Looking back, America Ferrera is appalled by the narrative surrounding her body!
It’s no secret Hollywood has a bad habit of body shaming women, and the Barbie star was just one of many who unfortunately experienced this throughout her career. In Elle‘s candid new 2023 Women in Hollywood issue out on Thursday, the 39-year-old actress called out the “ridiculous” way her body was always a topic of conversation — whether it be through her roles in hits like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or Ugly Betty or in the media. She reflected:
“What’s so insane is, you go back and look, and I had a very average-size body. And so the idea that people were looking at me and saying, ‘That’s curvy’ is crazy. Not that I care, but it’s like, that’s insane that we thought that was so groundbreaking. I was Hollywood’s version of imperfect, which seems so ridiculous.”
It seriously is!! Nobody’s body should ever be judged like that — plus, she looked amazing then! But the times were different, we guess…
Related: Dylan Sprouse Got Body Shamed By Disney Execs As A Child!
Acknowledging this is something so many people have faced, the Superstore alum added:
“I don’t feel alone in that either. There are so many women who were called brave, just because they are people in bodies.”
It’s so condescending and rude to call someone “brave” for their appearance — OOF! While it sounds like she’s no longer affected by the inappropriate commentary, it took her time to “unlearn” everything. She told Redbook back in 2017:
“I grew up believing a lot of things about myself that I had to unlearn — things that pertain to being a good woman, things about my weight or height. As women, you’re taught that your value is all about your appearance, not your ideas and your tenacity and your courage and your bravery and your adventurous spirit. Look, I love getting dressed up and looking beautiful. But that’s one tiny piece of me.”
Ugh! So frustrating she even had to go through this emotional process of unlearning when there was never anything wrong with her to begin with. If only these shameful narratives would be shut down for good!
Thankfully, now that she has much more say over her career, America is focused on pushing the boundaries with her roles, she continued in her Elle chat:
“What I continue to wish for my career, and women’s careers and people of color’s careers, is that we don’t have to exist inside of these boxes or these lanes — that we don’t have to be relegated to represent just the thing that the culture wants us to represent.”
The Dumb Money star explained:
“I want to be more of who I am as a person, and to get to make art that doesn’t fit into any of the boxes and isn’t about the dominant conversation people have wanted to have about me because I’m a woman who doesn’t fit into stereotypical Hollywood.”
Amazing!
We’re here for that! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Share them in the comments (below).
[Image via Nikki Nelson/WENN & Harper’s Bazaar UK/YouTube]
