Something that’s often missing from conversations about feminism and pay parity for women is, well, guys. While men should definitely not dictate the gender pay gap dialogue, their support is needed if we’re ever going to attain true equality. Oscar winner Emma Stone seems to agree with that: She recently spoke to Out Magazine about her own experiences with Hollywood’s pay gap and how male co-stars have supported her in her fight for parity.
“In my career so far, I’ve needed my male co-stars to take a pay cut so that I may have parity with them. And that’s something they do for me because they feel it’s what’s right and fair,” the “La La Land” actress revealed. “That’s something that’s also not discussed, necessarily — that our getting equal pay is going to require people to selflessly say, ‘That’s what’s fair.’ If my male co-star, who has a higher quote than me but believes we are equal, takes a pay cut so that I can match him, that changes my quote in the future and changes my life.”
Stone is right: This is definitely not something we hear about too often. Most dudes are against sexism in theory — some even call themselves feminists. But not many are willing to actually sacrifice a portion of their paycheck to ensure women are being treated fairly.
“[Feminism is] not about, ‘Women are this and men are that,’” Stone continued. “It is, ‘We are all the same, we are all equal, we all deserve the same respect and the same rights.’ And that’s really what I’ve been so grateful for with male co-stars — when I’ve been in a similar-size role in films, and it’s been multiple people who have been really incredible and said, ‘That’s what I want to do. That’s what’s fair and what’s right.’”
Stone won an Academy Award this year for playing struggling actress Mia in the musical “La La Land.” As she accepted the honor, she paid tribute to her fellow nominees. “To the women in this category — Natalie [Portman], Isabelle [Huppert], Meryl [Streep], Ruth [Negga] — you are all so extraordinary, and I look up to you, and I admire you more than I can put into words,” she said. “It has been the greatest honor just to stand alongside you: that is the greatest honor of all.”
You can catch Stone next as pro tennis player and women’s rights icon Billie Jean King in Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s “Battle of the Sexes.” The biopic tells the story of the historic tennis match between King and Bobby Riggs. It hits theaters September 22.
Head over to Out to read the rest of Stone’s interview. She joins her “Battle of the Sexes” co-star Andrea Riseborough and the real-life Billie Jean King to discuss the film, feminism, and the parallels between King v. Riggs and Clinton v. Trump.
