Actress Kirsten Dunst, who played Mary Jane in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies, is causing a big of controversy with her recent interview with Harper’s Bazar UK. In the interview she talks about gender roles in today’s society.
“I feel like the feminine has been a little undervalued,” Dunst, 31, told the magazine. “We all have to get our own jobs and make our own money, but staying at home, nurturing, being the mother, cooking — it’s a valuable thing my mom created.”
Dunst then goes on to say.
“Sometimes, you need your knight in shining armor. I’m sorry. You need a man to be a man and a woman to be a woman. That’s why relationships work…”
Several feminine websites are outraged with her quotes. Check them out at Jezebel and Uproxx. Fox News is defending her opinion. What are your thoughts?
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I think what is lost in this shuffle is how modern life has changed the traditional role. In the past it was expected for women to stay home with the children. Today, if the family is financially lucky enough, the woman can choose to stay home with the family instead of pursuing a career. From my vantage point, what Kirsten is stating is both should be valued. I see nothing wrong with appreciating and applauding a woman that makes a choice that is best for herself, her children and family. If the choice is balancing a career and family or concentrating on staying at home, both have value.
As for a man to be a man and woman be a woman? Every couple is different and if that works for her great! Works for my wife and I as well.
Hell, on the flip side you have criticism of Marissa Mayer, (CEO of Yahoo) of setting an unattainable standard. People need to concentrate on their own lives for a change and stop badmouthing everyone else…
Also, I think Comics MJ will disagree with this opinion. Comics Gwen will, but we saw what playing the traditional “damsel in distress” waiting for knight in shining armor role got her.
Lol she sounds just like her character from that Mona Lisa Smile movie.
Agree with Dunst 100%
@16 – “I’ll punch you right in the baby-maker!”
@14 – Both of your parents worked? That’s different than how I grew up, therefore your way of living is wrong. The system works.
no big deal. It’s her opinion some my agree and some my disagree, but at the end of the day it’s just her opinion. she wants families to be more like what she grew with cause to her that’s normal, and I grew up in a family where both parents worked and that’s normal to me. so what
@11 – I just found her to be completely miscast and uncharismatic as MJ in all 3 movies. To be fair to Dunst I do think that a large part of the problem was MJ being written very poorly throughout the trilogy.
The only other thing I saw her in was Melancholia and I hated it. I’m sure she can probably do some good work when given the right movie, I just haven’t seen most of her movies.
Uhhh… there were such things as stay at home housewives before your mother created the role, woman.
I was thinking she was making a comment against LGBT relationships and prepared to point out how stupid and hateful such comments are. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Far as I can see, she just made a statement that could be interpreted the wrong way. SO I’ll kinda sorta disagree and be on my way.
@8 – I know J.R. didn’t like her in the Raimi movies, I thought she was just ok = not great, but not bad enough to drag down the films (exception – whenever she sang in the third film). But she can be a really good actress. She was great in Interview With the Vampire, and she and Michelle Williams were very good in Dick, a very funny movie. Plus she inspired the term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” so we have to thank her for that.
I agree with most of what she said
Nothing to cause controversy
she is a great actor, rarely goes for paint by numbers stuff.
Wow so Kirsten Dunst’s “controversial statements” are just as forgettable as her acting…
don’t see the attack on gay relationships in that interview. She is commenting on the changing dynamics of heterosexual relationships, she raises an interesting point but disagree with her. Since the industrial revolution men worked shit jobs they hated that broke their souls and destroyed their bodies to support their families, all very noble but alot of pain in it as well. Since the mid 2oth century women have carried out this role also, the pratice was sold to them as freedom, clearly a lie, more likely a means to increasse the supply of labour and suppress wages through competition. All workers need more free time to do creative things and family things that can not happen when they are slaves to their jobs. A new way has to be found where you do not spend the majority of your adult life in service to other people. Let both men and women workers spend more time at home.
How DARE she state her opinion!
Wait, Fox News is defending her? Well now I don’t know what to think.
and i will post this to my fb page for all my gay friends to see to ask what they think.
i guess if we don’t agree with.. let me get my words right. they still might not be… a man and a woman, a woman wanting her knight in shining armor to be a man, we should be OUTRAGED! guess what… the gay agenda has to quit thinking that everybody that does not agree with them is homophobic. we are not. i say we because i know i am not the only one. if you are gay, go for it. but if i believe a woman needs her man… don’t say that i am wrong. it is a two way street…. you don’t have the right of way. i sure hope i don’t get killed or banned for my opinion on this. but by posting this article, you asked for it.
Wow, the things that pass for controversy these days!
Eh. None of the articles seem particularly outraged. Even Fox News just had one quote agreeing with her and the other disagreeing. I don’t think society is trying to stop relationships and female roles being very traditional if that suits the people involved, it just shouldn’t be the case that it’s seen as the only, “normal” or “right” choice.
so what.. she is right.