Gemma Chan covers Glamour Magazine UK’s latest digital issue. As I’ve said before, I love her. I think she’s drop-dead gorgeous and incredibly talented. As I read more of her interviews, my love for her has grown – she’s very smart and very British, and there’s a sharpness there, an edge. She’s not just roses and gardens and nothing controversial. No, Gemma gets into it. She’s political and socially aware. This cover celebrates Glamour UK’s “everyday is Women’s Day” issue, and so the topics of conversation are sexism, racism and toxic masculinity. Some highlights:
Everyday sexism: “Everyday sexism is bullsh-t …I retweeted an article the other day about the winners of the Grammy Awards and it listed all the ages of the female nominees but it didn’t mention the men’s ages. That’s everyday sexism. When I talk to my friends, there are a number of times little things that happen throughout the day can build up. They can weigh you down and they can get on top of you. That is the sad and terrifying reality that many of us women and men have to face. I think it’s important that we do call people out on it, but ultimately, it’s a pattern of behaviour. It’s all part of a system that I very much don’t see it as men versus women. It’s about us working together to dismantle a system that is really oppressive to all of us.”
Men as allies: “It always really heartens me when a man does speak out not to just defend women, but to make it clear they are an ally. It is so important. We can’t do it without allies to the cause. As much as we ask, ‘How can we solve violence against women?’, the majority of violence is perpetuated by men. We need to be talking to boys and men about that and men need to be talking to their peers and to the younger generation and educating them about challenging ideas about toxic masculinity. We can’t do it without bringing men along for the ride.”
Discussions of ageing: “Discussions around ageing have been a way of controlling women, making women feel insecure about ourselves and as if they aren’t adequate. We need to change things, especially in the beauty industry. The ageing process is going to happen to all of us – how are we going to deal with it? I think ‘anti-ageing’ is a prehistoric term.”
How she feels about ageing personally: “Obviously, I will probably have a huge freak out about it. I completely recognise that I work in an industry where your looks and your appearance do play a part in what you get cast in, for better or for worse. It’s going to be tough but at the same time I hope that I can deal with it with some grace. If you have enough in your life that you are invested in, that you care about beyond the surface, I think you can deal with it. If you only care about the superficial and appearances, then you are setting yourself up for a fall.”
Discrimination is not over: “It’s a lazy comment and people who say that, who say homophobia doesn’t exist, that racism doesn’t exist, they say that from such a privileged place. Usually, it comes from people who are not gay or not a person of colour and just because you haven’t seen it or experienced it doesn’t mean that someone else isn’t experiencing it. Just open your eyes to what is going on in the world! I’ve certainly become better educated about what, for example, black people have gone through as well as what other kinds of Asians have gone through and what Jewish people have to face. We all have skin in the game, it is imperative that all of us stand up for each other, because prejudice against one group will bleed into prejudice against other groups.”
Nothing she says here is shocking or breaking news, but it’s still important for prominent women to come out and say these things. It reminds me a bit of the “are you a feminist?” question every actress got several years ago – while it seemed like a stupid and retro way to go about having that conversation about feminism, I think a lot of women ended up learning a lot and we did have a lot of important conversations about feminism, even though we fell into the discussion ass-backwards. That led to the outing of sexual predators, which led to MeToo, which led to Time’s Up, and on and on (hopefully).
Also, I’ve truly never heard it said this way: “Discussions around ageing have been a way of controlling women, making women feel insecure about ourselves and as if they aren’t adequate.” That’s interesting. She’s not wrong.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Glamour UK.
Finally!!!!! I have been saying this for years and finally someone has said the same thing I have been fighting people (that’s include “ignorant men”) for me to be heard.
I like what she says about men as allies and how she connects the dots between the messages boys and men are constantly sent, and violence against women. There’s a need to help women and girls who personally experience violent misogyny and the things that often come with it, and there’s also a need to actively change the messages that fuel those violent, destructive experiences. Both are necessary, and both are hard work that require different kinds of sacrifices.
Gemma is spot on about ageism…a quick link: Madonna will be releasing her New álbum. How much of the criticism will be related to her age instead of her work?
I am not a fan of Madonna, but the bits I’ve heard from this album sound pretty good. And of course, men can release music and act “provocatively” on stage, etc and it’s OK no matter what their age. But women… nope. We can’t allow that.
Good point. No matter what site you’re on, it seems like almost every conversation about Madonna devolves either into slut-shaming, or virtue-signaling about how pathetic, fug, and antifeminist she is for getting work done. The first time I probably noticed this pattern was around 2009, and it’s still the same.
She is beyond gorgeous and sounds very bright and informed. I’ll be paying attention to her career, hope she gets many more big roles in the future!
Wow, that is SO true! When do we ever hear about aging in articles about men? Doesn’t happen. Every article with Helen Mirren will mention it while articles about George Clooney do not. I love this woman. She was so amazing as a dominatrix in Secret Diary of a Call girl. It’s so nice to see her finally getting the spotlight she deserves.
Yes and ever notice how they always leave wrinkles on men on the cover of magazines? When is the last time you saw a wrinkle on a woman on the cover of a magazine? They photo shop and airbrush the hell out of women to the point they look like cartoons !
The majority of people that buy anti-aging potions and lotions are female. We do it to ourselves (thanks to brainwashing from the media). We, ourselves, have to break that cycle.
Gah I just LOVE her!
I love Gemma!! She knows she’s in an industry that values looks and she’s trying to do something to change that. I admire her for speaking up. I’m in my early 40s but I don’t wear any makeup aside from tinted sunscreen. The bags under my eyes and the dark spots on my face are there for everyone to see. I want people to know what a 40ish year old woman looks like. I hate that women feel pressure to look or act a certain way. F*ck that. If I have anything to do with it, my daughter will have a similar view of the world. We have a long way to go.
I never thought I would become obsessed with signs of aging in myself, but at 40 I’m handling it with less grace than I’d hoped! Part of it is that the line between my eyebrows and the natural dark circles under my eyes make me look angry and tired all the time, and I really hate looking in the mirror to see it.
My take is that Western culture, besides being incredibly sexist, neither values wisdom nor signs of age that are usually required to become wise. Especially right now, it’s all about the surficial and immediate.
She’s so smart and so wonderful. A beautiful soul. Breathtaking inside and out.
She is so clever and this is so true. We fetishise youth so much more when it comes to women, and part of is because our societies demand women who are seen as compliant and inexperienced – which young women aren’t necessarily of course! But I know for myself that while I wasn’t compliant in my early 20s, I put up with things I would never put up with in my 30s. I know better now and have the resources and network and tools to stand up for myself.
It’s also so that men can undermine women with experience and power, women who have the wisdom of a lifetime. It’s the same reason people put down women in politics for their clothes or hair. I love fashion but it’s cruel to put down someone who clearly doesn’t have an interest in it, but has all kinds of other achievements. It absolutely is a form of control, it’s a form of undermining and restricting and overruling women.
She’s on the money about ageism. As a 54 year old woman, I feel I am entering a season of personal power and wisdom and potential. Sadly, culture tries to neutralize that by pretending women my age are invisible and/or unattractive. I’m simply not accepting it – starting with my own mindset and rejecting the concept of (any any product labeled) anti-aging. Let’s face it, aging beats the alternative (premature death).