We Heart: Kristen Stewart for Calling Out Anti-Feminists

Kristen Stewart has grown a lot from her Twilight years: She’s no longer the meek Bella Swan waiting for a vampire in glittery armor to save her, but instead is restarting her career with standout indie performances. She stars in the upcoming film Camp X-Ray, in which she plays a disillusioned guard at Guantanamo Bay, and the role has given her a feminist outlook on women in Hollywood.

In an interview with The Daily Beast when a reporter asked what Stewart thought of young women actors being anti-feminist, she replied:

That’s such a strange thing to say, isn’t it? Like, what do you mean? Do you not believe in equality for men and women?… Sometimes, the loudest voice in the room isn’t necessarily the one you should listen to.

Great advice from a young actor who now has several strong female leads under her belt. In addition to Camp X-Ray, she played rock icon Joan Jett in The Runaways,  gave a rarefied look into the pressure of stardom in Clouds of Sils Maria and compellingly played a daughter coping with her mother’s dementia in Still Alice. To outrun her Twilight reputation, she has chosen to portray nuanced and vibrant women characters, something Hollywood can always use more of.

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K. Stew went on to comment on how male directors have more chances to make it, while with woman directors, one flop can end a career. She was talking specifically about her Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, an accomplished filmmaker whose career she feels took a dive after one box office failure.

[Women] need to make something that’s undeniably good. If a woman makes a bad movie, or does something stupid, then the door just slams shut. It’s fucked up.

She ended the interview with a comment we hope the Shailene Woodleys and Katy Perrys of Tinseltown will take to heart:

It’s a really ridiculous thing to say you’re not a feminist.

 Photo courtesy of kslover via Creative Commons 2.0.

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Associate editor of Ms. magazine