Entertainment
7 Feminist Keira Knightley Quotes, Because She's Been Outspoken About Feminism Since The Beginning
Feminism is not a new hot-button topic in Hollywood. It's only in recent years that asking celebrities (mostly female celebrities) about their allegiance to the movement/concept/word/whatever you want to call it has bubbled to the surface, but there ain't nothing new about the thing itself. Just ask Keira Knightley, who's been talking openly about her feminism for most of her career. Her Pirates Of The Caribbean days may be behind her, but Knightley's still singing the praises of feminism — from contemplating the stigma attached to the word to advocating for more complex female characters and women behind the scenes in Hollywood.
Here are seven of Knightley's best quotes relating to feminism.
On The Stigma Of The F-Word
“I don’t know what happened through the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s that took feminism off the table, that made it something that women weren’t supposed to identify with and were supposed to be ashamed of. Feminism is about the fight for equality between the sexes, with equal respect, equal pay, and equal opportunity. At the moment we are still a long way off that.” —An interview with Style, 2015
On Knowing Your Boundaries
“I really believe that in this industry women have to be very true to themselves about what they’re comfortable with. It’s the same thing with sex scenes in films. You have to know your boundaries. But I’m not going to pretend that I’m not comfortable with something I actually am comfortable with.“ —An interview with Elle , 2006.
On Taking The Focus Off Of Looks
“Whatever people say about my weight they are all wrong. Hollywood is all about the way you look and I don’t think that’s the healthy thing for anyone.” —To People Magazine, 2006
On The Dearth Of Female Stories In Hollywood
“Where are the female stories? Where are the directors, where are the writers? It’s imbalanced, so given that we are half the cinema-going public, we are half the people [who] watch drama or watch anything else, where is that? …I think the pay [gap in the entertainment business] is a huge thing, but I’m actually more concerned over the lack of our voices being heard.” —An interview with Style, 2015.
On Eschewing Photoshop
“I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters. And that [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine doing the topless shot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch.’ Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are.” —An interview with The Times of London, 2014.
On The Secret Behind Men Having It All
“I’ll go to work at 5:30 in the morning; I wouldn’t get back probably until 9 o’clock at night. Most of the guys that I talk to — and I’ve spoken to a lot of guys about it — they say [whispers], ‘My wife does everything.’ You think, ‘Why wasn’t I thinking about this five years ago?’” —In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar , 2014.
On Yearning For Complex Characters
“Female stories and female voices are very often missed out on, completely. Very often in every section of culture women are lost; every actress will say the exact same thing to you. We’re all looking for these interesting, inspiring, complex creatures… but they’re very difficult to find …It’s got to come from female writers, from female producers, from female directors — they’re the ones with the passion to tell stories and go out and get the money. Possibly I should be throwing my hat in that ring. But it means putting the producer’s hat on, not just the actor’s. Maybe that’s something I should do and will do. But I’m very lazy.” —An interview with the LA Times, 2015.
