Do we even need to keep explaining what feminism actually is anymore? Judging by the media, and how certain people either balk at the word or totally misinterpret it, yes. Sadly, yes we do.
Which is why we are all about promoting and supporting women and men who advocate the need for feminism and continue to explain what it really stands for. The latest in a long list of celebs who advocate feminism is actress Kate Bosworth, who gave a stellar performance as Oscar-nominee Julianne Moore’s daughter in ‘Still Alice’.
Kate appears on the cover of Elle Canada and talks about how her breakout role in ‘Blue Crush’ still inspires women today, moving out of her 20s, and female empowerment.
The actress known for her two different colored eyes and keen fashion sense is heavily involved in girls activist org. I Am That Girl which is a community and movement dedicated to helping girls become the empowered individuals they were born to be, and they do this through workshops, events and more.
Although she made ‘Blue Crush’ early in her career, she loves what an impact the film is making on girls.
“I’m proud of that movie,” she says, calling it the most important moment of her career. “So many women have told me that it empowered them.”
The film also inspired her personally, as her character was a female surfer challenging stereotypes in a male-driven sport. At the time she was also only being offered stereotypical blonde surfer-girl-type roles so it also became a catalyst for her to stretch beyond the boundaries being placed around her.
Now that Kate is in her 30s, she likes that she can be more conscious in choosing her roles.
“People talk about the transition that happens for child actors,” she said. “There’s another transition that happens just around 30. I’m most excited about my career now because I can take what I’ve experienced and translate that into these roles.”
Speaking of her 30s, Kate is happy to be where she is in life and acknowledges her 20s were all about learning.
“There’s only so much you know about yourself at that age and only so many roles you can play. You get all the battle wounds and scars, but there was a point where I started looking for more complex roles, and I had to wait to grow into that.”
When asked by Elle whether she describes herself as a feminist (by the way, what is WITH all these media outlets asking female celebs this question constantly??!!) she responds in the best way possible, alleviating any possible misnomers that could get taken out of context.
She brings up Emma Watson’s He For She campaign speech inviting men to partner with women in the fight for gender equality and says that is how she feels about feminism.
“I was so moved by her. I think the word ‘feminist’ should feel inclusive and be about equality rather than a tipped scale. She highlighted that so brilliantly.”
While we wish she could’ve said more about why she liked Emma’s speech and her thoughts on the state of gender equality today, it is important we have an array of celebrity voices in the greater public dialog. Why? Because we unfortunately live in a celebrity-obsessed aged (we can’t wait until we live in an activist/philanthropist-obsessed age, just saying…) so the more positive messages celebrities contribute, the better off we are.
Keira Knightley is another actress who has been very adamant about her stance on feminism, and doesn’t hold back. In an interview with LA Times ahead of awards season this year, she talks about the need for more women’s stories to be shared in the film industry, and that feminism shouldn’t be viewed as something “accomplished” now that it is a trending topic.
“Up until 2011, I would talk about feminism quite a lot in interviews and absolutely get laughed at by female journalists. On one hand, I completely understand that; it’s very difficult for anyone who models or objectifies their body to talk about feminism,” she said.
“On the other hand, you go, ‘No, there isn’t equal pay, there are horrendous domestic abuse problems in England and America, and every woman has a right to say that there aren’t enough female stories.’ It’s incredibly important for media to continue the discussion and really push for it and don’t say, ‘That’s passé. Oh, no, that’s a problem of the past’.”
That right there is a perfect explanation of why the world should not be done speaking up about feminism.
She too agrees with Emma Watson’s speech about inviting men to the conversation as it will highlight the importance even more.
“I think it’s very important to raise boys who are feminists and very important to raise girls who don’t expect Prince Charming and allow men to be emotional and weak at points and strong at points. We’re looking for equality and not gender stereotypes.”
Agreed!
