WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

America Ferrera‘s performance in the Barbie movie is a highlight, especially her incredible monologue towards the end of the film.

The movie’s exploration of what it’s like to be a woman in the real world packs an unexpected punch, especially when subversively served up within the plastic perfection of Barbie Land, and America Ferrera‘s speech as Gloria in the movie is perhaps the hardest-hitting moment.

Greta Gerwig told The Cut that she wrote the monologue herself, but that she and America “would text each other anything related to it” over several months until they came to a final version.

Keep reading to find out more…

In the film, Gloria and her daughter Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt, help save Barbie Land from a patriarchal takeover by Ken (Ryan Gosling), and Gloria delivers an emotional monologue about being a woman.

Here is the full transcript:

“It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.

“You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

“But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

“I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know.”

You may be surprised to know which actors turned down Barbie roles!