Lest the doe-eyes and vintage flair fool anyone, Zooey Deschanel has reminded us of one thing she is decidedly non-retro about.
In the August issue of InStyle, Deschanel tells writer Mike Albo that she's sick of the sexist double standard implicit in the "do you want kids" question:
'Like every woman is dying to give birth! I don’t think so. Nobody asks guys that,' she says, gaining steam. 'And you go into a supermarket and every tabloid is like, ‘Pregnant and Alone!’ Stuck in the 1950s ideal of how a woman should live her life. This brings out the fiery feminist in me,' she pronounces.
Deschanel's words ring true in a culture that tends to view childfree women of a certain age as sad victims of circumstance rather than individuals making a valid choice. But the 34-year-old "New Girl" star is in pretty good company: Cameron Diaz explained her childfree status to Esquire earlier this month, saying "I'm just what I am. I work on what I am. Right now, I think, things are good for me. I've done a lot."
Given all the perks of being childfree, it's confusing why anyone expects women to become pregnant before they are certain they'd like to birth a new human and raise it for 18 years. Comments like Deschanel's chip away at the antiquated notion that women are in a race to procreate.
With a hit television series, capsule collection for Tommy Hilfiger, an upcoming album, a successful website and three upcoming films, we'd say there's no room on Deschanel's plate for baby food. Perhaps, one fine day, people will stop asking when there might be.
Correction: An earlier version of this post referred to the magazine as the July issue. The interview was actually featured in the August issue of InStyle.