans have of her fashion.
Mindy Lahiri is an unapologetically funny, loud, boy-crazy, pop-culture obsessed, workaholic, feminist woman. I will never forget how incredible it felt to watch her show for the first time and see someone so similar to my current self and someone who I hope to be in the future. I am so grateful I began watching The Mindy Project in my early formative high school years because admiring and watching Mindy on her show helped me to develop my own self-confidence. Learning Mindy Kaling is just as badass as her characters was an added bonus. I will forever advertise The Mindy Project to everyone I know as an important women-empowering show. So I will end my ode to Mindy by highly recommending binge watching The Mindy Project’s six seasons because sadly, the series finale is rapidly approaching. R.I.P. Mindy Lahiri, you will be missed, but your bearclaw-loving legacy will always live on.