Sharon Stone has a new project coming out called Mosaic by HBO and Steven Soderbergh. It’s an interactive murder mystery in which the watcher gets to choose how they watch the storylines. Reader/viewer involvement projects kind of fascinate me so I will probably give this a try. If you don’t want to work for your entertainment, HBO will release it as a six-part miniseries on January 22nd.
In Mosaic, Sharon plays the murder victim, that’s not a spoiler, that’s straight from IMDb. The role is being discussed as her comeback, which is odd to me as her IMDb has her working steadily. So, I assume the comeback refers to the size of the role, she’s out front in the Mosaic promotion. As Sharon told Harpers Bazaar in 2014, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 2001 and had a significant recovery period following that. Lee Cowan with CBS Sunday Morning interviewed Sharon about her comeback and the discussion turned to her status as a sex symbol and whether she’s been a victim of sexual harassment, to which she answered by way of a 10-second laugh.
Sharon Stone laughed out loud—for a full 10 seconds!—when Lee Cowan asked her on CBS Sunday Morning if she ever experienced inappropriate behavior during her time in Hollywood. “I don’t really know how to ask this in a delicate way, but were you ever in a position like that, that you felt that you were uncomfortable?” Cowan asked. As Stone cackled, he said, “You’re laughing. I don’t know if that’s a nervous laugh or ‘Are you kidding me? Of course I was’ laugh.”
After composing herself, Stone looked Cowan dead in the eye. “I’ve been in this business for 40 years, Lee. Can you imagine the business I stepped into 40 years ago? Looking like I look, from Nowhere, Pennsylvania? I didn’t come here with any protection,” she told him. “I’ve seen it all.”
Stone is a supporter of the Time’s Up movement, and like many of her peers, she wore black in solidarity at the 2018 Golden Globes. “We were raised to accommodate men, particularly in my generation, and women so often lose their own identity to the identity of the man that they’re with. They even change the way they dress and what they do to fit the men that they’re with,” she said. At last, the actress said, “We’re starting to acknowledge our own gifts as women and not think that we have to behave as men in order to be empowered, or powerful, or valuable.”
You can watch the clip here. The part that is getting the most attention is Sharon laughing at Lee’s question on harassment. I think the message she’s trying to make is that most people, men in particular, still don’t seem to grasp how common harassment is and that women were taught to grin and bear it. It’s a dramatic way for her to make her point but I’m not sure it’s the most helpful way to make it. But her point about women being raised to accommodate men is a good one. I don’t feel I’ve ever lost my identity to the man I was with, but I do know that many issues that women face like menopause, periods, gravity on the aging body, etc. are expected to only be discussed among women. At a recent get-together I discussed my loss of energy and how it’s affect my running schedule during perimenopause. A friend told me later that her husband had been uncomfortable with “us talking about such intimate things.” She was honestly scolding me for saying the word “perimenopause,” even though I only mentioned it was affecting my sleep and energy. Like Sharon, I am really tired of holding my tongue just because some man in the room was taught only his problems matter.
Here is the trailer for Mosaic:
Photo credit: WENN Photos, Getty Images and YouTube
I bet she has seen it all…remember the interview a few years ago where she says she was basically tricked into flashing her vagina in basic instinct.
I agree with what she says about it being a different time, women being conditioned to the way things were..that’s why I have trouble with the older actresses who are telling women to buck up and get over it. They are brainwashed
I can only imagine what she has seen. It’s only very, very, very recently that a lot of this stuff is finally being exposed and discussed…with repercussions, that is. I think I would laugh, too, in a type of way that says you have no idea wow.
Plus, I am prone to nervous or inappropriate laughter as a weird reflex. I am not a person to take to solemn events. I see myself out.
Lastly, that having been said, I always got the impression the elevator didn’t reach the top floor with that one. Sorry, Sharon. I don’t why…
Give ‘me hell, Sharon. Gotta say, though, i’m her age & don’t recall being taught to cater to men…. The women’s movement really informed my growing up years.
I am a year younger than Sharon and I wasn’t brought up to cater to men but it was a very different time. I can recall a huge dust up in my home town in 1974 over whether women should be ‘allowed’ to drive city transit buses. Much wailing over women taking men’s jobs, excuses that women were too small and so on.
I am so happy that things are different now. I also recall when my best friend got a job as a teller in a bank on 1978 that was as far as she would go. However men in entry level jobs were swiftly moved into the management stream.
And men were conditioned too, to expect we always accomedate them.
Some guys were even offended that there were too many women in the last Star Wars movie and made an edit that cut out all the women. The reactions of Mark Hamill and co. are funny:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/17/star-wars-actors-mock-fan-recut-film-remove-women
But that totally shows how entitled they feel towards people accomedating them. We all grew up with such a skewed amount of media dedicated to what men wanted.
“A friend told me later that her husband had been uncomfortable with “us talking about such intimate things.” She was honestly scolding me for saying the word “perimenopause,” even though I only mentioned it was affecting my sleep and energy. ”
Hecate – no offense, but your friend is a tool. And her husband is a tool as well.
The only time I’ve been uncomfortable discussing what is going on with my body with my husband is when we were like 15 and just dating. I mean – I’m not going into EVERY single detail in an over the top description, but I can comfortably communicate what’s happening and how I’m feeling and things of that nature. And it’s not like I’m married to some kind of guy who works in a medical field – he’s a plumber. He’s working in the stereotypical “manly man” kind of field – on construction sites – and has never been uncomfortable with whatever is happening to a woman’s body. The only thing I can say is that he’s cringed in sympathy of how awful I’ve felt at times. And I could discuss this kind of thing in front of whatever friend I wanted – male or female – and I really don’t think he’d bat an eyelash.
I just can’t imagine being married to someone who was uncomfortable over my existence. Things that are just naturally happening to your body shouldn’t be shameful. There’s a difference too between being a squeemish person and just thinking it’s impolite to discuss how miserable you’re feeling. If dudes can walk around belching, farting and scratching themselves all over the place – it’s a f—ing sad world where women can’t in turn discuss their sleep trouble and fatigue.
Seconding this, if he can’t handle the word perimenopause, he shouldn’t be handling women’s bits. He’s not a grade schooler, he’s an adult, with an adult women. And all adult women go through menopause. Like, ugh. This guy probably is embarrassed by tampoms too.
And she’s a twit to support this.
It’s a medical issue, not sexual preferences.
I’m very upset about this. Hecate, where do you live? Or more aptly, where do they live? I’d like to send him some pamphlets on health issues.
And some of those glitter envelopes. Open them and bam. Glitter everywhere. Good luck getting rid of that!
Replying to Erinn: it’s because of friends and coworkers that had the courage to open about about miscarrieges and difficulty conciving and breastfeeding and PPD, both women and men, that we realized we shouldn’t postpone having a kid and that it’s not all pinky ponies. We were prepared, we read a lot and we got through everything. Healthy and almost happy ( there is still the lack of sleep factor you can’t prepare for :p )
I have nothing but respect for these people and am trying to do the same for others.
monette – I replied to you down thread a bit before I saw this one. That’s amazing. It’s something that we kind of take for granted – being able to talk to someone about things like this. Having someone you can ask questions – or even just vent to makes such a huuuuge difference. Having kids is still terrifying to me – I’m 28 and I am putting it off for a bit longer – my mother and grandmother only started having kids in their 30s – but I’m SO thankful that I have some older coworkers that I adore and trust who I can go to with questions – as well as friends my own age who have just started families. It takes so much pressure off knowing there’s someone else you can be comfortable discussing things with. I work with some amazing guys as well who have seen their wives struggle and have plenty of first hand knowledge they’re happy to pass on.
Deets, don’t bother, men like that don’t read pamphlets and they usually marry women who don’t mind the caveman mentality. I mean, who else could they marry that would put up with it.
I would say that word every single time I saw him. Every single time.
I think Ms Stone is gorgeous and the laughter was a reaction like are you kidding type of thing. And as for your friends husband if he didnt like the conversation then he should have excused him self from it and walked away that simple
I second that, Erinn. What a useless…well, tool seems to fit. My friend group ranges from 30-49, and you better believe everything from baby-making to perimenopause is on the table-whether or not the men are in the room. The only thing we don’t discuss is the men themselves 😂
I just can’t even imagineeeee. I’m not someone who delves SUPER deep into their sex life with friends – but it’s still discussed. But I’m almost 28 – and a bunch of my friends have kids – some had absolutely horrible pregnancies / deliveries. Some of them are step parents to teens. I have work friends who are 40+ and we literally just had a discussion about how her mammogram went this morning. There’s a LOT of things that get discussed – and half of my friends are also working in health care. Their husbands and boyfriends are also friends with my husband – and a lot of them are in the trades. And these guys are just soooo used to it. And it makes me so happy – especially after hearing stories like this one.
Right. That’s the behavior I expect from the kids I see every day. Not grown men…or grown married men. I would expect my husband to handle that crap without being an idiot.
What the hell???
Unfortunately, this is the way some have been conditioned by their parents to think, they are certain things you don’t talk about: cicles, sex, menopause, etc. My parents raised me exactly like this.
They refused to teach me about periods because they said I was way smarter than they were and I knew more. That was their reason. I had to ask older friends to explain.
However, this is no excuse because we are not kids anymore. We grow, we learn.
So this is very messed up and I’m sorry it happened to you especially if they are good friends of yours.
I swear to talk to my baby boy about everything, no matter how fucking unconfortable it’s going to feel for me.
What about in school? I live in Canada and when I was in grade 4 and 5 we learned all about puberty, the mentrual cycle, and sex.
On the bright side, Monette – the younger you do it the less awkward it’ll be. You can start teaching basic anatomy and kind of dumb things down for kids who are very young. The earlier that they learn the more ‘normal’ this sort of thing will be. Teaching proper terms to little kids seems to be super important – not just in terms of sexual health and development later in life – but knowing proper terms will protect them if (hopefully this never comes up EVER EVER EVER) they are molested. People who teach their kids cutsey terms for their ‘bits’ are kind of doing them a disservice if they ever needed to retell a horrible event to a professional.
My parents took me to a class put on at the hospital about puberty and that kind of thing because they didn’t want to give me misinformation. But I’m in Canada like Odetta, and I ended up learning a good deal about it in school as well. I went to the class at the hospital in early grade 5 and we were starting to learn about it later that year in school anyway – more so in 6th grade. There’s a lot more giggling when learning about it in school than at the hospital course. Looking back, it was pretty kick ass of my folks to bring me to the class. They’re not the kind of people who are comfortable discussing some things – but they wanted to make sure I had a proper understanding from a medical professional at least.
On top of that we learned A LOT more in 7th – 9th grade in PDR (personal development and relationships) class. We had a teacher who would put up slides of all the STI’s and ailments while playing Nat King Cole’s “It’s a Wonderful World” which was actually kind of hilarious. The absurdity of the photos and that song together kind of cut the tension down.
Oh I remember the STI pictures, so gross, but very effective. I never understand why people don’t want to teach kids about their own bodies, how to protect themselves. This abstinence only thing that republicans are preaching about is so ineffective.
@Odetta: unfortunately, there is no sexual education in schools, in my country. Even though it’s been almost 30 years since we got rid of communism. I’m from Romania ( est-european). The country is still very religious, orthodox. Very homophobic, sexist, anti-choice, etc. people are the majority and the ones in charge as well. It has been discussed many times about introducing sexual health classes, but the religious prudes won’t allow it.
@ Erinn: thank you for both your thoughtful and insightful answers.
Everything I hear about Canada makes me thinks it’s a wonderful country with awesome people.
I learned about menstruation in school. When I brought it up with my mother she was startled— as though it never occurred to her to bring it up with me. Then she gave me the drill on where she hides the feminine products and how to stealthily dispose of them because menfolk should never have to think about these things.
Even when I was eleven I thought “fuck this shit.”
Gotta respond to Miss Jupitero: GOOD FOR YOU! I bought it all and was brainwashed into thinking menstruation was dirty and shameful. I laughed with delight when I read that even at 11, you wondered what was up with that shit!! 🙂
@nikki, I feel
Like all of my best instincts about myself and the work were right around my early teens. I had my fair share of trauma later and unfortunately went to a “lady” college that was or famous for putting out First Ladies than anything else and my self esteem took a beating. Now I’m in my fifties and I have all that glorious clarity again. All hail menopause— for me it has been glorious. I love this stage of my life.
I agree. I’m 51, my friends are similar ages, and we all talk about it. With our husbands too. I can’t imagine not being able to.
A agree, what a complete tool! I feel sorry for his wife and for Hecate. It’s a huge red flag that a dude lacks empathy for any experience outside his own. Same goes for periods. All the men in my life have bought me tampons at some point or another, because life happens, and they aren’t fussed. In one case, my girlfriend’s husband overheard my whispered request for a tampon, so he popped out and bought me a box, painkillers and chocolate without any prompting. THAT is a friend.
Yep. I hope Erin, that your man is the rule and not the exception. I have worked with guys who refused to buy their girlfriends tampons (because-EMBARRASSING!) and yet insisted that they “loved women”. I always corrected them – no, you love what women can do for you and how they make you feel (with the exception of when they’re on their periods-duh, cause *gross*).
That thing they always say about you know your not mature enough to have intercourse with someone if you’re too embarrassed to buy condoms-I think that goes for tampons, too (for those having heterosexual sex).
Coming in late, but yes, I knew Mr. Who was a keeper when he went out late at night to buy me some tampons.
I know many people will be offended and say that this is not a laughing matter, and I agree that it is not, but I liked her reaction just to show how ridiculous the situation really is. I read somewhere that 4 out of 5 women in the world have gone or will go through some kind of ssexual harassment/abuse.
It’s much more difficult to find a woman that has never felt objectified/uncomfortable/abused, that one that has, because the same way that we were taught to be nice, to bear it, to ignore it, men were taught that it was ok, it was flirtatious, it was a seduction techiniche or whatever.
People are learning how that behavior affected so many people and how our own cultures created this toxic environment and yes, most men, not all, but MOST did something in their lives that they shouldn’t have.
I agree. I think her reaction is pure Sharon Stone, and her statements afterwards certainly qualify her 10 min. bought of laughter. She’s always been rather outspoken, and tends to do so with a sense of humor and common sense. I love her honesty.
I don’t think her laugh was in anyway unhelpful. I realize there may be learning curve for men on how to open the conversation, but when I read his question my first thought was ,”are you kidding me?”
She wasn’t rude, why should she censor her response for his comfort?
this!
does she pwe anyone “appropriate” response? and who gets to decide what appropriate response for this kind of question is?
My reaction to her reaction was – HELL YEAH! TELL IT LIKE IT IS, SISTER! That’s the laugh of a woman who has seen it all and come out the other side like a phoenix through flames. No wonder men are so terrified of women… we’re METAL AF!
(an aside, what exactly is the “appropriate” response to someone asking you whether you’ve been harassed/assaulted/raped? Downcast eyes and quivering lip? Who says we can’t cackle in the face of evil?)
Totally agreed, I was put off by this comment as well. I and a lot of others felt really vindicated by the response. The way we’ve lived with this stuff for so long it to tell our stories as funny stories or be flippant about it so it doesn’t feel so heavy. This felt real, not dramatic at all. What a broad.
+ 1. I don’t imagine there’s one “helpful” way to respond. She chose the one way that suited her and she didn’t worry if making man asking the question, or viewer, is feeling comfortable or not. She shouldn’t worry about it.
I agree. When being asked about possible victimization, is the burden really on the victim to be “helpful”? They don’t owe anyone anything.
When I read about that laugh I thought if I was her I would have laughed too.
Like “are you kidding me ?”
I think her reaction was completely honest and appropriate. It is kind of a ridiculous question. She probably had the options to laugh or cry, and she took the more elegant route. I am sure in her mind, she was running through the situations she survived while she laughed.
Also why should she be ‘helpful’ to anything? Her response is fine, but even if it weren’t, I hate that everything women/minorities say is always evaluated from the perspective of ‘not helpful to the cause’. Meanwhile, these men continue raping/harassing. Every time we hear about a new allegation or a white man says something dumb, no one thinks it taints the whole group of people. Instead they start stupid whiny BS like ‘#notallmen’. I don’t think we should put this kind of pressure on women that you have to have one kind of response to be ‘helpful’. If you’ve been through this and gotten through it, you can say anything you like as far as I’m concerned.
At first, I too, I thought her 10 second laugh wasn’t the best response to that question. I think it’s mostly because of how awkward the interviewer felt. However, because that interviewer was a man, her response was quite…powerful, or—at the very least—spot on. In general, men are clueless to the harassment that women face.
He asked about whether she’d been harassed/assaulted/raped… she doesn’t owe him a comfortable response. The topic aside, as an interviewer, it’s his job to put her at ease, not the other away around.
Well said. Also, who cares if the interviewer is uncomfortable? She’s not being mean at all, he’s just being really awkward and sensitive because he can’t handle this conversation, and honestly I have no sympathy for that. We have been pressured into making ourselves comfortable with rape, assault, and harassment. Men can deal with being a bit uncomfortable as well.
+1,000!
She is one of those fabulous older women who could teach you a ton over a long afternoon. Very wise.
She is a woman I don’t see the need to use the word older
Because the word older in this case is giving her credit for years of experience. It’s easier to trust the advice of someone who’s been through something themselves, and I can think of several older gals I’d much rather hear from than a 20 year old; their experiences would be so interesting. Older isn’t always a negative word! 🙂
I think her laughter is a perfectly appropriate response, not just because I think that people who were harassed in any way get to decide how. they are going to react and that there is no “wrong” or “right” response.
And I actually like it because even if I don’t know much about Stone, I’m sure that any woman at 50 has at least some experience with sexual harrassment/patronizing/sexism/many many things-to think that she may not-is so unrealistic, it’s laughable.
kudos to Stone!
i think her reaction was very Sharon Stone. She is such a cool woman and with her 10 seconds of laughter she showed him how naive his question was.
Sharon has always been a woman of her own mind & smart. It was a very Sharon thing to do.
Actually, I saw the video clip of this interview. My husband brought it to my attention. It brought tears to my eyes. In the video, when he asked the question and she began laughing , it sounded surprised/like disbelief at the question, then it faltered into a little squeak of outrage and then petered off. Then she looked him dead in the eye with a frozen smile and with a hint of tears in her eyes as she began to answser… My tears became rage at that point. I started shouting at the computer screen… just how much we have to bottle up as women…for the sake of being ladylike, preserving our dignity even as it is being ripped from us…
Sharon has certainly seen it all. And we salute her for still being here. Long career to you, Sharon! I forever love you in Basic Instinct.
I hope you celebitchies go about work today making a couple of guys lives “uncomfortable”.
“just how much we have to bottle up as women…”
Seriously!
Oh Sharon Stone. She’s the original ice queen. I worked on a B movie with her once and she was very, very unkind to all involved. I hope she finds some comfort in the future. I love that she laughed at this. Of course Sharon Stone, has been harassed and assaulted. She’s talked about it! Poor interviewing.
On the body thing-Some folks are really touchy about things and I’m sorry that happened to you, Hecate. I got dragged over the coals once for explaining a menstrual cup to some former friends and suggesting that it requires a level of comfort with the body that some women don’t have, or prefer not to shove their fingers in their vagina to remove a cup full of blood. They flipped out and refused to talk about anything else until I apologized for “shaming women” or something. It’s still such a bizarre memory for me. Like I got sucked into the twilight zone where every single woman everywhere is completely comfortable with doing that and I was disparaging towards them. I don’t even know.
I’ve had a similar situation with friends who asked why I used OB tampons (without applicators). They were going on about how messy and difficult it must be, and I said, no not really, there’s less bloody garbage to deal with, and it’s easy if you’re comfortable putting your hand up there. They were NOT amused! I mean, they asked? lol
To me that laugh was everything , specially it made the interviewer awkward. It shows how they are so unwilling to translate our emotion . They could understand but they are cold as if Men have this sociopath spot when it comes to women feelings and desires. Though spot size varies. I am not generalizing but I do believe men are more primitive than civilized. They use their language only and forget other creatures.
I mean it’s a very Stone reaction. She can be off the cuff with her responses and her incredulous laugh at the question is frankly appropriate. As if someone her age and in Hollywood for most of her life hasn’t seen and heard it all
I think she was laughing at the way he asked the question, he used the words ‘were you ever uncomfortable?’ . Which is ofcourse a huge understatement.
Sharon said it like it is. Actually, women continue to be raised accommodating men.
That being said I don’t see anything bad about the guy’s reaction to perumenopause talk. I don’t discuss my period or my vagina in public and so don’t want to hear about men talking about their reproductive organs. Not everything must be discussed in public to show that we are equal, that’s not what equality is about.
I don’t think that’s what is being said, that equality is talking about your vagina in public. She said she was tired from premenopause, I don’t understand how that could make a man uncomfortable. What happens when his wife goes through it, will it make him uncomfortable and she won’t be able to talk about it. It just so silly and immature.
There are things that are just not for social conversations. Men and women alike who insist on discussing their “bowel movements” are just as boring as those insisting on talking about their children.
It seems the difference is he doesn’t want to hear about in private, when they’re alone togethet, not when they’re out in public being “social.”
That kind of “don’t tell me about lady things”attitude from men in intimate relationships went out with the Victorian era. Is he going to need smelling salts for hearing about his own wife’s normal life changes?
I haven’t been hiding menopause discussions since Viagra commercials hit the airwaves (or Ethernet).
If you expect me to edit my natural female life processes, I don’t want to hear about your chemically-engineered erections.
Hecate, the dude is living in the dark ages. Do they flip the channel during Cialis commercials?
And this is what’s missing/misunderstood from the conversation about the Aziz Ansari story. Women were raised to accommodate men. I’m sure Sharon has many stories to tell.
She always struck me as a classic bitch and I love her for that. So she laughed incredulously at the naive question. As she pointed out…any one with a modicum of knowledge of her background can be able to interpolate her experience in broad strokes. A better question isn’t if it happened, but how she handled it when it did and what advice would she now give 18 year olds.
Saw her speak at a large LGBTQ advocacy event and she was fabulous.
Can we just all admit that Sharon Stone is one of the most beautiful women out there? She is just absolutely stunning!
That laugh made me want her to write her memoirs NOW.
I laughed sardonically too when a man asked if it had happened to me. I didn’t look like Sharon Stone doing it though. 😉
I also went on to tell him it happened to most women I know. He looked so shocked. He also ever so fleetingly looked at my chest as if he wondered if that had been involved, and then looked so embarrassed.
Why are so many men so, well, naive about this…for real or for pretend? The reporter didn’t have to be so prissy. He could have asked, “You’ve been in Hollywood a long time, if you don’t mind talking about it, what has been your experience with sexual harassment at work?”
Take it as a given, boys, and work from there..
Sharon has also worked extensively with Amfar (fighting AIDS). I like her. She looks fabulous, too. I hope she is enjoying her life.
What bothers me the most about this article is that she acknowledges her generation catered to men. Now we’re in 2018 and the shift is being seen. Happy it’s finally happening but it’s still infuriating it’s taken this long.
It was a dumb question – that’s why she laughed. After everything that has happened over the last four months to ask an actress – or any woman for that matter – if she’s ever been harassed means you haven’t been paying attention. A co worker of mine was telling me she wanted to start wearing wigs like I do (I wear them to work because they are easy, protect my hair and I love changing my look) but her husband doesn’t like them. I stared at her puzzled because my thought was, “So? He’s not the one wearing them.” She is a woman in her fifties and she honestly felt that her husband’s opinion on the subject overrode her own. There is definitely a generational aspect to how women view their own autonomy
Am I the only one who gets very uncomfortable over the fact that every woman now is asked about and has to reply to whether they have been sexually harassed/assaulted? I hope there’s a pre agreement when these things are discussed, just because some women feel ready to talk about their experience doesn’t mean that everyone wants to share.
Oh my god, YES. That was my immediate thought. Predators being exposed really should not make random people (whether they’re journalists, paparazzi, or commenters on sites like twitter) feel entitled to start publicly asking female public figures- or males either- if they’ve ever been harassed or abused. That already happened with one c-list starlet and now she’s being slut-shamed all over the place for it.
From Wiki: Novelist Margaret Atwood writes that when she asked a male friend why men feel threatened by women, he answered, “They are afraid women will laugh at them.” When she asked a group of women why they feel threatened by men, they said, “We’re afraid of being killed.”
Good for Sharon. Keep laughing at them. #Timesup.
I thought her reaction was genuine and honestly, kind of brilliant.
She’s totally right. It really struck me, just how much women are used to accommodating men, when I read Catherine Deneuve’s stupid ass petition. It’s born from a pervasive culture where men are not taught to empathize with women and prioritize their own desires (sexual or otherwise). In a society like that, of course it’s difficult for them to comprehend the notion that a woman might be uncomfortable or unhappy with something they’re doing.
At any rate, I’m glad she understands, even if some other women still refuse to.
I’ll preface by saying I adore my father, he’s been a wonderful daddy to me, but generations are different. I remember growing up, he would mute the TV or change the channel, any time a commercial for tampons or pads would come on, making me feel like it was something to be embarrassed about. When I did get my period, I actually hid it from my parents (or tried to). My mom was hurt that I hadn’t told her, but I just felt like it made me a disgusting person and it should be kept a secret. So yeah, in that and other ways, being female has been seen as “less than” in such subtle ways that we didn’t totally notice it and yet internalized it I think.
Thank you Shannon, I had the same experience completely! I also grew up in a house where “periods” seemed a secret discussion that we had to be embarrassed by. When I was a child first getting my cycle, I also hid the fact that I got my period from my parents for probably three or four months, and my mother also was hurt that I hadn’t told her. I have the sweetest mother in the world, and for years I looked back on that memory and felt guilty that I’d hurt her. I look back on it now and her hurt reaction frustrates me. I was a still child, a little girl who didn’t know how to cope with discussing the change in my body, one who didn’t want the way people viewed me to change, and the topic wasn’t presented in a way that I felt comfortable with it.
Anyway, not much to do with Sharon Stone, but I agree that from a very young age we internalize the shame associated with issues that relate to being female
Sharon was labeled as a “difficult” actress to work with long before her stoke. Hollywood began isolating her in late nineties early 2000. Looking at what has happened recently, when women are called “difficult” in Hollywood, no longer trust that label other than its means it is a strong women with her own opnions.
Hecate, shame on your friend and her stupid husband! I’m sorry, but he needs to learn. We all need to learning constantly. What a big effing baby.
I didn’t watch the clip but I love Sharon and the fact that she laughed super hard and her responses. I’m a little younger than she is, but I watched my mom accommodate alll her men. I catch myself doing it too, and I get disgusted with myself. Reciprocal care is one thing. Completely accommodating another person is just disgusting. It’s reinforcing that I don’t matter. I have no value & neither do my needs. Well, to hell with that!