Tag Archives: Amandla Stenberg

Daily Juice: Sue Perkins Makes Gillian Anderson Squirm With Epic Lesbian Joke

Sue Perkins hosted the BAFTAs this weekend, and cracked a joke we can all relate too.

Introducing the next category, Perkins joked:

Next up we have the award for mini-series. I like my mini-series like I like my relationships; dramatic, intense and with Gillian Anderson in them.”

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Lea DeLaria has been talking what’s next for Big Boo and what to expect from the rest of the ladies Orange Is the New Black Season 5. (POP Sugar)

You will be gobsmacked by it, and audiences are going to lose their minds. Season four was on every critic’s list as the number one thing on television last year. . . . So when I say season five is better than season four, people are going to go, “What?” It is. I cannot figure out how we do it or how our writers are able to keep this show so fresh, so interesting, so weird, so unique, so amazing, informative, and life-changing season after season after season. Amazing.”

Master of None star Lena Waithe says she thinks people really love her character on the show, because she’s an anomaly. (Broadly)

I don’t think people really see women that look like her on television. I also think I have a very unique way of walking through the world, a unique cadence, in terms of the way I carry myself. I think people really look at me and appreciate the character which I’m really grateful for, because you never know. … The biggest thing is that there aren’t many characters out there like myself, so I think because it’s me, it’s like a breath of fresh air, which is kind of cool.”

Jane Lynch, of Glee fame, recently bragged about her sexual exploits with Hillary Rosen, who is of political commentary, Washington Post columnist and editor-at-large of Huffington Post fame. (NBC News)

Sadly, Caitlyn Jenner suffered a transphobic attack outside LGBT Awards ceremony in London. Jenner was a guest at the ceremony, where she received a Loud And Proud trophy. (LGBTQ Nation)

Also receiving awards was Shannon Beveridge who won the award for Celebrity Rising Star 2017, which was handed to her by Rose & Rosie.

Amandla Stenberg has covered Mac DeMarco’s Let My Baby Stay – a song which is on the soundtrack of her new films Everything, Everything soundtrack. Not only did Stenberg star in the video, but she also directed and edited the feat.

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And lastly, a sullen Kristen Stewart spotted with mystery bruises covering her legs amid Stella Maxwell break up rumours (METRO)

EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Stewart looks a little down in the dumps as she emerges without girlfriend Stella Maxwell with bruises and dirt all over her legs and arms. Kristen could be seen walking her dog with friends but seemed preoccupied by her phone. Her knees and legs had clear visible bruising as she walked through the streets on New Orleans in cut-off daisy duke shorts and a very torn ‘Ramones’ t-shirt.Kristen could be seen sitting at a coffee shop drinking iced coffee, texting and staring into space.
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Pictured: Kristen Stewart.
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Daily Juice: Kristen Stewart’s Short Film To Premiere At Sundance London Festival; Bella Thorne Slams Slut-Shamers

The Sundance London Film Festival has unveiled its 2017 programme and it includes UK premieres of Kristen Stewart’s short film, Come Swim (Metro)

Bella Thorne sounds off against her Twitter trolls.

Take a look at Kate McKinnon new poster for the all-female Hangover-esque film Rough Night which also stars Scarlett JohanssonZoe KravitzJillian Bell, and Ilana Glazer. (EW)

Be sure to also catch the trailer below.

Netflix is honouring the fan-favourite Poussey (played by Samira Wiley) with a series of murals in multiple cities around the world. (Bustle)

While being interviewed for PEOPLE’s annual World’s Most Beautiful issue, Amandla Stenberg talked about the constraints of the gender binary and the fluidity of gender identity.

I tend to believe that gender as we’ve set it up in current-day society doesn’t actually exist. I’ve said before that I’m comfortable with using the pronouns ‘they’ or ‘them’ alongside ‘she’ and ‘her’ just because that’s a conversation that’s important to me. I don’t necessarily always subscribe to female pronouns just because I don’t think that pronouns are necessarily very meaningful.”

Ruby Rose has also been honoured, and she embraces her sexuality in the issue.

I’m very confident and in tune with my sexuality. I feel very blessed for that, because in different places around the world, people can’t be.”

Wall Street isn’t necessarily known for being gay-friendly. Yet Goldman Sachs is now asking prospective employees to come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender right when they apply for the job.

Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri, Goldman’s chief diversity officer and global head of talent, says

We ask for this data because we want to keep ourselves accountable,”

In other words, she says, the bank wants to make sure it is not unfairly discriminating against LGBT applicants. (Fortune)

 

10 Celebrities Who Came Out This Year

Whether you admit it or not, we’ve all had quite a rough year one way or another. If it wasn’t evident in the first quarter, now that we’re nearing the end, we can pretty much assume how bad it’s gotten. But it ain’t all gloomy, screwed news. Some of our faves took time to bring about positivity through their coming outs.

Let’s rejoice and remember that life has its ups and downs, but these are one for the books.


1. Kristen Stewart

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The Still Alice star came out mid this year after revealing in an interview with Elle UK how in love she is with her then girlfriend, Alicia Cargile. It’s been speculated many times now because of the way the actress behaves and how she likes representing herself, but more so because she skirts around questions that required any labels.


2, Miley Cyrus

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Cyrus, in an interview with Variety earlier this year, stated how she “didn’t really feel straight” and “didn’t really feel gay” either. “It’s because I’m not,” she says. The former Hannah Montana protagonist identifies as pansexual and even recounts her first relationship to be with a “chick”. Miley says she would never let anyone put her identity in a box.


3. Lily-Rose Depp

This 17-year-old is using social media to spread awareness. Not only did she come out as sexually fluid via Instagram, she’s also part of the Self Evident Truth Project. This is a photographic document of 10,000 people in the USA that identify as anything other than 100% straight.


4. Bella Thorne

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The former Disney star doesn’t want frills and cheap thrills. She’s all about getting straight to the point and just coming right out – quite literally. A fan asked her on twitter if she was bisexual to which she answered, “yes”.


5. Bex Taylor-Klaus

The Scream actress came out to the rest of the internet in a very casual tweet, followed by a YouNow stream addressing further questions. Taylor-Klaus revealed the reason for coming out this way, “So I have a chance to interact with those of you who feel that way and who kind of want to know more.”


6. Holland Taylor

Speaking with WNYC, Holland Taylor revealed she was in a serious relationship with a woman. When asked if she wanted to elaborate on her sexuality, she responded, “I haven’t come out because I am out. I live out.”

Turns out that lady was Sarah Paulson, and ever since the couple has been very out with their relationship.


7. Mara Wilson

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In the wake of the devastating mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, Mara Wilson took to Twitter to come out of the closet in June 2016. The Matilda star confirmed to fans via a series of tweets that she’s bisexual, and after receiving a flurry of responses signed off the site, saying, “Thank you so much to everybody who has sent me words of support. I support you all, too.


8. Aubrey Plaza

Aubrey Plaza

Plaza revealed earlier in 2016 that gender “isn’t a factor” for her when it comes to dating and romantic relationships. She did not call herself a bisexual, but she did say that she has a very “androgynous and masculine” aura about her, and that tends to attract many different kinds of people, which she is totally cool with.


9. Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg came out in a heartfelt video in early 2016 to tell the world that she was “a black bisexual woman” and that she understands the discrimination and hate that is being flung at the LGBTQ community. She said that she feels the pain and that it hurts, and she wants to be an advocate for change and acceptance.

Given her reputation and presence in the teenager public sphere, Stenberg talked to Teen Vogue via SnapChat to interact with the magazine and its readers. She feels so much better now that she doesn’t have to hide or limit who she is and how she really feels. Citing other black actresses and singers, Stenberg said that she was getting loads of support from the Hollywood community and that she was extremely grateful for that.


10. Rowan Blanchard

14-year-old actress Rowan Blanchard spoke up at the start of 2016 and proclaimed that she did not want to be tied down by any labels in regards to her sexuality. Blanchard used Twitter to declare to the world that she was not interested in sticking a label on herself or her identity, but that she preferred to just be known as a queer actress. In her Tweet, the actress wrote: “I personally don’t wanna label myself as straight, gay, or whateva so I am not gonna give myself labels to stick with – just existing.” She is “open to liking any gender,” and that is why she identifies as queer.

The star of the Disney Channel TV series Girl Meets World public statement could be the shifting of tides when it comes to the Disney Channel and its reputation for employing straight-laced and clean cut child and teenage actors.

Sarah Paulson, Amandla Stenberg, Ciara, Iman, and More American Women Quote The Suffragettes In Video Clip

The first national suffrage organizations were established in 1869 when two competing organizations were formed, one led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the other by Lucy Stone.

Many suffragettes lost their families, friends and even their lives in their struggle to bring equality to women and in particular to fight for our right to vote.

Glamour asked some iconic women if they would read some quotes from American Suffragettes in honour of these brave and courageous women. All women ow it to each other to not put up with inequality and it’s a fight that we must do together.

Here are a few of the best quotes from Suffragettes that were read out by some of our favourite women.


Susan B. Anthony:

No man is good enough to govern any woman without her consent.”

Absolutely. We are as good as any man and should never be controlled by a man regardless.


Sojourner Truth:

I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.”

No way, not ever. We must all keep our inner light shining brightly and never let anything or anyone try to put it out.


Elizabeth Cady Stanton:

The history of the past is but one long struggle upward towards equality.”

It’s amazing that this quote is still so relevant today regarding women. We still suffer inequality in our workplaces, our rights and male attitudes.


Ida B. Wells:

The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

There is no other way to put things right other than exposing the truth to encourage others to understand injustice.


We should all remember what these women did for us and continue to fight inequality together as bravely as the Suffragettes did.

Rise of the Rebel: Elle UK Showcases LGBTQ Trio

Fashion magazine Elle UK has released four collector’s edition covers, which features three LGBTQ personalities – Hari Nef, Kristen Stewart, and Amandla Stenberg.

The special edition ‘Rise of the Rebel’ covers feature actors Amandla Stenberg and Kristen Stewart, and transgender model Hari Nerf will feature on a third.

The fourth spot will be taken by former One Direction star Zayn Malik.

The issue comes with the magazine’s redesign.

As the fashion world CHANGES beyond measure, the world’s biggest selling FASHION magazine changes with it. ELLE UK’s new design is braver, bolder, and SMARTER.”

That said, the covers will focus on what the stars’ influence in the fashion and entertainment world.

For Amandla, it’s being known as an activist on cultural appropriation and being open about being bisexual.

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With Hari, it’s being one of the top transgender models in the industry who’s signed to IMG Worldwide and walked for H&M’s fall 2016 collection.

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And lastly, Kristen who’s simply known as Hollywood non-conformist.

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Changing The Game: The World’s Most Influential Feminists

The people on this list are each encouraging feminist conversation and challenging people to do more to make the world more equal for all of us.


1. Carrie Brownstein

Carrie Brownstein

Actor, writer and musician Carrie Brownstein is an outspoken feminist. As part of American rock band Sleater-Kinney, she has made songs such as #1 Must Have and helped further the riot grrrl (feminist/hardcore punk) movement.


2. bell hooks

bell hooks’ writing on feminism, in which she encourages people to consider gender in relation to race, class and sex, is often cited as one of the reasons why we have the phrase intersectionality. hook’s book Ain’t I a Woman?: Black women and feminism also looks at racism and sexism in relation to black women and it also examines stereotypes of white women and how those have had an impact on black women too.


3. Beyoncé

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Beyoncé was once quoted as saying that she wasn’t a feminist because she loves her husband. However, the international superstar has since learnt a great understanding of feminism even including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s quote on feminism on ***Flawless, also educating her millions of fans learn in the process.


4. Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg

Since rocketing to fame as Rue in The Hunger Games, Amandla Stenberg has begun to use social media platforms such as Tumblr and Twitter to educate people about feminism and how it can be more intersectional.

After being named one of the Ms. Foundation for Women’s feminists of the year, Stenberg said “let’s continue demanding space for women who are not thin, white, straight, able-bodied, neurotypical and cisgender.”


5. Janet Mock

Janet Mock

Although Janet Mock was once proud not to call herself a feminist, the writer, host and activist now wears the label proudly. In a 2014 essay, she wrote “our duty is to use feminism as a tool to check systems that uphold racism and slut shaming and sex worker erasure and anti-trans woman bias and general policing of other people’s choices.”


Andi Zeisler

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As the co-founder and creative/editorial director of independent feminist media organisation Bitch Media, Zeisler’s work offers feminist interpretations of pop culture. Bitch Media – and Zeisler’s writing – is a massively useful feminist tool as people look for different angles of the media that they consume.


Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, who passed away in 2014, was a hugely influential feminist. Angelou’s work discussed racism, identity and social injustices with her autobiographical work I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings being considered a large reason why black feminist writings increased in the 1970s.


Hillary Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton Signs Copies Of Her Book 'Hard Choices' In New York

What could be more inspiring (and badass) then possibly becoming the first female president of the United States? Hillary has always used her platform to speak out for women’s rights – as she did most notably during her 1995 “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” speech in Beijing.


Gloria Steinem

Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist, who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the feminist movement. She has inspired generations of feminists since her 1969 article After Black Power, Women’s Liberation.


Lena Dunham

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Lena Dunham’s tv show Girls broke the mould by depicting real girls with real bodies and real issues. Since then she’s never stopped encouraging women to love themselves since.

She also makes sure to give feminism-doubters a reality check: “Feminism doesn’t mean women are going to rise, take over the planet, and like cut off men’s testicles.”


Emma Watson

Emma-Watson

Emma Watson has bravely rallied for women’s rights even after being threatened because of her #HeForShe speech at the UN.

But the attacks only motivated the actress and Women’s Goodwill Ambassador to keep working against all the harmful ways that women are viewed and treated.


Pussy Riot

Russian collective Pussy Riot represents one of the strongest combinations of activism and music out there. Its members stage guerilla protests and performances, speak out against injustices for women in their music (especially against abortion laws), and demonstrate fierce bravery even in the face of jail time and government threats.


Ellen Page

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In a time when many female celebrities put a purposeful distance between themselves and the feminist label, actress Ellen Page embraces feminism as a personal mission. Whether at street protests or on Twitter, she rallies for equality, reproductive rights, gay rights and improvement in the representation of women in film.


Meredith Graves

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Meredith Graves is the lead singer of Perfect Pussy, solo artist, writer, record label owner. She is a role model who teaches through her actions that passion and drive can help change an entire scene like punk rock.

And she’s never backed down from speaking out against sexism – either in interviews or onstage, confronting misogynist hecklers.


Miranda July

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Throughout her career, Miranda July has weaved thoughtful feminism through her seemingly endless list of projects. She’s become an icon for this generation’s young women, especially those interested in artistic pursuits, most recently tackling issues of aggression and violence in her debut novel The First Bad Man.


Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan has helped lead the way for women to understand their rights and fight for them. Friedan helped spur on the second wave of feminism with her book The Feminist Mystique and she co-founded and presided over the National Organization of Women.


Cindy Sherman

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Cindy Sherman became one of the few women to dominate the contemporary art scene from the late 70s on. And she says she’s “still really competitive when it comes to […] male painters and male artists.”


Wendy Davis

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Wendy Davis made waves when she led the now-famous 11-hour filibuster against Senate Bill 5, which would require stricter abortion regulations in Texas. While the bill eventually passed, we haven’t forgotten the lawyer and politician’s fierce support, and we hope her views on reproductive rights, LGBT rights and gun control continue to be heard.


Grimes

grimes333It’s probably a scary thing to speak out and potentially alienate people right after your album has become huge, but that’s exactly what Grimes did with her anti-sexism manifesto in 2013. The Tumblr post calls out misogynist fans, condescending male musicians, and the media.

6 Famous Bisexual African-American Women

When asked to come up with the names of famous bisexual women, most people will name Megan Fox, Drew Barrymore and Anna Paquin. African-American women are a lot less likely to show up on the list for whatever reason.

So, to celebrate the identities of those who are both of African-American descent and identify as ‘B’, here’s a list of six famous bisexual African-American women who are often overlooked.


1. Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg

Best known for her role as Rue in The Hunger Games, actress Amandla Stenberg is also an outspoken intersectional feminist. Aged just 17, Stenberg has made headlines for her writing and opinions on cultural appropriation and race, but most recently she made headlines for coming out as bisexual. On the Teen Vogue Snapchat, the actress explained:

I cannot stress enough how important representation is, so the concept that I can provide for other black girls is mind-blowing. It’s a really really hard thing to be silenced, and it’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and just mold yourself into shapes that you just shouldn’t be in.

As someone who identifies as a black bisexual woman, I’ve been through it, and it hurts and it’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable. But then I realized: because of Solange and Ava Duvernay and Willow and all the black girls watching this right now, there’s absolutely nothing but change.

We cannot be suppressed. We are meant to express our joy and our love and our tears, to be big and bold and definitely not easy to swallow.”


2. Azealia Banks

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While Azealia Banks may be a controversial figure – and is perhaps best-known for her Twitter rants than her music – the rapper and singer has spoken about her bisexuality many times. Asked whether she has a “special affection” for her gay fans, Banks told Rolling Stone:

Definitely. I mean, I’m bisexual, so it makes sense. But I don’t want to be that girl who says all gays necessarily hang out together, of course! I have people say to me, “Oh wow, my friend is gay, too,” and I’m like, “Yeah, so?”


3. Frenchie Davis

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Frenchie Davis is a Broadway performer, but most know her from her time on reality television shows American Idol and The Voice. Speaking to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2012, Davis told the publication that she had been dating a woman for the past year and that “I wasn’t out before the relationship, but I wasn’t in. I dated men and women, though lesbians weren’t feeling the bisexual thing. Now I’m in love with a woman I think I can be with forever.”


4. Sapphire

Push is the book that Oscar-winning movie Precious was based on and it tells the story of an illiterate, HIV-positive African-American girl who had also been abused. While both the movie and the book have been massively praised and studied, few people know that the author behind the novel “describes herself as bisexual”, according to an interview with the Evening Standard.


5. Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith, "The Empress of the Blues," gave voice the listeners' tribulations and yearnings of the 1920s and '30s.

Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues,” gave voice the listeners’ tribulations and yearnings of the 1920s and ’30s.

Blues singer Bessie Smith was one of the most famous singers within the genre during the 1920s and the 1930s. Also a major influence on other jazz singers of the time, it’s difficult to quantify just how much of an impact Smith had on the music industry.

Much of Smith’s life is depicted in HBO biopic Bessie (which starred Queen Latifah as the titular performer), including the singer’s bisexuality. While Bessie Smith was not ‘traditionally’ out, due to the times, her relationships with men and women are well-known to those who have studied her life and her career.


6. Tinashe

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Tinashe is best-known for her incredibly catch track 2 On, and she has also won fans with recent track Player as well as her feature on Snakehips’ song All My Friends. The singer and performer is also openly bisexual, having posted this gifset on her Tumblr that explains that bisexuality is not a set, 50/50 (50% attraction to men, 50% attraction to women) thing for some people and that she has “an attraction to everyone” and she loves “everybody”.

Daily Juice: People Campaign To Make Elsa The First Lesbian Princess In Disney’s History

Disney’s animated hit Frozen has been widely praised as being one of the studio’s most LGBT-friendly productions yet; Jonathan Groff is Disney Animation’s first openly gay actor to play the protagonist’s love interest, and Oaken is arguably the studio’s most visible LGBT character, thanks to a brief shot in the film of what appears to be his husband and children.

And now Twitter users are hoping the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend will encourage the studio to provide better LGBT representation in its animation.

Amandla Stenberg says they’d prefer to use they/them pronouns and explains why on their Tumblr.

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Two television shows have added to the lesbian death trope last week, with two queer-identified female characters being killed, by gunshots no less.

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Lesbian writers are heading to the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

Kristen Stewart graces the cover of the French Marie Claire this month, and inside, she talks about being mistaken for a boy when she was younger, and how she feels about having short hair. 

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She was also asked ‘what is worse in your opinion, in Hollywood: Being a woman, being black or being gay?’, her response…

I don’t have much experience with these subjects; I don’t have much to say.”

And according to FOX, Tennessee’s anti-LGBT law could spell the end of ‘Nashville’.

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Amandla Stenberg’s Debut New Short Film ‘Blue Girls Burn Fast’

Last year, Amandla Stenberg announced she was heading to film school in New York.

I want to be a director… I want to make films that feature people who don’t get to be leads all the time.”

And now it seems we don’t have to wait too long for her directorial debut, as her short film Blue Girls Burn Fast has just landed.

Starring Leeza Lester and Julia Rocha in the leading roles, it’s a coming-of-age story about love, friendship and growing pains.

As we expect from Amandla, it also features social commentary on race, acceptance and identity, and has a totally delicious ethereal quality that has you daydreaming about lost summers and past lovers (which, you know, is never a bad thing.

The film was written, produced, shot, directed and edited by Amandla, and – she explains on Instagram – doubles as her NYU film school application.

Anyway, enough chat from us. Take a look for yourselves, below…

Amandla Stenberg, Halsey And More Discuss What It Means To Be A Young Woman In 2016

Thank god, there is new wave of inspiring young women out there, which are changing the game on what it means to be a woman.

They’ve created game-changing magazines for teens, spoken out on racial injustice and gender-fluidity, and shattered our ideas of beauty standards.

In a recent piece for CR Fashion Book Amandla Stenberg, Halsey and others talked about what it means to be young and a woman in 2016.

In recent months, Amandla Stenberg has shared her impassioned and thoughtful statements on feminism and racial injustice.

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Her video “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows,” which she created for a school project, went viral last year and brought much-deserved attention to the issue of cultural appropriation.

A lot of the time, the things that I’m sharing are things that people are trying to share but don’t have enough people listening to them.

My dream is to direct movies and provide representation for people who end up being token or secondary characters.

I’ve grown up as part of the movie industry, and that’s the most invalidating feeling, to recognize that roles don’t exist for you. I realize now that I need to create them myself.”

Halsey pushed her way to the radio (and into your ears) with the 2015 summer anthem “New Americana,” which spoke to almost an entire generation. Since then she has recieved critical and commercial success with the album Badlands and duets with artists like Justin Bieber under her belt,

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Halsey’s voice and reach to the new generation is vast — and she has a key note of advice to share.

I don’t speak for anything. I can’t speak for any experience but my own, and if people can relate to that, then that just goes to show how similar people are despite the diversity. The fact that people of all races and all classes and all creeds are relating to this song when it’s from a very specific perspective is proof.

This generation is so intelligent. They care about racism, feminism, ableism, and that’s such a positive mentality, but they need to leave room for forgiveness,” she said. “Nobody is perfect and people are educating themselves at different paces. So be mindful.”

Check out the full feature in issue 8 of CR Fashion Book and atcrfashionbook.com.

Amandla Stenberg Opens Up About Her Gender Identity

The 17-year-old, Hunger Games actor Amandla Stenberg has come out as non-binary.

Stenberg – who plays Rue in the adventure film franchise – says she feels like she’s not a ‘woman’ all the time, and non-binary is a term that she feels comfortable using to describe herself. (She is using female pronouns).

Writing on Tumblr, she said she is organizing a workshop on feminism, specifically how ‘mainstream feminist movements have continuously excluded women who are not white, thin, cisgender, able-bodied and neurotypical’.

Something we are struggling with is understanding the intersection of feminism and gender identity…

We’re both people who don’t feel like “women” all the time – but we claim feminism as our movement.

Basically, we’re trying to understand the duality of being a non-binary person and a feminist. How do you claim a movement for women when you don’t always feel like one?”

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She heard from a variety of experiences, with one who said they feel the oppression of a gendered society even if they do not necessarily identify as a woman.

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Even if you don’t feel 100% “female”, even if you never did feel 100% “female”, the world begins treating you as “female” from a very young age and that is always, no matter how you end up defining yourself, going to have shaped your life experience,’ one fan said.

Earlier this year, Stenberg came out as bisexual.

As someone who identifies as a black, bisexual woman I’ve been through it, and it hurts, and it’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable…but then I realized because of Solange and Ava DuVernay and Willow and all the black girls watching this right now, that there’s absolutely nothing to change.”

Hunger Games’ Star Amandla Stenberg Says She “Identifies as a Black, Bisexual Woman”

Amandla Stenberg, the actress who played beloved character Rue in the first Hunger Games film, revealed that she is bisexual in a heartfelt video on Thursday.

The 17-year-old actress opened up about her sexuality while taking overTeen Vogue’s Snapchat account, telling fans about how difficult it has been to keep a part of herself hidden.

The Hunger Games star spoke about identity and the other women like Solange Knowles (who interviewed the star for the magazine’s January issue) and Ava Duvernay who have inspired her in being herself.

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Talking in the video, she says:

I cannot stress enough how important representation is, so the concept that I can provide for other black girls is mind-blowing. It’s a really really hard thing to be silenced, and it’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and just mold yourself into shapes that you just shouldn’t be in,”

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As someone who identifies as a black bisexual woman, I’ve been through it, and it hurts and it’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable. But then I realized, because of Solange and Ava Duvernay and Willow [Smith] and all the black girls watching this right now, there’s absolutely nothing but change. We cannot be suppressed. We are meant to express our joy and our love and our tears, to be big and bold and definitely not easy to swallow. I definitely believe in the concept of rebellion through selfhood, and rebellion through embracing your true identity, no matter what you’re being told. Here I am, being myself, and it’s hard and vulnerable, and it’s definitely a process, but I’m learning and growing. Thank you for supporting me and doing this, and thank you to Teen Vogue. This is just the beginning, though; we have a lot of work to do for all women of color. We need more representation in film and television. We need our voices to be louder in the media. And not just women of color—bisexual women, gay women, transgender women, mentally ill women. I’m sick of all the misogyny and homophobia and transphobia that I see around me, and I know you are too. Thank you for listening and goodnight.”

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This is especially powerful coming from someone so young (17!). There are still so few public figures that are both black women and out, and Amandla talking about intersectionality is certainly something to be celebrated. Young women that are fans of her work will be inspired by her words and actions, just as we are today.

I think that as a black girl you grow up internalizing all these messages that say you shouldn’t accept your hair or your skin tone or your natural features, or that you shouldn’t have a voice, or that you aren’t smart,” Amandla told Teen Vogue. “I feel like the only way to fight that is to just be yourself on the most genuine level and to connect with other black girls who are awakening and realizing that they’ve been trying to conform.”

Next up for Amandla, the film As You Are, where she plays a young girl whose friendship group is the focus of a police investigation in the early 1990s.

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