Jennifer Lawrence is not one to mince words. She says what she says, and means it–no filter. Hence the name of her latest interview in Glamour magazine wherein she describes herself as a “slutty power lesbian” and owes her success to her ability to access Planned Parenthood. We’re going to unpack this one very carefully.
When Lawrence was asked about what it was like working with Amy Schumer on their joint project, she emphasized how empathetic Schumer was. She shared an anecdote that was related to the Planned Parenthood shooting, which affected Schumer deeply. She said:
Amy’s the most empathetic person I’ve ever met in my life. When she came over this morning, she was crying. She had just…seen the news about the shooting at Planned Parenthood. It’s so awful….It isn’t an attack on abortions; it’s an attack on women. Because Planned Parenthood is so much more [than abortion].
My mom was really religious with me when I was young. She’s not so much anymore. And I wouldn’t have been able to get birth control if it weren’t for Planned P. I wouldn’t have been able to get condoms and birth control and all these things I needed as a normal teenager who was growing up in a Jesus house.
Reading between the lines, Glamour editor in chief Cindi Leive asked if Lawrence had ever gone to Planned Parenthood in the past.
JL: Yes, I did. And now [gestures widely] I am a successful woman who has not had a pregnancy.
CL: Congratulations.
JL: Thank you. [Laughs.] But seriously. What harm comes from supplying people with birth control, condoms, Pap smears, and cancer screenings?
It’s important to not stretch this out and assume that Lawrence was implying women with children can’t be successful. It’s more that she’s praising Planned Parenthood’s existence and the work that they do. It indeed would be easy to see it the other way, as a suggestion that one must avoid kids to be successful, but I really don’t think that’s the case here.
Which brings us to the other example in the very same interview in which Lawrence labels herself as a “slutty power lesbian.” Her response to a question about her style reads:
‘Slutty power lesbian.’ That is literally what I say to a stylist. I don’t know if that’s offensive… Well, first of all, Dior is its own house that’s very feminine and beautiful; this past press tour every dress was just phenomenal. So you don’t see me as a slutty power lesbian on the red carpet a lot, because I’m embodying the Dior woman, which is an honor.
To which we all kind of responded… huh? It just seems like such a strange, off-color thing to say. A person’s sexual preference isn’t a style. That’s borderline offensive. But I could see where she was trying to go with what she was saying, it just kind of… fell flat.
And to be honest, I think that’s okay with Lawrence. As one of our own editors pointed out, she’s a young woman who’s figuring out a lot of things very vocally and very publicly. She has plenty to say that’s well thought out and measured, as well as plenty of things that aren’t so much, which earns her that “no filter” descriptor.
I’m really trying hard not to tone police or suggest that she should speak differently. She’s absolutely free to be that no filter icon that she seems to absolutely love being, and frankly, I have so much respect for her for being able to do that on such a public stage. It’s just that whenever anyone toes the line like that with a joke or comment that falls flat, it’s a reason for pause, to wonder why someone said what they said.
Despite what I might say here, JLaw will continue to be JLaw, and she’ll keep saying the thing she does until she doesn’t. Sure, it’d be nice to not have to worry about possible problematic implications, but growth has to happen somewhere, doesn’t it?
(via Jezebel, People, image via Shutterstock/Jaguar PS)
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