Melissa McCarthy covers the upcoming issue of Redbook Magazine. She’s promoting her film The Boss costarring Kristen Bell, which is out April 6th. It’s a comedy and she plays a mogul, arrested for insider trading, who loses everything and tries to win back an empire with the help of a Girl Scout-type troop. (I think they call them Dandelions.) The trailer made me laugh a few times I have to admit. McCarthy is so good at playing characters who don’t GAF. McCarthy is also promoting her somewhat reasonably priced clothing line, which has clothing in all sizes, not just plus-sized clothing, but offers more range in the larger sizes. She had a lot of nice things to say about feminism, body image and raising her daughters:
On talking to her daughters about body image
“Give me your best punch in the face, and I’ll take that punch, rather than have my kid feel bad about herself….There’s an epidemic in our country of girls and women feeling bad about themselves based on what .5% of the human race looks like. It starts very young. My message is that as long as everybody’s healthy, enjoy and embrace whatever body type you have.”Her thoughts on young women who say, “I am not a feminist”
“I always think, ‘Oh, that sounds so dumb.’ And I don’t mean that in a hateful way. It just sounds so ill-informed. Do you think women should be paid less? You don’t believe in equality for women? I think people have worked hard to put a negative spin on the word.”Why we should stop judging each other
“With women, there’s this constant weird cultural thing where we’re always supposed to be comparing ourselves with one another. Who wore it best? Whose butt’s better? Instead, how about if everyone wins? How intensely boring would it be if we were all the same?”On the importance of all women feeling comfortable and stylish in their clothes
“A good portion of women in America are size 14 and higher. I just try to make clothing that’ll make all women feel really good….When I feel good about my clothes, I’m more patient with my kids. I don’t beep at the guy in his car texting in front of me. I look at the world a little differently. The small happy moments add up. A little bit of joy goes a long way.”
She droped a lot of wisdom in those few lines. I’m like that with my kid, I would take a lot of personal pain if it would make him feel better. I really like what she said about feminism especially. Every day I’m grateful for this job but I’m especially grateful for what I’ve learned here about feminism, about intersectionality and how we don’t have to identify with every faction of the movement to call ourselves feminists. I’m a feminist and I am teaching my son what that means and how that benefits all of us. Good for McCarthy for calling it like she sees it. I also loved what she said about trying not to beep at the guy texting in front of her. Usually I try to make eye contact with them to shame them somehow, but they’re so busy looking down they don’t even notice me.
Go girl!
She even looks younger since she lost so much weight.
I would like to see her wear more outfits that are tailored — her taste for volume just adds weight, visually. A fitted black outfit with color added is so sleek.
A lot of bigger women seem to gravitate to pastels but there are ways to do that and still look your sleekest: navy, charcoal, black, dark brown tailored pants or dresses with color in the jacket or sweater.
She looks gorgeous. Love how her hair is styled for the shoot.
Yes! Her hair is looking particularly good.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
She looks great. I’ve always had a soft spoot for Sookie – and she hasn’t disappointed me yet.
I want her hair color in that bottom photo. I went far too red and have to figure out how to get back to browner tones, and keep seeing so many rich, shiney brown colors lately. I have major hair envy.
Take it down to a warm cinammon brown.
I meant “cinnamon” brown.
I saw her clothing line on Home Shopping and most of the pieces were cute. She knows what a larger woman wants to cover without looking like a tent. Still liked her best in Bridesmaids, especially the scene in the boutique. Look away, don’t look at me….lol…A little joy goes a long way, words to live by.
Every. Damn. Time. If I see Bridesmaids is on, I will watch it. And she is the highlight!
Right? They have to find another comedy where she can shine again. I don’t bloat, it’s a gift…
She’s looking supercute. And, yes, younger women need to learn to invest in themselves and other women first. Whatever energy is leftover then, can go to the menz.
So she’s not being hateful about thinking people are stupid, just condescending. That’ll help change their minds about the label./sarcasm.
She’s not saying they ARE stupid, just that they sound stupid. Which they do. People who spout very strong opinions about something they are uninformed about sound stupid. I don’t see anything wrong in encouraging people to learn a little something before they speak. We’d all be better for it.
She’s a smart lady.
As she loses weight I see the family features more and more. I always saw a little between her and Jenny, but now I see a lot more.
Me too! I also love what she said about feminism and agree 100%
What a beautiful, talented and intelligent woman. Love her.
I agree totally with EVERY word she said. Except for the part that clothes can make one feel so good that they don’t honk their horn at the car in front of them. I live in Boston. We honk the horn at the guy in front of us for the heck of it.
LOL
She looks beautiful, love the ensembles.
Agree with what she said. Except embrace whatever body type you have. Health is vital.
Recently I met up with a friend she is medically considered obese, she is super depressed. She told me that she was a fat kid, fat adolescent and even fatter adult. She doesn’t embrace her body because it had limited her choices in life and exposure to things over the years. Her mum used to over feed her all the time. She is going have surgery to help her lose the weight because she truly finds it even difficult to walk. I’ve always dealt with the ten pounds but her’s is more like 200 plus overweight. She herself hates it when people say all sizes are beautiful. I think when your weight is getting the way of your life then you need to take action.
Forest for the trees, ma’am.
Love her!
She has a great attitude about so many things.
I bought a skirt from her collection – comfortable and well made, and they put a cute card with a note from her in with it. I hope she does well with it, and she’s certainly killing it in movies.
*applause* nothing to add
…..” I think people have worked hard to put a negative spin on the word”
I absolutely agree on this point. In the recent years I’ve had the feeling that some crusades for various “women rights” are constructed in a special way of highliting a sidenote fact into a huge hashtag, while the old-fashioned equal rights issues sink into obscurity. And suddenly I don’t want same money foe the same Job, no, I hate my boss because he’s a man and I’m a woman and unstable at least once every month. Absolutely ridiculous.
However there ARE women, who feel more comfortable at home and with little or no pay and leave the major decisions to their men.I think the whole point of equal rights is to leave them to their choice, just like we insist on ours.
I think that some of her designs are trully masterful.
And about the body image I don’t think we’ll ever be on the same page.
I have no qualm with women who are traditional and want to eschew feminism–but with two caveats.
They don’t get to dictate my choices to me and they don’t get to enjoy the advantages and improvements feminists have won over the decades.
There’s also a difference between stay at home moms and those who defer to their husbands. I was a SAHM until my youngest (of 3) started school and then I re entered the no force. I made this decision with wistfulness but no regrets. And did volunteering and some evening classes (I already had my degree) to keep myself sharp and get out of the house. But my hubby and I are partners and really the household decisions were mostly my area–he’s military and isn’t even always home but even when he is it was regarded more as my wheel well. And he did his share of chores and childcare because he is a husband and father. So not every SAHM defers–for some it’s just a choice.
I totally agree with kori – with the not all stay at home moms are non-feminists who defer to men. For some families, that’s an economic or personal (or both) decision that makes perfect sense. As long as it is the woman’s choice, and, as Triple Cardinal says, they support the right of other women to make different choices, that seems very feminist to me.
@:kori: I’m a SAHM myself. I decided to do it consciously, but I have to admit I miss work. However I didn’t mean SAHMs because most of them do return to work. I have met a couple of women, who prefered to stay at home before the children were even in planning and despite 5 years at the uni. I know, it sounds imposible, but it’s a fact.
I think she nailed it with the feminism comments. I also want her to be in the new Gilmore Girls episodes. Ask her, Amy Sherman-Palladino! Maybe she’ll do it on the cheap!
She had me until “How intensely boring would it be if we were all the same?”
Major-league intensely boring. I get really irritated at the “we’re ALL special snowflakes” mode of thinking. Melissa has talents and qualities others lack. She’s wanting in certain areas.
We’re NOT all the same. And we all don’t get the same opportunities. Nope, it’s not fair, but welcome to the world.
I feel like you are responding to something she didn’t say. Are you mad because she said we are not all the same? You go on to point out that we are not all the same. She didn’t say anything about the fairness of it. I… I think she is saying the same thing you are?
@tealily
Go back and read her statement. “How about if everybody wins?”
That’s just silly. The real world doesn’t work that way.
If people stop beating themselves up for not fitting into an idealized mold, then everybody does win. As you say, everyone has talents and qualities others lack, and they also have their own flaws. What’s wrong with wishing people wouldn’t be so hard on themselves for not being perfect?
Ugh, I hate this. I also hate that a lot of these comments are coming from white feminists.
Some women of color – black women for example – don’t want to identify as feminists because of the history of (white) feminists either pushing them/their concerns to the side, disregarding their views, and being extremely condescending.
Melissa, instead of taking the time to understand reasons like the one I shared above, has decided to label them all as “dumb.”
Bye Molly.
ugh! here we go again, inserting the race card where it doesn’t need to be. sheesh!
Amen, J-who!
Ugh, here we go again with another air headed user.
You must be a white feminist too because you’re doing the same thing: taking the issues they face and dismissing with a “stop pulling that card!”
Didn’t know my life experience was a card.
Why did you feel the need to comment anyway?
I don’t think she’s commenting on anyone who has given a reasoned answer to questions about feminism. She seems to be responding to this stream of mostly younger, mostly white women who have lately made comments about how they are not feminists because they don’t hate men, or because they like cooking, or because of any of a number of reasons that indicate that they have no idea what feminism is. What you’re discussing is a nuanced conversation about inclusion within the movement, that clearly indicates understanding.
Hum… that was not the question here. But since you’re questioning it, are we supposed to renounce gender equality, now, because, once upon a time, people fighting for gender equality did not find it necessary to fight for race/colour equality ? What does one have to do with the other ? I’m a woman and I’m black. I am going to fight for gender equality and colour equality, not going to choose one and snob the other.
I suspect she’s referring more to women who don’t use the label because they think it’s nonsense or because of perceived connotations of the word, not women who have valid issues with the movement. I would assume that you still support the upwards social mobility of women of all backgrounds even if you eschew the movement predominantly defined by white women.
Thank you Kelly, because these were my thoughts exactly. I’m not some young girl, and I’m very well informed, but I do not identify with the “feminist” label because it does almost always seem to mean “white feminism”. For example, when feminists rail against pay inequality, that often cited $.78 for every dollar a man makes, well… that only applies to white women, women who actually more than everyone but white men. Black men make $.75 for every dollar a white man makes, black women $.64, Hispanic men $.61, Hispanic women $.55. So there’s pay inequality for women, yes, but also among races.
So you see, J-Who and ARGirl, the race card wasn’t “inserted” by anyone, that’s just where it happens to be. It’s only been invisible to you, probably because your own “racism” card is getting in the way.
I’ve always assumed that stat was an average of all women and all men. That’s really interesting. Where did you find that information? I’d love to see what the pay gap between men and women actually is!