I’m not terribly familiar with her acting work (I personally could not be paid to watch Twilight, and I missed [the Runaways, wasn’t it?]) but I’ve have seen her pictures on the front of magazines and online. I have always thought “what odd expressions she makes!” (Admittedly, some of them are- no one can take a perfect picture 100% of the time.)
I’m not saying I’ll never laugh again at some of the faces she makes or at any of the ones that other people make during photoshoots, etc….
But after reading this, I admit, I kind of want to buy the lady a cupcake or something. Good for her. Seriously.
I think that article is a pretty interesting read.
“Stewart is often a target of a specific kind of body policing: the “smile, baby” requirement. When she appears on the red carpet and does not assure us with her teeth that she is simply thrilled to be reduced to a presence, a dress, a posture, she is often the target of harassment for her expression”
“Despite the fact that this attention is often negative and always demanded, despite the fact that it drives her to tears, appreciation of this harassment is demanded. Graciousness is an obligation on Stewart’s part because people are looking at her. The implication for women is that attention is a sign of our value; if we are not attracting it, particularly from men, we are worthless. If we’re harassed and ordered to smile, we’re lucky. We must be grateful for all attention, even that which we find unpleasant. Or we are bitches.”
this is a good article, and even though i don’t like her movies, i’ve sympathised with her cause of this for a while, when i started trying to think of male stars that were picked on for the same thing and came up blank.
also, i can’t count the number of times i’ve been told by older male strangers to ‘smile!’, as if my face and disposition were simply elements of their environment that needed to change if they wanted it to. it doesn’t seem like it’s a bad thing, but it really is part of such a bigger pattern.
“Kristen Stewart: smiling is not an obligation, professional or otherwise”
callanswall 