Halle Berry spoke about the ways she’s teaching her 7-year-old son regarding harmful gender stereotypes to respect the power of women. Recently she talked about her experience at a discussion panel titled “Women Breaking Barriers: An Industry Shift”. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has hosted this panel as part of the Sundance Film Festival. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event took place virtually this year.
The Oscar winner Halle Berry attended this discussion panel alongside other famous actresses like Robin Wright, Zendaya, and more. She said that she is fighting sexism within her family by teaching her son. She is trying to help her son to rethink harmful gender stereotypes. She also talked about how women especially women of color are fighting for equality in Hollywood. Some recent encouraging topics and social movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter also came forward in this celebrity discussion.
The famous actress Halle Berry explained, “I have a 7-year-old son, and I have realized what my job is in raising him. If we want to have a future that’s different, that is where it starts. You made me think of how many conversations I’ve had with him, say, since he’s turned 5 years old, about the differences in boys and girls, and I see how he’s taught to feel like he’s superior, at 5, then girls are.”
She also added, “I’ve had to really break that down for him and give him a new perspective, and challenge those thoughts and ask him to identify where that comes from, and if he believes that or not and challenge what he’s subconsciously getting from somewhere. I can tell that because we’re having those conversations he is going to grow as a deep thinker on the subject. He’s going to be determined not to just accept it. I keep challenging him all the time, like ‘Well, why is that a ‘girl color?'”
Robin Wright also talked about some important issues about women’s rights. She explained, “[Men] have to shift their perspective. And that they have to shift their psyche. It’s what they’ve only known. What a great opportunity for the new generation, the children of today, to be able to educate them when they’re 3, 4, 5 years old. To teach them something new. Not the way we grew up.”