Jennifer Beals: Quotes about thinking

“When I was younger, I enjoyed being strong, and I loved it when my heart was very strong, but I think it was also about submitting to the cultural idea that if you're a 22-year-old woman, you have to look a certain way. I'm not into that anymore. But I do appreciate it when my clothes fit.”

Jennifer Beals

Better Nutrition magazine (March 2004) http://jennifer-beals.com/images/press_images/better_nutrition/better4.jpg.

Love , Way , Idea , Thinking

“[What her career looks like] "It looks like a marathon. And I'm proud that I'm not a DNF (did not finish). I'm not a DNF yet. I just kept going. I think that's been the key is just to keep going and really try to get better and try to be as truthful as I can and hope that good things come my way."”

Jennifer Beals

Chicago Tribune (21 March 2011) http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-live-0321-jennifer-beals-20110320,0,3798764.column,

Truth , Hope , Way , Thinking

“[Speaking about same-sex marriage] It’s about familiarity, and I think the only reason they’re uncomfortable with the notion of same-sex marriages is because they haven’t come into contact with gay and lesbian couples enough to understand that it’s about love—and that it is a civil right.”

Jennifer Beals

Curve Magazine Interview (Summer 2009) http://www.curvemag.com/Curve-Magazine/Web-Articles-2008/Goodbye-to-Romance/.

Love , Marriage , Sex , Understanding

“Women are so often segregated to their sexuality, and how they appear. In fact, there’s a lot of talk, even now, I think in most jobs this is true…people will say, when a woman rises to power, they ask, ‘who did she sleep with?’ You know, it couldn’t possibly be about her acumen, it couldn’t possibly be about her intelligence. It’s got to be about her body, because that’s how women get ahead.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview at Chatelaine.com (February 2011) http://www.chatelaine.com/en/videos/26327--interview-with-jennifer-beals/

Women , People , Intelligence , Thinking

“I think science and spirituality are one and the same, I don't think they're really different…quantum physics is validating all kinds of spiritual teachings.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview in The Guardian (8 September 2007) http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/sep/08/features16.theguide3/

Thinking , Science

“People get a sense that something is really wrong in government and in our culture. There is a corruption, not only in politics, but of spirit as well, when people are so quick to be violent with one another. I think everybody would like to be able to find a solution to make things better. We have the desire to reform inside of us, and we get frustrated because we don’t know how to change things, even if it comes to our own behavior. Sometimes you get frustrated because you don’t know how to stop that thing that you know is either hurtful to yourself or someone else.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview at Collider.com (6 February 2011) http://collider.com/jennifer-beals-interview-the-chicago-code/74802/.

People , Behavior , Thinking , Sense

“Now, at this time, I think there’s too many people who feel comfortable with hate speech. It’s become too commonplace, and acceptable. And it’s not okay, and we’ve got to change that…I think we also have to take responsibility for the words that come out of our mouths, because we are all connected. We are all part of one community.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview on Good Day Chicago for Thanksgiving Parade (25 November 2010) http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/entertainment/jennifer-beals-chicago-thanksgiving-parade-20101125.

Hate , People , Feeling , Communication

“I don’t know that I’ve ever fit in, ever. And I say that not in a bad way. I mean, in some ways, it’s a relief not to fit in, because you get to look at different sides equally. Like I don’t know that I have always found my tribe. My tribe are the people who don’t feel like they fit in. And frankly, I think that a lot of people don’t feel like they fit in.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview with Jian Gomeshi, CBC Radio Q (16 February 2011) http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/QTV_on_bol...2/ID=1886977325/.

People , Way , Feeling , Thinking

“[On what she learned from working on The L Word] I think that I learned the most clearly was how connected we all are. And that (does air quotation marks) "gay issues" are also women's issues because homophobia is a form of misogyny…And I feel much more motivated to speak out when I see something that I don't like or that just smells wrong…I see how all women are connected. You know, and that we are all either repressed or we repress ourselves in certain ways, and that's truly codified within the culture. And that I'm not so far removed from that woman in the Congo who's terrified to go out into the woods to look for firewood.”

Jennifer Beals

New York Times Talks Panel (20 April 2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeZgJ3EJrbE.

Women , Way , Feeling , Motivation

“[On the message of the Dalai Lama] We are in a very important time, where it’s clear that we live…in a pluralistic society. And certainly the Internet has made it clear that the actions of one group of people on one side of the globe can instantaneously affect the actions of another group people on the other side of the globe. So in this time when we are all so interconnected, the idea of practicing tolerance and non-discrimination doesn’t mean that you weaken yourself or that you weaken your society. On the contrary, I think it means that you’re able to strengthen yourself and your society.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview on WGN Radio (3 May 2011) http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/johnwilliams/wgnam-john-williams-050311-b,0,7181575.mp3file/.

People , Idea , Thinking , Time

“Just when you think you know something, it gets turned around and challenged in some way. But those changes are welcome because you end up learning more.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview in First for Women magazine (February 8, 2010, p. 46) http://jennifer-beals.com/media/press/first.html.

Way , Thinking , Learning , Change

“When I started out, there weren't that many strong female roles, especially women who weren't just strong emotionally. I mean this is a also woman [her character on The Chicago Code, Teresa Colvin] who is strong physically, who isn't afraid of physicality. But now there are a lot more roles for women that are quite strong. I think the Academy Award nominations bespeak how many really great roles there are for women right now, and that's primarily because women are creating those roles for themselves.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview on Good Day Atlanta (4 February 2011) http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/good_day_atl/Actress-Jennifer-Beals-of-The-Chicago-Code-20110204-gda-sd/.

Women , Thinking , Strong

“[About the end of the The L Word] Everything has its cycle. I think it’s appropriate for us to be ending now. But the beauty of storytelling, and the beauty of film and television is that it continues on.”

Jennifer Beals

The L Word Finale Special (8 March 2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiG70AuomH0&feature=fvwrel.

Beauty , Thinking

“What’s shocking is to see six-year-old children jump roping in the street at 2:00 a. m.—that’s shocking—a block away from drug dealers. Just to see that the gap in the circle is education, in my mind, primarily for young women, because it’s the young women that are raising the kids and that’s where the circle, I think, perpetuates itself.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview with TV Drama Watch (4 February 2011) http://tvdramawatch.com/2011/02/04/the-chicago-code-interview-with-jennifer-beals/.

Women , Children , Education , Thinking

“[Demystifying lesbian sex for an interviewer] In a way, the sex isn’t really that different… From what I can tell, no, not really. All the things that men and women do together, think of everything that men and women do together, women and women can do together. And that makes you realize that sex is just simply about connecting with another person, or about intimacy…”

Jennifer Beals

Asahi Radio Interview, Japan (2008) http://publications.asahi.com/ae/interviews/jennifer/index.shtml

Women , Men , Sex , Way

“Whether it’s that moment in acting when everything is suspended and you’re not yourself, or breaking through the veil of a very long run or swim, or hearing my daughter laugh—they are all pathways to what I think God must be.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview in More Magazine, p. 165 (December 2010).

God , Thinking , Daughters

“[On the importance of positive representations of LGBT people in the media] You know, I don't think it's helpful to anyone to… for example, say that every LGBT person is wonderful and perfect and without flaw, and lets all ring the bells to perfection. I think it's much more helpful to tell the story as truthfully as you can, and with all of its complications, because that's also when people recognize themselves, and that's when people who are not part of the LGBT community will recognize themselves within that character. And then [they] hopefully empathize and maybe there'll be some kind of shift.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview on matthewsplace.com (October 2009) http://www.matthewsplace.com/2009/10/interview-with-jennifer-beals/.

People , Communication , Thinking , Help

“[Speaking about her dedication to advocating for LGBT rights] I think after playing Bette Porter on The L Word for six years I felt like an honorary member of the community. They are not just gay issues. They affect everybody because they affect the fabric of our community. I am in a position to be helpful…people are indoctrinated and they have their point of view but hopefully slowly but surely we can help change the paradigm. That's what I hope for and it's happening little by little. It's not easy.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview in Windy City Times (2 February 2011) http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=30410/.

People , Hope , Communication , Thinking

“[On how she goes about trying to live authentically] Well really listening to my point of view and if I am on a set, say, that doesn't really value a woman's point of view, regardless of how they feel, continuing to give my point of view and try to find a way to be heard and not diminishing myself because other people are diminishing me. Because that, I think, is the worst temptation — that, you know, you judge yourself by how others are judging you, and to fall into that trap is to walk into the realm of self-annihilation.”

Jennifer Beals

Interview on matthewsplace.com (October 2009) http://www.matthewsplace.com/2009/10/interview-with-jennifer-beals/.

People , Way , Feeling , Thinking