Keira Knightley rules out sex scenes directed by men

[Doyoumind]

I'm not generally a fan of KK but I think she's absolutely right in this and others should make a stand. But she's in a fortunate position where she can afford to make this decision, unlike other actors. She also makes other comments which come dangerously close to what could be described by certain people as 'transphobe' territory, so I hope they don't come for her too.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55795237

Like you I am not a fan of hers. I hope though it sets a precedent or standard. Too many sex scenes in general are for men's titillation and very unreal (for example, never a mention of condoms).

Most films are written and directed by men for men. Most TV drama too. Sooooooo boring.

Most films are written and directed by men for men. Most TV drama too. Sooooooo boring.

There are tons of female screenwriters out there, especially for TV. But screenwriter isn't as high profile as director.
I get the point, though, and think she's making the right choice.

I just saw this. I daresay her comments are going to piss off qute a lot of people - I think I see her point.

I totally agree with her. There are far too many sex scenes for the male gaze only. She's in a very fortunate position to be able to say no.

Good for her. It's a pity though that she had to reach her level before she could make a stand.

I also wish her comments were inclusive of all women, not just mothers as it seems like becoming one was her own personal epiphany.

I'd like to see more gender criticism too

I think she's just expressed very clearly how your views change after having children, but also often with age - your body changes and so do your attitudes.
As an actress she's particularly aware of the male gaze.

I’ve just become a huge KK fan. 😀

Good for her.

I would like to see a vast reduction of dramas that feature females being raped or murdered as well.

@Melange99

Good for her.

I would like to see a vast reduction of dramas that feature females being raped or murdered as well.

I second this. I’ve stopped watching a lot of US crime drama because I was sick to the back teeth of it.

I think it's fine for her to speak as a mother, why shouldn't she, she is one, but agree she could have extended that to make a wider point about women in the industry. Maybe she did and it was edited out, who knows, they've taken short snippets there. I haven't listened to the podcast, so that could have been a response to a question that was specifically about her.

I am absolutely a fan of KK. She's chosen some interesting roles with a clear feminist slant (The Imitation Game, Misbehaviour. Actually Misbehaviour is one of my favourite recent films).

I wonder if her position here has been influenced by her early career - wasn't she topless in a sex scene when she was underage, in a film by a male director (The Hole)?

@womanity

I’ve just become a huge KK fan. 😀

Gosh, I wonder which regular poster will misread this.

KK's words have really made me smile today. I especially liked this bit about male directors:

“They tell me what it is to be a woman. Be nice, be supportive, be pretty but not too pretty, be thin but not too thin, be sexy but not too sexy, be successful but not too successful. … But I don’t want to flirt and mother them, flirt and mother, flirt and mother. I don’t want to flirt with you because I don’t want to fuck you, and I don’t want to mother you because I am not your mother. … I just want to work, mate. Is that OK?"

Cheers to you Keira

I really rate her for saying this. Good on her!

I enjoyed that article today too! Like a breath of fresh air. Hopefully others will feel they can speak out and say no, too. Or some seeds of doubt will have been planted at least.

I read this earlier and was very impressed as well.

I find KK annoying in certain roles (I don't want to, but I do) but likeable in interviews. She comes across as relatively grounded and smart, she also seems to avoid a lot of press attention somehow I think?
I would be surprised though if she ever came out as GC (even if she was), because she seems quite adept at avoiding controversy (not a criticism!)

@carlaCox

KK's words have really made me smile today. I especially liked this bit about male directors:

“They tell me what it is to be a woman. Be nice, be supportive, be pretty but not too pretty, be thin but not too thin, be sexy but not too sexy, be successful but not too successful. … But I don’t want to flirt and mother them, flirt and mother, flirt and mother. I don’t want to flirt with you because I don’t want to fuck you, and I don’t want to mother you because I am not your mother. … I just want to work, mate. Is that OK?"

Cheers to you Keira

This is 👌

I just want to work, mate. Is that OK?

I don't particularly like her acting but I do like her. Weirdly, I warmed to her a few years ago when she did some sort of arty half naked photoshoot. Normally I see that and think 'yawn, not this attention seeking crap again' but in her case she spoke about all the criticism she has had about her body and it felt like a real two fingers up at the world, because she does not have the accepted standard Hollywood perfect body shape that we are so accustomed to seeing and she knew she was exposing herself to criticism.

Great to see her take a stand on this. I am also tired of seeing male gazey sex scenes, gratuitous rape and violence against women on screen, female nudity for no reason, male stars twice the age of their female co-star.

I enjoyed The Fall, for example, but I had to skip through the violence. I was also extremely grossed out by Jamie Dornan saying that he had stalked a woman to prepare for the role. I had always thought he seemed alright before that, but now he makes my skin crawl.

Good for you Keira!

I hadn't remembered how much violence against women is depicted on screen, which may say something about what I choose to watch. Thank you @Melange99 for reminding us all that it is violence as well as sex that should be portrayed less as well.

I also applaud her stance.

I am sick of explaining to 16 yr old why there's never any mention of safe sex and consent in the films she is watching. We've also had lots of conversations about certain ahem techniques where I've said that a woman would not have wanted that to happen in that way. Although more recently I have noticed some TV shows for teens are getting more socially responsible.

I read an article recently about the tv show lucifer and one of their sex scenes and how it was done. Apparently they used a choreographer to layout the sequence of events and to ensure the participants were comfortable at each stage and knew what was happening. It also said this way of doing it was become more normal as an industry standard. Dunno if that's the case but the scene itself was tastefully done with very little nudity and only on the man's part which I found really refreshing.