I’m going to go ahead and say it — I don’t like Jennifer Lawrence. Her whole cool girl persona seems like a farce.
But I do respect her after she wrote an open letter about the pay gap between male and female actors.
Lawrence’s inclination to act differently at work just because she is a woman is something many women experience, and I’m glad she wrote about it — even though she’s not the best person to bring up the conversation.
Lawrence wrote this short piece for the new “Lenny Letter,” a feminist newsletter collaboration between Lena Dunham of “Girls” and Jenni Konner, who produces the HBO hit. Lawrence’s writing describes her feelings when she discovered she and Amy Adams were paid significantly less to act in the movie “American Hustle” than their male co-stars after the Sony email hacks.
While it is more than fair to say Lawrence is making more than enough dough, that isn’t the issue here. The issue is she and another female star were paid significantly less than the male stars for the same movie, which further demonstrates the overwhelming fact that women of all professions are paid less than their male counterparts, as proven by numerous studies.
Lawrence cites her hesitation to speak up and fight for a better deal is largely to blame for this pay difference; she didn’t want people to see her as unpleasant. In the letter, Lawrence writes, “I would be lying if I didn’t say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn’t want to seem ‘difficult’ or ‘spoiled.’”
The situation of feeling like you need to hold back so your boss won’t think you’re demanding is a feeling most women have or will experience in their lifetime. In the workplace, a woman being liked by her co-workers is akin to men being respected by their co-workers. While being liked and respected are not mutually exclusive, deep-seeded societal misogyny makes it pretty impossible for women to achieve both in their professions.
While I am more than happy to have a conversation about the wage gap between men and women — in correlation with the narrative of women feeling they need to be liked to get ahead — I am more concerned that a movie star incited the conversation. We have been overwhelmed with actresses recently coming out for or against feminism. It seems the new stock question for interviews with a female star is, “Are you a feminist?”
I understand the importance of famous actresses identifying as feminist or not. What I don’t understand is why actresses are basically controlling the conversation about feminism and what it means to be feminist in the present media climate when most actresses don’t seem to understand the definition of the term.
It is much more important for our politicians, world leaders and scholars to control the rhetoric surrounding the feminist movement. Conversations about feminism by famous actresses will never yield nationwide changes for women.
Having Jennifer Lawrence breathe life back into this important conversation almost makes the pay gap seem trivial or less pressing than it is in reality.
While I definitely do not think Lawrence is the best person to represent this issue, I really am glad she spoke out and brought attention to feminism and the pay gap.
rcm2@indiana.edu
@RachelCMiller1
