Emma Stone stopped boyfriend Andrew Garfield in his sexist tracks while at a conference for The Amazing Spiderman 2. It proves that the slightest word really does matter for feminists, who simply want to be treated equally in the modern-day world. The Spiderman actor definitely accepted that he was in the wrong, and backtracked over his comment to explain it. However, there was no apology for his words.
During the conference, a young boy asked how the costume was made for the superhero. In previous versions, it has always been shown that the character drew and made the costume himself. This aspect was missing from the recent movie series.
Garfield made a comment that Spiderman sews, even though it is a “feminine thing to do.” To make matters worse, he explained the costume was made to look masculine, so sewing was fine.
That comment likely raised eyebrows in the audience, especially from women. Stone was not about to let her co-star and boyfriend get away with it. She turned and asked just how sewing was feminine. The actor had no choice but to backtrack over his words.
It is so important for actors to really think about their words. Children are impressionable. The idea of sewing being “feminine,” as Garfield put it, probably never crossed the young boy’s mind. By mentioning that it was a “feminine thing to do,” it will put the thought into many children that sewing is for women. It is bad enough that cartoons often portray certain tasks as feminine, and toy stores still separate “girl toys” from “boy toys.”
Stone acted perfectly by stopping Garfield in his sexist tracks. It is just a shame she could not get him to apologize for the off-the-cuff remark. He never quite said he was sorry for making sewing out to be a girly thing to do. Instead, he told the audience that all men have a feminine side.
Of course, the whole conversation has sparked debate over when certain words can be used. Some people have suggested that the world has become too gender neutral in a way to avoid offending anyone. There are questions over whether wearing a dress or wearing makeup is considered “feminine” and would spark the same annoyance from the Spiderman actress.
The comments can be turned the other way though. One person has raised an interesting point by questioning whether a man who did not work on a car would be considered less masculine than one who did, and whether a woman working on a car would be considered masculine. Is that sexist? The main annoyance for many is the label given for skill. Some men and women have the skill for certain jobs. Gender should not come into play.
Arguably, the better thing for Garfield to have said was that society deems sewing as a “feminine thing to do,” not that it was his personal view. It would have helped him stay out of the pit he dug for himself. It would have also stopped Stone preventing Garfield from continuing in his sexist tracks.
Opinion by Alexandria Ingham
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