"I grew up in the nineties. It wasn't a big moment for feminism," Carey Mulligan told *Glamour in our November issue. *"Now I have so many conversations about it." And the moment is ripe—with Hollywood cohorts like Jennifer Lawrence and Judy Greer speaking up about Tinseltown's gender inequality and Mulligan herself portraying a soldier of women's rights in the early 20th century in Suffragette, she's exactly the kind of blockbuster lady we want to hear speaking up. And speak up she has: The new mom spoke to Deadline Hollywood about reactions to Suffragette, her ideas about feminism, and the roles she's drawn to.
__On people's reactions to Suffragette: __ "I lost my cool when one critic said that what happens in Suffragette 'isn't real. It isn't possible that this would happen to one person.' That's ironic because these things really did happen. There was a lot of sexual abuse in the workplace. Some women were sectioned. Suffragettes faced violent and illegal reactions, and Hannah [who Mulligan's character is based off of] went through it all."
On the definition of feminism:"I don't think the definition of feminism is different between London and America. Recently, it has felt like a new word. ... People are afraid of labels and I think this year they're starting to reclaim what the word originally meant, in a positive way that's interesting."
On remembering the women's movement:"Women had to fight for every single thing they had. To have a reminder of that, to recognize that and be grateful for that—these girls are seeing the strength of women who took pride in being women and all that power that they had to fight against a law that dictated 'You can't vote.' To hear that in places like Saudi Arabia women can't exercise their right to vote is a 'novelty', and it's a real reminder to these young girls to take the right serious."
__On Jennifer Lawrence's pay gap essay: __"I think it's a good thing for someone like Jennifer to speak out; it means an awful lot to women. Sure, there's been cynicism toward her speaking out and the fact that she makes a lot of money, but she is completely and selflessly rising above that. Men in Hollywood look up to her because she is powerful. She's using that platform to correct something that isn't right. It's a long overdue conversation and it's admirable what she has done. This is an age-old issue that's in every part of society."
On selecting material to work on:"I'm not interested in playing the same character in more than one film. What's appealing to me is playing different characters."
