Actress Anna Camp's new show is set in a 1960s newsroom, where sexual harassment in the workplace was unfortunately common and widely accepted. It's a little unnerving to realize that 50 years later, women are still experiencing sexual bias at work. The Good Girls Revolt star
opened up about the surprising similarity between the obstacles she and the character she plays face. And while it's not as overtly sexist as the kind of treatment women experienced decades ago, it's indicative of a pervasive misogyny that still exists in many industries, including Hollywood.
opened up about the surprising similarity between the obstacles she and the character she plays face. And while it's not as overtly sexist as the kind of treatment women experienced decades ago, it's indicative of a pervasive misogyny that still exists in many industries, including Hollywood.
On Camp's new show, she plays a woman whose coworker is constantly asking her out. The 34-year-old said in an interview with People Now that she's actually experienced the same exact thing herself on TV and movie sets. “I’m happily married now, but [I have had moments] on sets where I have been shooting a scene with someone, it’s going very well, but I can tell … ‘Oh God, I think he’s going to ask … Oh God, is he going to ask me out?’ ” she said. “But I have to work with him tomorrow! And then I have to work with him for the next month. How do I maintain that balance of not offending him, but getting my point across that I don’t want to go out on a date?"
While the fear of being asked out by your coworker might not set off "sexism" alarm bells for some people, the fact is that Camp would simply not face this pressure if she were a man. Having to constantly worry about maintaining professional boundaries and rebuking romantic advances without offending anyone is a stressful and undue burden.
Camp also revealed that there have been "times where I was sexually harassed or sexually discriminated against." Her hope is that by opening up about her experiences — and delving into them via her independent-minded Good Girls Revolt character — young women will feel inspired to speak up for themselves in instances of harassment or assault. We'd say she's doing her part to combat sexism in Hollywood.