When asked what issues "in the news" she's passionate about in a new interview with The Daily Beast (pegged to her new movie Camp X-Ray, in which she plays a soldier stationed at Guantanamo Bay), Kristen Stewart responds with the taciturn restraint of someone who's been through the media wringer more than once already. "I don't want to talk about that sh*t at all. Trust me, I'm only asking for it," she rues (ruing is such typical KStew, after all). "When it comes time to stand up and affect change, I'm not the type of person to shout from the rooftops."
But she can't help herself—nor should she have to—when it comes to the topic of gender equality. Stewart says she feels women in Hollywood have to really "persevere" to be taken seriously, and to remain being taken seriously even once they've overcome that first hurdle. "If a woman makes a bad movie, or does something stupid, then the door just slams shut. It's f*cked up," she says. Though it's mostly only inferred, it seems she feels this is a burden not placed so greatly on men in the industry. She lets rip a little more on the subject of feminism and, specifically, with regards to young women's rejection of the label:
"That's such a strange thing to say, isn't it? Like, what do you mean? Do you not believe in equality for men and women? I think it's a response to overly-aggressive types. There are a lot of women who feel persecuted and go on about it, and I sometimes am like, 'Honestly, just relax, because now you're going in the other direction.' Sometimes, the loudest voice in the room isn't necessarily the one you should listen to. Sure, the phrase "overly-aggressive types" sounds a little awkward, but what Stewart is getting at is, for the most part, a pretty nuanced take on the generational divide between feminist movements, or waves: "Relating it to my one little avenue, people say,"'If you want to make it in the film industry as a woman, you have to be a bitch." No, you are going to ruin any chance you have and give us a bad name. It's the overcompensation to where our generation goes, "Relax," because it's been easier for us, and because we don't have as much of the anger, so it's like we can't get behind it and it's a bit embarrassing."
And she brings it all back home on a high note: "But that being said, it's a really ridiculous thing to say you're not a feminist."
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