Celebrities are often given a position of power; because of this, they have a platform on which they can discuss matters such as gender equality. There are countless celebrities that use this platform to empower women every single day, but Anna Kendrick wants to take this a step further.
Kendrick is consistently outspoken about issues that are important to her, which makes her a great person to move this conversation onto another level.
When the actress was asked about the problem of sexism in Hollywood, she replied “It shouldn’t be the most important conversation about sexism – because no one really wants to f***ing hear actors talk about this, because we’re in such positions of privilege.” While sexism is clearly an issue in every occurrence, Kendrick wants to shift the focus to a different realm.
“I would love to hear more about sexism that exists in other fields and how we can address that – but we keep getting asked about it.” Anna Kendrick is very aware of her position of privilege in Hollywood, and she feels that because of that, the sexism in other fields is a more pressing issue. The actress wants more people to join the conversation about these instances of sexism.
Anna Kendrick raises an important point in this interview that is often overlooked in the media. Celebrities are given the platform to talk about the issues that they face every day in their industry; however, many people in other fields do not have this opportunity. Though all instances of sexism are important to discuss, Kendrick wants to give a voice to those who are not as privileged as she is and thus do not have the platform to discuss it publicly.
The star also encourages further education about the topics that people often ask for her opinion about. She says, “Well, it’s weird, isn’t it, because I feel like why would anybody want my ‘expert opinion’ on any of these topics? If you want to learn about intersectional feminism, read Roxane Gay, don’t ask me, you know? I’m being asked to speak on these things when I’m trying to learn about them myself.” Her acknowledgement of the fact that she is not an expert reminds us all that we need to continue to educate ourselves as we move forward.
Kendrick’s recognition of the fields that do not get press coverage reminds others to expand the conversation. As the conversation about sexism grows in voices and expands in range, we can continue to empower ourselves and each other.
Featured Image by Gage Skidmore on Flickr
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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