Superstar actress and Oscar winner Kate Winslet, dedicated her recent BAFTA win to all the people who have discouraged young girls for their bodies.
Winslet gave her speech in a glorious boo-ya kind of way. She tells the press that when she was 14, her drama teacher told her that she may do well if she would settle for the “fat girl” roles, because “fat girl” roles is totally a technical industry term. To that Winslet said, “Look at me now!”
Sidenote: just eight years after her helpful drama teacher told her what she couldn’t do with her body, Winslet went on to causing the Atlantic Ocean with the ultimate heartthrob Leo DiCaprio. She advises the young girls to not listen, to power through, and achieve everything that they want to in life.
As girl-power-y and encouraging Winslet’s speech is, it still points out a major flaw in the silver-screen industry. There still isn’t a lot of body inclusivity. There have been some strides to include more body types on the smaller-screen with shows like American Horror Story, The Mindy Project, and Glee. But the movie industry? There’s still a disconnect.
Winslet definitely has the right mindset when it comes to encouraging women of all sizes to go for all roles, beyond those called “fat girl” roles however, Hollywood still needs to get it together.
Check out Winslet’s BAFTA speech below: