"As a feminist in Hollywood": 'Big Bang' star triggers Shitstorm
The trigger for the debate is the current scandal surrounding Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The 65-year-old is suspected of having exploited his power position for decades to sexually harass aspiring young actresses and models. Against this background, did Mayim Bialik write an essay for The New York Times? with the goal of providing insights into the Hollywood glittering world and the pressures that women are subjected to.
Industry turns women into objects
"What it's like to be a feminist in Harvey Weinstein's world" is the title of the very personal article. In it, Mayim tells how she got into the show business as a child star. As the leading actress of the series "Blossom" the US-American became famous at the age of eleven. However, she has never wanted to bow to industry standards, she says. "I have always been uncomfortable working in an industry that turns women into objects and profits from them."
After all, she quickly found that women who conform to the common ideal of beauty were given more roles "by the powerful men who made these decisions". As a teenager, she had thought about a nose surgery, as well as a breast augmentation. "I have always felt like a troll."
"It's good to not be a perfect 10"
At age 19, she finally made a decision: Mayim enrolled at the university, studied neuroscience, did her doctorate. Only twelve years later she returned to Hollywood. With her role as a bizarre scientist "Amy Farrah Fowler" in "The Big Bang Theory" she played into the hearts of series fans.
What brought some now on the palm: Some readers of the New York Times article understand Mayim's text as blaming good-looking women for being victims of sexual harassment. The actress wrote:
It's also good to be no 'perfect ten'. As a proud feminist with little desire to be on a diet, undergo surgery, or hire a personal trainer, I have little personal experience with men asking me to meet them in their hotel rooms.
The 41-year-old says that women who do not conform to the "impossible ideal of beauty" have the "luxury" of being overlooked, and she herself makes certain choices that she calls "self-protective" and "wise":
I dress disciply. I do not act coquettishly towards men.
Many readers did not like this presentation. "It sounds like, 'Dress like a bum, then you're on the safe side,'" wrote a user on Twitter. And: "It makes you sound like you can not be a feminist if you dress up, and women dress for men and not for themselves."
The 41-year-old admits in her text that "in a perfect world" women should be able to dress and behave as they wish. But the world is not perfect. "Nothing, absolutely nothing, excuses me when men attack or abuse women," Mayim writes. "But we can not be naive about the culture we live in." This culture could change? but not overnight.
Words that really sound like resignation. Even though Bialik wants to encourage those who are "not perfect ten" ("There are people out there who find you breathtaking, irresistible and noteworthy")? her text leaves a threadbare taste.
