Like many women who were devastated by Hillary Clinton’s loss, Jennifer Lawrence didn’t know how to process the result of the election at first. However, she has put her thoughts to paper in a powerful VICE essay urging people who are angry about the result to take action.
She begins the piece by summing up what a lot of us were thinking – what message does this send women and minorities?
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“Is this the stark reality? It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how qualified you are, at the end of the day, if you’re not a man? Is that what we just learned? This country was founded on immigration and today the only people that feel safe, that their rights are recognized and respected are white men.”
She discusses the glass ceiling – and how defeated many women feel by this loss.
“If you’re a woman and you’re worried that no matter how hard you work or how much you learn, there will always be a glass ceiling, then I don’t really know what to say. I don’t know what I would tell my daughter if I were you. Except to have hope. To work for the future.”
Jennifer Lawrence has spoken out about equal pay in the past, and how unfair this is – that we know it’s not right, but there are many factors at work making it happen. We just need to keep pushing for it.
That’s partially why Hillary’s loss was so devastating – despite all her hard work, her qualifications, her experience, it wasn’t enough. Sometimes, despite all your efforts, things just don’t work out. But she said that we mustn’t be dismayed by this.
“Do not let this defeat you—let this enrage you! Let it motivate you! Let this be the fire you didn’t have before. If you are an immigrant, if you are a person of colour, if you are LGBTQ+, if you are a woman—don’t be afraid, be loud!”
