This past Thursday (the 12th of May) was Katharine Hepburn’s birthday. Hepburn is one of the most iconic figures of the golden age of Hollywood. I love her. My brain always stops dead in its tracks when I see that one of her movies is on Turner Classic Movies. All of my plans for my day get immediately written off, because I'm committed to watching every Katharine Hepburn movie available. If she's with Cary Grant, forget it. I'm done for the week.
Apart from being a beyond amazing actress and a style icon, Kate was a powerhouse for Women’s Liberation. Why are we ladies able to wear our comfy jeans, our stylish pantsuits, or (if it rocks your boat) funky bell bottoms? Katharine Hepburn. She broke down the barriers for women. There were moments when Hepburn would notoriously walk around the set in her underwear because, the costume department would steal her slacks. Hepburn refused to put anything else on. As a child, Hepburn’s mother would have her daughter holding women’s suffrage balloons.
It’s easy to see how Hepburn became the powerhouse that she did. Hepburn had a take no crap from no one attitude, and never led someone to believe she liked them when she did not. Everyone says that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were the ladies in charge on set, but just look at these quotes, my vote's with Katharine… one word, FIERCE.
“I never realized until lately that women were supposed to be inferior.”
“Life is full of censorship. I can't spit in your eye.”
“I find a woman's point of view much grander and finer than a man's.”
“Enemies are so stimulating. “
“If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun”
“If you want to give up the admiration of thousands of men for the disdain of one, go ahead, get married.”
“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around.”
“Why slap them on the wrist with feather when you can belt them over the head with a sledgehammer.”
Like, HELLO? I admire women like Katharine Hepburn. She was so ahead of her times. She made all these great comments that raised women’s awareness of the oppression they faced from men and their society. Women were not supposed to have such strong opinions, but Kate did. Katharine Hepburn was one of the first great figures for the future Women’s Liberation movement in the 60s and 70s. Not to mention, she always looked totally awesome.
So thank you, Katharine Hepburn.
Signed,
The Intern
(Who’s coincidentally named after a Katharine Hepburn character from a movie… so I’ve got connections, be jealous)
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