Why Keira Knightley Is Part of Hollywood's Gender Bias

As I scrolled through the news on my phone this morning, one entertainment headline from ABC caught my eye. "Why Keira Knightley calls herself a 'Complete Hypocrite'". I clicked and I was pleasantly surprised. I love Knightley as an actress, but her quotes in this piece made me love her as a person.

Knightley admitted that there's a gender bias in Hollywood (like we haven't heard that before), but she goes on to admit that she's part of the problem. She recognizes that magazines show completely unrealistic standards for women, and that by being on the cover, she's supporting that mission.

I couldn't agree more. We are inundated daily by a relentless stream of air-brushed photos and unrealistic ideals. I can't be the only one who has seen a celebrity, like Knightley, on the cover of a magazine and been jealous of her flawless skin and mile-long legs. And I also can't be the only one who has fell in love with an item in a magazine or catalogue only to put it on and think, Why does it look so much different on the model?

Knightley's right. She is part of the problem, but so is everyone who picks up that glossy, Photoshopped image without question. I'm not naive; I don't think we can magically fix this issue overnight, but I certainly think it's worth a serious conversation. I think it raises a big question that we all need to think about:

Why are we supporting fake, unrealistic ideas of beauty over the true natural beauty we all have?

Keira Knightley is beautiful, even without all the Photoshop, and you know what? I'm beautiful too. No, I'm not a size 0. I don't have mile-long legs. I'm barely 5'3" and I have some curves, but that's what makes me unique.

That's what I want to see on the cover of a magazine. Real women, who are doing amazing things, and who are beautiful just the way they are.