Meryl Streep under fire for not saying she's a feminist

Meryl Streep may be America's most celebrated actress and a long-time advocate for progressive causes and gender equity, both in the film industry and beyond. 

But she's recently irked certain arbiters of political correctness as she promotes her latest film, "Suffragette," which opens in limited release in the United States Oct. 23 and recounts the campaign for women's voting rights in the United Kingdom at the turn of the 20th century.

The Streep furor began when the three-time Oscar winner, who plays activist Emmeline Pankhurst in a brief but noteworthy appearance, sidestepped the question of whether she considers herself a feminist, according to The Guardian. Streep instead said, " I am a humanist, I am for nice, easy balance."

US actress Meryl Streep poses on arrival for the premiere of 'Suffragette' at the London Film Festival in central London on October 7, 2015. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEALLEON NEAL,LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images ( AFP )

 

The Guardian said this reply disappointed campaigners against Hollywood sexism, especially after Streep's "Suffragette" co-stars Carey Mulligan and Romola Garai said without hesitation that they were feminists.

Female bloggers were left perplexed by Streep's reluctance to embrace the f-word. Jezebel writer Joanna Rothkopf wrote: "In early September, Streep sent a package to each member of Congress urging him or her to support the Equal Rights Amendment. ... She whooped when Patricia Arquette spoke about equal pay at the Oscars. ... But for some reason she doesn't feel comfortable calling herself a feminist."

Advertisement

In advance of the film's premiere at the London film festival this week, Streep responded to the f-word issue by saying, "There is a phrase in the film --'Deeds not words' -- and that is where I stand on that. I let the actions of my life stand for what I am, as a human being. Contend with that, not the words."

But Streep and her co-stars touched off another P.R. firestorm when they posed for photos for the Time Out story wearing T-shirts that said "I'd rather be a rebel than a slave."

The line comes from a quote from Pankhurst. Some on Twitter took offense at the slogan, saying it somehow makes light of America's history of slavery, according to the web site Pink News. 


Time Out responded to the controversy by saying that Pankhurst's full statement is intended as a "rallying cry" for women to stand up against oppression.

Time Out said the quote is "absolutely not intended to criticize those who have no choice but to submit to oppression, or to reference the Confederacy."