On Tues., Sept. 11, activist and actress Kathy Najimy spoke at the annual Chicago Foundation for Women luncheon. In addition to her success as an actress, with over 20 film credits and several television shows to her name, including presently staring in CBS' Numb3rs, Najimy has also been an outspoken AIDS activist, animal-rights activist, feminist and a proud Lebanese American. She has received several honors for her activism including, the L.A. Shanti's Founder award, the L.A. Gay Center's Distinguished Achievement Award, the Arabic Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award, PETA's Humanitarian of the Year Award, and in 2004 she was honored as Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year. Windy City Times spoke with Najimy about feminism in American culture today.
Windy City Times: What will you speak about at the luncheon?
Kathy Najimy: I speak around the country a lot about AIDS, gay and lesbian rights, peace, violence against women, animal rights, self-esteem for girls and women, body image, and basically health and welfare of girls and women. I think what I will probably do is a combination of all of that. I also tell my story from the point of view of a feminist. … I want to talk about their programs, too. They have some really interesting programs in place with that foundation.
WCT: How does being a feminist influence your life and possibly decisions you've made in your career?
KN: Well, being a feminist influences everything—every breath that I take—because it is a way of life for me, a way of thinking, a point of view. It informs my choices, it helps me decide where I want to spend my time, how I want to raise my child, how I live my own life, so it's hard to say. ... It affects everything really for me.
How it affects me in Hollywood, it's an interesting question. … I was a political feminist long before I was an actress in movies and sitcoms, so it's not something that I choose which way to go, I am a feminist and therefore try to, and not always successfully, to move through the world in all of my affairs, including my career, as a feminist. Does it present roadblocks? Absolutely. Does it annoy people? Absolutely. Are there very few of us who say out loud we're feminists? Absolutely. But, do I give a shit? No. If someone doesn't want me on their TV show or in their movie because they know when I go on a talk show I'll talk about issues that I believe in, then that's their choice and I respect it. If they do want me then they know that…I was a feminist long before I was an actress and will be long after.
WCT: What is the media's responsibility as far as presenting images of women? How do we reconcile responsibility and censorship?
KN: It's a tough one, because part of being a feminist is based on respect and choice. So, it's difficult to monitor somebody's freedom of speech while at the same time you're saying, 'Well, I have the right to choose what I want to do with my body or who I want to kiss or love. So, it's tricky…here's the deal you and I both know that everything has to do with commerce. If they told us, showing women as snow cones would make you a million dollars, than every woman would be a naked snow cone. So, somewhere along the way, the less of women you can show the more valid they become.
Now it's just a matter of course, that the thinner the woman is—no matter [ how ] she got there and no matter [ that ] she is affecting girls or women—it kind of doesn't matter as long as that is what is going to sell. Now there are exceptions. There are some television shows, movies, casting directors, directors and a couple of magazines that make a point of showing women of all ages and sizes and colors and sexual preferences.
So, do I think they should have a responsibility? Yes. Do most of them have it? No, because they aren't in the business of being conscious. They're in the business of selling. But, then we're thrilled when there is the Dove ad; we get lifted up every once in a while by a Susan Sarandon, Ms. magazine or a Janeane Garofalo; we do have moments where we give shining examples of how we can be.
WCT: One of the questions the symposium is asking is, 'Do violent images cause more violence against women and girls, or is it just a reflection of our violent culture?' What do you think?
KN: I feel both, but I feel that violent images make it accessible and appropriate. ... In the '80s there was politically incorrectness and it seemed really cool—like we don't fucking care, we can say what we think. Now to me, it was sophomoric, ignorant, ignorantly infused frat-boy humor that pretty much any 13-year old boy could have come up with. To me, that's not interesting, it's not original, it's not funny. Now, it's a choice; it's not what I would go see or support. I support their right to do it; I do not respect it or give it any weight.
So violence against women, I mean thank God for Eve Ensler, you know. She's the first one who started a little mini-movement that said [ violence is ] literally killing women and we're talking about hundreds of thousands of women in our country—and you have made it and our culture have made it acceptable. All of these women are products of violence against women and yet our system brushes it off as if someone was stealing milk from the corner store.
WCT: I know you have a daughter. What types of lessons do you think it's important to instill in her as she grows through adolescence?
KN: It's so difficult. I feel like sometimes I act defensively instead of offensively, especially living here and being in the business that I am in and her being on the level that she's at with where we are in our class system, because I am a blessed actress, It feels like I am always dodging comments, billboards [ or something else ] . I find myself exhausted and wondering what would it be like if I could just sort of organically parent.
WCT: I know that you have said women's rights are human rights, and I know that some men don't see themselves as being a part of feminism. How do we reach out to these men and help create a message that feminism is about all of us?
KN: I think one of the only bummers about the feminist movement is the name. We just made a wrong turn with that, because people sometimes get short-sighted and they get afraid; even the word 'feminism' has derogatory weight.
Now, of course, we can move beyond simple titles so that it encompasses men as much as women. … It's all about choice and respect. So you choose whether you want to be a stay-at-home father; choose whether you want to be gay or straight; choose whether you want to have children; [ or ] choose the job you want. The world widens for men as it widens for women and girls.
How we sort of let them know, I guess, [ is to have ] more people [ speak ] out, but feminism has become such a bad word…. I guess it doesn't really matter if they say they're feminists it just matters if they are. Ultimately, I don't care much anymore to force women into saying they're feminists as much as I'm thrilled when they embrace their feminist lives.
