‘Orphan Black’ Star Tatiana Maslany On Hollywood Sexism: ‘It’s Never Ending’
Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany is the latest actress to come forward in criticism of the rampant sexism and misogyny in Hollywood, and Ms. Maslany suspects there aren’t many women in Hollywood untouched by the issues so many actresses are now reporting.
“I don’t think that any woman in this industry hasn’t [experienced sexism] – I think we all have in various ways, and sometimes you can’t even tell that it’s happening because it’s so ingrained in the way things are structured,” said Ms. Maslany in an interview with People Magazine. “Seventy or 80 percent of the people on set are male – directors, writers, producers, people in positions of power, but that’s shifting too.”
Tatiana only recently received her first Emmy nomination for the outstanding work she has done in portraying a group of clones on the hit BBC America series, Orphan Black. While fans have been upset by the lack of recognition Ms. Maslany has received for her Orphan Black roles, Tatiana is much more concerned with what has gone on behind the scenes. The Orphan Black star says she “can’t even name the number of times” she was subjected to Hollywood sexism.
“Like being told, ‘Let’s not talk about that, sweetheart,’ if I have an issue with being hit on by a 50-year-old when I was 17 and on set,” reveals the Orphan Black star. “It’s never ending. Being put into this little outfit that showed my midriff in a scene where I’m supposed to be grieving the death of a family member, and it’s like, ‘Make sure that her belly button is showing’ – it’s just pathetic. It’s so pathetic.”
It hasn’t stopped there, either. Tatiana adds that she has been asked to modify her appearance with Hollywood executives going as far as to suggest she shave her armpits “and wax my mustache, which I refused to do! I’ll do it if the part calls for it and it makes sense.”
Orphan Black‘s Maslany has hope for the future and for change that is now possible thanks to so many actresses now speaking their minds.
“I can’t imagine that it’s going to stay stuck like this. I hope not! People are too upset, people are too pissed off and too many strong voices are now being heard,” Tatiana says. “There is a big shift happening, and I think we are at the messy puberty stages of it right now, but I hope that at some point it becomes the default that every racial group has their own stories that are being told that aren’t stereotypical.”
Ms. Maslany adds that mutual understanding between the genders is critical to changing the way women are treated in Hollywood.
“It’s just about bringing that sensitivity, your emotional life and your understanding of humanity that women have that’s different to men.”
[Featured image: Tatiana Maslany courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
