On October 13, 2015 Jennifer Lawrence’s essay was posted to Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner’s online newsletter, Lenny Letter. The Lenny Letter itself proclaims to be a place where Feminism, politics, style, health, friendship and other topics are discussed. In it she discussed the wage gap difference in Hollywood.
Courtesy: Think Progress
This has already been a major topic in everyday media. The American Association of Women (AAUW) is a non-profit organization started in 1881 that focuses on the equity of women and girls. The AAUW reports that since 2014 white women have been paid 79 percent of what white men are paid. Economic justice has been a long time goal for this organization. Looking into the wage gap the AAUW also found that women of color are paid even less than their white counterparts.
Courtesy: AAUW
The discussion of wage gap has now expanded past organizations and been taken on by voices from Hollywood. Jennifer Lawrence taking the time to talk about this issue has spurred revival in the topic and garnered a lot of attention. Lawrence prefaces her argument with she will not be “relatable” – an understandable statement. She is a white woman in the Forbes top 100 so while the wage gap does not affect her lifestyle it does affect her life. In her essay Lawrence starts out by pointing out the wage gap in Hollywood and the unfairness of it, citing that she realized she was paid a great amount less than her male costars in American Hustle when the Sony hack occurred. However, following that she begins to look at the problem through herself. I think her main focus altogether is her part in this issue and the effect that the portrayal of women had on her.
Courtesy: Quotes’N’smiles
In her essay she realizes she is partly to shoulder the blame in not receiving as much as her male co-stars. She says that she “failed as a negotiator because [she] gave up early.” The essay reflects her disappointment in herself for not asking for more and for not standing up for herself. As she continues she lists the reasons of why she thinks she could not raise her voice in the negotiation over pay. One idea that stuck out is when she asked if women are socially conditioned to think this way: that speaking up will label them as rude, abrasive or even a b*tch. The image of women is built around a social construct that they are to be docile, agreeable and in some respects not hold opinions. Lawrence recalls such an event when she expressed her opinion in a meeting and the man who was working for her replied, “Whoa! We’re all on the same team here!’ As if [she] was yelling at him. [She] was so shocked because nothing that [she] said was personal, offensive, or, to be honest, wrong.” Leaning against these stereotypes are hard because it indeed becomes troublesome for women making them feel like a burden, off-putting or as Lawrence said a “spoiled brat.”
Courtesy: 9 To 5
Jennifer Lawrence is not only calling attention to the wage difference and the sexism that ushered that in, but also to the women who have remained in their ‘docile’ state. It might be hard and women might be seen as rude, but women need to fight for the equality they want. The AAUW states that one way to help close the wage gap is by making women better negotiators. The more women who raise their voice against these boundaries, the more they will begin to break. When women give up, they give in.