Celebrities – they’re just like us!
Like you and me, famous females encounter gender-bias in their daily lives but in a much more public way: in interviews.
Here are a few examples of interviews where our female role models come back with sophisticated and witty comments:
Matt Lauer to Anne Hathaway: “What’s the lesson learned from something like that [not wearing underwear in public]?”
AH: “… I was very sad that we live in an age when someone takes a picture of another person in a vulnerable moment and, rather than delete it, and do the decent thing, sells it. And I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality of unwilling participants…”
And again:
Radio Host To Lauren Conrad: “What is your favorite position?”
LC: “CEO”
Reporter to Scarlett Johansonn: “To get in shape for Black Widow did you have anything special to do in terms of the diet, like did you have to eat any specific food, or that sort of thing?”
SJ to Robert Downey Jr.: “How come you get the really interesting existential question, and I get the like, ‘rabbit food’ question?”
Also this:
Having these ridiculous questions posed to famous females works to both show how pervasive of an issue gender-bias is, as well as to open up discussion about this kind of discrimination. These questions show just how females are represented in modern society; women and their bodies are often sexualized in the media.
We should also keep in mind that this is not solely a problem of the rich and famous. While most of us are not asked what underwear we wore as Catwoman, we face blatant gender-bias all the time.
Gender equality has generally made a lot of progress but in entertainment industries there are many strides left to be made, in film particularly. Only 11% of clearly identifiable protagonists are female, 78% are male. 36% of films in 2013 employed 0 or 1 woman in the roles considered and 2% employed 10-13; whereas 1% of films employed 0 or 1 man, and 32% employed 10-13. Women also comprised only 6% of all directors in the top 250 films of 250. (Celluloid Ceiling 2013 Report) Similar statistics can be seen at all levels of the film industry. This reflects problems both within the industry and the culture surrounding it. Actresses are treated differently from their male counterparts and asked interview questions that reflect huge gender-biases.
Take it from these ladies...the lesson here, beyond the fact that the film industry structurally benefits men, is that even if society pushes you towards a role… You can play the part you want.