Thandie Newton: We need a specific word for women who despise other women
I used to not like Thandie Newton that much, but she’s grown on me over the years and nowadays, I like that she’s sort of unapologetically using her platform as a celebrity to speak about some issues that usually bum people out. Thandie does that with this interview with The Edit. First off, the editorial is really pretty, right? In these photos, she looks a bit like Ruth Negga, but that’s because Negga’s face is etched into my mind because of Loving (but seriously, they could be sisters). As for the interview… yeah, Thandie is a bummer. She even admits that at one point. But God bless her, she’s using her platform. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:
Being the daughter of a British father & a Zimbabwean mother: “I was the kid who was complicated to be friends with, because I was brown. But I’m quite glad of that, now. I realized how useful being alone is for figuring out your relationship to life. For me especially. I’m challenged all the time: being a woman who doesn’t want to communicate sexually as a way of making people comfortable; being a woman in a tough industry; being a spokesperson for voiceless women; being African, but also being English. There are so many things I need to speak for. It’s who I am so I may as well have a little root around. And I’m a mother; I want to figure this stuff out for my children, too.”
Everyday Sexism: “Do you ever contribute to [the blog] Everyday Sexism? I want to, but I’d have to do it endlessly; I’d have to do it about so many people I work with.” In fact, Newton doesn’t need to use Everyday Sexism; she has repeatedly talked about her experiences to the press; about the audition where they filmed up her skirt, a drunk producer telling her years later that they would watch the footage at parties. “I talk about misogyny endlessly, because it’s part of everything. I have learned that in organizations where young people are unsupervised, there is more infrastructure to protect perpetrators of abuse than there is to protect the children. And I have been through so many of those institutions, whether schools or film sets. Yes, it is terrifying, but it’s more terrifying when we don’t speak about it. There’s such a huge gap between what’s presented to us as the thing, and what the thing really is.”
After telling a horrific story about children being raped: “Sorry. I realize that I tend to be a bit of a bum out sometimes, because I bring stuff like this up all the time. But only because it really f****** bothers me. I’ve been cut out of people’s lives often because I’ve said things that are unpalatable. It hurts me like f****** hell.”
The word for women who despise women: “Do you know what we need? A word, like misogyny, but specifically for women who despise other women. Femishame?”
Thandie Newton: Debbie Downer? True story: sometimes I feel like a Debbie Downer. I worry too much and then I worry that I’m worrying too much and that I’m being too pessimistic with my worst case scenarios. That being said, it’s difficult to NOT be a pessimist in these, the End of Days. See? I did it again! As for the word for women hating women… why can’t women be misogynists too? Do we need another word for it?
Photos courtesy of The Edit.
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