Reese Witherspoon reveals the sexist line that’ll make her turn down a movie 

Reese Witherspoon reveals the sexist line that’ll make her turn down a movie

Taking a step for fictional females everywhere, Reese Witherspoon refuses to utter this sexist and deferential line of dialogue.

This week, actress and producer Reese Witherspoon was named “Hollywood Hero” at the 25th annual Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards.

Accepting the award, Witherspoon gave a powerful speech on gender equality in Hollywood, and used the opportunity to call out screenwriters for resorting to one particular, clichéd line of dialogue which subconsciously undermines female characters’ authority on screen.

Said Witherspoon, “It’s my most hated question. I dread reading scripts that have no women involved in their creation – because inevitably, the girl turns to the guy and says, ‘What do we do now?\'”

“I’m serious,” she added. “Go back and watch any movie, you will see this line over and over!”

This quote is invariably uttered when all hope seems lost — even after supposedly “strong” female characters have taken a stab at the problem — and they must turn to the male protagonist for salvation.

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, it’s asked by one man to another. And on TV, a medium traditionally much more inclusive, this very question closed out

But on screen, even strong women are all too often helpless in the face of utter disaster. Witherspoon challenged this in her speech, asking, “Do you know any woman in any crisis situation who has absolutely no idea what to do? I mean, don’t they tell people in crisis, even children, ‘If you’re in trouble, talk to a woman.’ It’s ridiculous that a woman wouldn’t know what to do.”

To bring more female-centric movies to the big screen, Reese Witherspoon co-founded the production company Pacific Standard, which produced both

As for what she wants to do next? An Amy Schumer biopic, apparently.

“I hope, Amy Schumer — and all the other incredible nominees — that you’ll give me the rights to your biopic first,” Witherspoon said, throwing in a little dig at Hollywood ageism, too: “Although, Amy, I’m five years older than you, so I’ll probably have to play your grandmother in the movie, by Hollywood standards, and you’ll probably have to play your own mother.”

hollywood reese witherspoon sexism Women of the Year

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