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Emily Blunt: «Why do we mothers always have to justify our career choices?»

Being part of a star couple, where both members are very accomplished actors, leads to draw comparisons to Hollywood’s perception of a working wife and mother compared to its male counterpart. This thought, for years now, accompanies Emily Blunt – married to her colleague John Krasinki with whom she had two daughters, Hazel and Violet – who, in a recent interview for Porterhe stressed how much judgments about her work have changed, after maternity leave. «I feel she – she said – often crushed by the guilt of always wanting to be there for my daughters, but at the same time wanting a career. It’s really interesting how men don’t have to justify themselves at all for their career choices, while women have to do it all the time».

CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 19: Emily Blunt attends a photocall for “Sicario” during the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2015 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/WireImage)Pascal Le Segretain

In this sense, what happened to her on the set of her latest film in Atlanta is exemplary: to be close to Hazel and Violet she tried to come home every weekend or to have them with her at least for 5 or 6 days a month. «It was really difficult to organize everything, but despite this I had people around who he was constantly asking me where my daughters were or why they weren’t there with me. I wondered if it ever happens to my colleagues. Is the same being asked of Chris Evans, Andy Garcia or Jay Duplass?” This constant scrutiny of her choices as a mom has brought her wanting to appear «always perfect» or to feel obliged to continually give explanations. “I’ve been obsessed with the idea of wanting to seem like the type of person who is always available or who manages to do everything not to be judged», he recalled again in the interview. This, however, before reaching the awareness, gained only recently, of no longer wanting to depend on the judgment of others: “I said to myself: “I don’t care about the perception of others when it comes to my workwhy would I do it for something so personal, like being a mother?”»

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 05: John Krasinski (L) and Emily Blunt attend the BAFTA Los Angeles Tea Party at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 5, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/BAFTA LA/Getty Images for BAFTA LA)Frazer Harrison/BAFTA LA/Getty Images

On how she sees herself as a working mother having to be a point of reference for his daughters also weighed who, once adults, could face the same difficulties and judgments. Educate them not to be infallible still represents a fundamental step in their growth path, together with desire to convey passion and pride in what they do and are. «I grew up – Blunt continued – with a great ambition to be an actress. It’s something I figured out on my own and I think it’s wonderful when it happens like this. I want them to find something they love and pursue it with great passion».

Source: Vanity Fair

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