Jennifer Lawrence is
a well-known Oscar winning American actress, who can be seen in films such as
The Hunger Games, Silver Linings Playbook, and The X-Men Series. Recently
Jennifer Lawrence, also known as J-Law wrote an essay entitled, “Why Do I Make
Less Than My Male Co-Stars” for fellow actress Lena Dunham’s feminist and
political newsletter, Lenny.
If you can recall from
last year’s headlines concerning the payroll emails belonging to Sony Pictures
being hacked, the emails exposed the pay gap between female and male actors in
the film industry, J-Law’s pay being one of the exposed.
In J-Law’s article
she expresses her frustration about gender equality, specifically her recent
experience with the gender pay gap. If you are familiar with Jennifer
Lawrence’s personality you would know that she is one of the most sarcastic and
funny yet likable and relatable celebrities in the industry, constantly making
fun of herself on red carpets, shedding light on the importance of body image
and not being the “cookie cutter” girl next door. In this self-written
essay Lawrence speaks about the idea of “trying to express our (women)
opinion’s in a certain way that doesn’t “offend” or “scare” men.” Lawrence’s light but firm tone expresses her
frustration with the unspoken rules that society has forced upon women to
maintain this balance of femininity, intelligence, and power. Women like
Jennifer Lawrence are praised for their performance in many roles, their flawless
ability to adapt from character to character, and for being a positive role
model for young women around the world by speaking out against body shaming but
when the hacked email’s exposed the gender pay gap to the world, Lawrence
remained pretty silent on how her male counterparts were clearly being paid
more than she was even for roles where she was clearly the star of the film and
they, being the men, were casted as the supporting role.
Lawrence
admits her hesitation to speak up on the subject of feminism stating that,
“I’ve remained ever so slightly quiet. I don’t like joining conversations that
feel like they’re ‘trending’… but with a lot of talk comes change, so I want to
be honest and open and fingers crossed, not piss anyone off.” Lawrence
continues writing, admitting that at the time (and even now) she didn’t want to
seem “difficult” or “spoiled” by bringing up the issue of pay but after seeing
in plain sight the difference in pay she realized that the men she was working
with had no problem in expressing themselves and requesting or in some cases
demanding more pay to secure a role. Lawrence also talks about the common
attitude that many women encounter of not wanting to “disrupt the peace” or be
a “burden” so instead of bringing up these issues that affect women, we as
women stay quiet and ladylike, while men continue to get exactly what they want
not thinking about the consequences of how they may be perceived by society.
Lawrence explains a recent experience where she did in fact, speak her mind and
gave her opinion in a clear and direct way not intending to be “aggressive” but
the man she was speaking to reacted to her in a way where one have thought that
she exploded and berated him. Lawrence says she was actually shocked because
nothing she had said was offensive or in fact wrong. The main issue being that
if it were a man delivering the same feedback to another man in the same way
Lawrence did, there would be no question of his delivery or the fact that he
was assertive or expressed his opinion. Lawrence writes, “ I’m over trying to
find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable… I don’t think
I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he
should use to have his voice heard. It’s just heard.”
In an essay written by Patricia Hill Collin’s she discusses the dimensions of
oppression which are institutional, symbolic, and individual. The gender wage
gap is an example of symbolic oppression, which is where realities manifest in
symbols and relations are used to justify domination and subordination. By
keeping women under paid for doing the same job, our culture continues to allow
the oppression of women. Collins touches on the common theme that women often
feel like they cannot speak their mind without being labeled as “crazy” or “outspoken” but when men speak up they are
labeled as a “boss” or “assertive” or my personal favorite “a leader.”
Patriarchy is defined as a social organization where the man is in charge of all
aspects. Patriarchy is a form of oppression in the sense that it calls for a
system where men are dominant and women are encouraged to obey and follow the
lead of men. Jennifer Lawrence represents a woman’s voice that is willing to stand
up and call out the industry for its inequality. In closing, Lawrence’s essay has gotten a lot
of press since it's release, even prompting other female actors to fall behind
her in support while others say that her essay was “attacking.” I think it is important for women in the
spotlight to raise their voice on such issues because if they won’t then I
question who will.
Photo from the original LENNY article... I highly recommend subscribing to LENNY not only is it important but it's funny and witty.
