What Emily Blunt Got Wrong About Sexism In Hollywood

Emily Blunt is not denying the fact that sexism is still alive in Hollywood. During a recent interview with RadioTimes, the British actress was asked to weigh in on the subject, and admitted to personally experiencing sexism throughout her career, albeit less often now than she used to. Given the heightened scrutiny on gender inequality in Tinseltown — owing, in part, to Patricia Arquette's Oscar speech earlier this year and the shocking wage disparity between male and female movie stars revealed by the Sony hacks — it makes sense that Blunt may not have faced overt discrimination lately. But something else the star said gave us pause. "I sometimes feel that we can exacerbate the problem by talking about it more," the award-winning actress told RadioTimes, explaining that she thinks an ongoing discussion about sexism can "create more and more of a stamp of divide." Here's the thing, though: Transparency — along with ongoing discussion — creates a pathway to solving the problem. Shining a light on topics that might otherwise go unaddressed is the only way to effect change. On top of that, there are plenty of women's voices — particularly within communities of color — that are just stepping up to the mic, sharing all the ways that sexism impacts their lives and careers and choices. When Blunt continued, she emphasized that we need to do more, as opposed to continue talking. "We need to come up with practical solutions — like creating programs to encourage female writers — rather than celebrating women who are already doing all right [sic] in Hollywood," she explained. We can get behind that statement, and she's absolutely right about the fact that true change is going to take real-life action. But, that doesn't mean it's time to stop talking about sexism in Hollywood. There are still too many unexplored corners and untold stories that need to be part of the conversation. And, while hearing them out might emphasize the divide, it's a chasm we need to see and understant completely in order to finally close.