"Oh my God, I’m being treated this way because I have a vagina": Sandra Bullock on how she nearly quit Hollywood due to sexism
Sandra Bullock has had a successful career in Hollywood but she was going to leave it all behind because of the sexism that exists in Hollywood. Talking to USA Today, the actress revealed how Hollywood changed the way she thought about the world. “My career has been a domino effect of people who said, ‘I would like this person to fill this role,’ she said during her interview.
“And not just in the industry, but people in my life. My mother raised me like, ‘You don’t need to get married, you forge your own path. You make your own money, and be your own person.’ And I literally went out into the world thinking there was no disparity, that everyone was equal, and I can do whatever a man can do," she added. It was not until later in her career that Sandra understood how Hollywood worked.
She had a “wake-up moment, where I was like, ‘What is this feeling? Why do I feel so (expletive)?’ ” she added. “‘Oh my God, I’m being treated this way because I have a vagina.’ ” The actress admitted it was hard for her to accept the reality because of how she had been brought up. “It was hard for me because I walked with blinders on through life and got to where I (felt) like I was less than because I was a woman,” she explained.
It was a hard truth that she had to accept. "And that was a hard pill to swallow. I had a lot of sadness from that. I was like, ‘Wow, maybe I need to step out of here. Maybe I need to do something else for a living.’ And that was in the middle of when I was getting work ?” I didn’t want to be a part of that world where there was that experience," she said. However, Sandra wasn't the only person who thought about running away from Hollywood because of sexism that prevailed.
Cate Blanchett, who is Sandra's co-star in Ocean 8 admitted that she too had similar thoughts running through her mind. “I don’t think about my gender until those opportunities are not available to me or denied to me because of my gender,” she revealed. Cate also pointed out some of the problems she saw in the industry as well as the world.
“We do live in a capitalist society, so it’s like your worth is valued in monetary terms,” she added. “You know what the poster's going to look like, and you’re not being paid the same as the person you’ve got equal billing and screen time with, and you think, ‘Actually, that’s not right.’ ” Cate and Sandra will be appearing together on Ocean 8 along with Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, and Rihanna.
