The Lies Hollywood Tells About Little Girls (NYT)
The Lies Hollywood Tells About Little Girls
New York Times, Mara Wilson (acted in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire), 2/23/2021
At 13, I already knew all about The Narrative. As an actor from the age of 5, who was carrying films by age 8, Id been trained to seem, to be, as normal as possible whatever it took to avoid my inevitable downfall. I shared a bedroom with my little sister. I went to public school. I was a Girl Scout. When someone called me a star I was to insist that I was an actor, that the only stars were in the sky. Nobody would touch the money I made until I turned 18. But I was now 13, and I was already ruined. Just like everyone expected.
Theres one line from the article that jumps out at me now, amid the agents saying 12-year-olds needed to be innocent-looking and like an Ivory Snow girl to get cast and the lurid descriptions of child stars struggling with addiction. The writer had asked me what I thought of Britney Spears. Apparently, I replied that I hated her.
I didnt actually hate Britney Spears. But I would never have admitted to liking her. There was a strong streak of Not Like the Other Girls in me at the time, which feels shameful now although hadnt I had to believe that, when Id spent so much of my childhood auditioning against so many other girls? Some of it was pure jealousy, that she was beautiful and cool in a way Id never be. I think mostly, I had already absorbed the version of The Narrative surrounding her.
The way people talked about Britney Spears was terrifying to me then, and it still is now. Her story is a striking example of a phenomenon Ive witnessed for years: Our culture builds these girls up just to destroy them. Fortunately people are becoming aware of what we did to Ms. Spears and starting to apologize to her. But were still living with the scars.
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