Zooey Deschanel, feminist extraordinaire
College is like a playground of self-discovery for young adults; opportunities are waiting in 8 a.m. classes or professors who stow upon you their wise knowledge. While many students may have found themselves in the classroom; I have found mine through New Girl’s main character, Jess, played by actress Zooey Deschanel.
Through her, I have realized I’m a feminist. After reading that last word, I bet you rolled your eyes and proclaimed “oh god she’s one of those.” There was a time when I had the same reaction to that word. The society we grew up in taught us a feminist is a bra burning, man-hating, anti-dress wearing woman who believes that all problems will be solved once a female is elected president.
Growing up I thought that feminism was something to be ashamed of.
I realized that Deschanel was my “spirit animal” this past summer while reading the feature on her in the July issue of Cosmopolitan UK. Cosmo asked Deschanel what she thought about the criticism feminists have about her being “too girly.” Deschanel is known for wearing bright, colorful clothing.
She responded by saying, “[That] is weird, right? It’s the total opposite of what we should be doing. Why is being feminine or girly a bad thing? Why do we need to act like men to be strong and powerful? We all have different qualities but they’re equally as good.”
At this moment, I realized Zooey Deschanel had articulated my definition of feminism. It isn’t about being better than men. It’s about empowering women. I like to compare it to religion; it’s a concept everyone interprets and practices a different way. Some might burn bras while others encourage girls to succeed in school.
This moment of self-discovery was similar to Glinda telling Dorothy she had “always had the power to go back to Kansas.” Even though I didn’t realize it, I was always a feminist.; Zooey helped bring it to the forefront of my mind.
Wearing the feminist label loud and proud is helps dispell the negative connotations of the word. Deschanel represents this ideal because she’s proud of who she is. She doesn’t want to take men down or promote a competitive environment.
In February’s edition of Glamour magazine, Deschanel said, “I’m just being myself. We can’t be feminine and be feminists and be successful? I want to be a f—ing feminist and wear a f—ing Peter Pan collar. So f—ing what?”
My response to that? Preach it, Zooey. Society and Hollywood shouldn’t fear feminism or try to define it. If being a feminist means wearing cute clothes that give me self-confidence, then just give me bangs and call me Zooey Deschanel.
