With so many celebrities fumbling the definition of feminism lately, it's refreshing to hear from those who truly do understand the fundamentals of gender equality.
"What If" star Zoe Kazan took down some misconceptions about feminism during an interview with The Frisky posted on Aug. 6.
"I do consider myself a feminist," she told The Frisky's Jessica Wakeman. "I was raised by a woman [screenwriter Robin Swicord, who wrote "Matilda" and "Little Women"] who would consider herself a feminist, so I think I was given certain values from a really young age about equality and about thinking of yourself as an equal."
A screenwriter herself, the 30-year-old Los Angeles native wrote and starred in the film "Ruby Sparks," widely considered a feminist commentary on the "manic pixie dream girl."
Kazan went on to flesh out the negative connotation that often comes with being a feminist and how she had to see past it herself:
I think that the [negativity associated with the] label discourages some women from calling themselves that. I think saying that "you’re a feminist" is a little bit like saying that you’re a humanist, because what it’s really about is equal opportunities and equal thinking about genders being only a part of your identity rather than something that would define you and define your character.. I had a hard time when I was younger sort of reconciling my feminism and my femininity.
Similar to Zooey Deschanel's take on being a feminist and feminine, Kazan told Wakeman an anecdote about a time she wore a Hello Kitty Band-Aid at a press event for "Ruby Sparks" and received some criticism. "I felt like, 'Who are you to tell me what my feminism means to me?'" Kazan told Wakeman. "Just because I wear a skirt doesn’t mean that I am inviting rape and just because I wear a Band-Aid that has a cartoon character on it doesn’t mean that I’m infantilizing myself."
Hello Kitty is a cat -- and who loves cats more than feminists? Problem solved.
Head over to The Frisky to read the rest of the interview.
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