The path that the female population has traveled in order to obtain equality and respect from their male counterparts has undoubtedly been a long and exhausting one. Still, going through it was necessary to find us where we are today, so being proud of all these achievements is the least we can do to celebrate the strength of our genre.
That is why news like the following makes our hearts fill with joy, because it is important to recognize when celebrities help to break outdated stereotypes and ideologies. This was the case of Jennifer Lawrence, who a decade ago established herself as one of the best protagonists of adolescent action films, playing the brave Katniss Everdeen for the saga of The Hunger Games.
The impact of her presence in a role that men commonly carried was a breath of fresh air, since considering that the first film was released in 2012, seeing a woman being in charge of saving the day was not at all common. For this reason, in an interview for VarietyJennifer let Viola Davis know that she understood that she carried a great responsibility.
However, Lawrence did not expect her talent and great artistic skills to take a backseat and that the central theme of her interpretation would be nothing more and nothing less than her weight. At present this situation would be unacceptable, but at that time, the protagonist of Mother! she had to stand her ground and face the consequences of refusing to lose weight for a movie.
Coupled with the fact that I was young and growing up and couldn’t diet, I didn’t know if I wanted all the girls who were going to dress up as Katniss to feel like they couldn’t do it because they were underweight. And I couldn’t let that get into my mind either.
Years earlier, in an interview for elle, the Oscar winner confessed that she would never starve herself for any role, which considering the time, was a very risky decision. It is important to mention that actresses such as Kate Winslet, Florence Pugh and Sophie Turner have also denounced how humiliating the casting and the film industry in general can be, since actresses are seen more as pieces of meat than professionals.
This is why Jennifer Lawrence’s decision is to be applauded, since positions like hers allowed there to be more diversity on the big screen today.