Zooey Deschanel: 'It's Important to Teach Young Girls to be Strong People'
"New Girl" star Zooey Deschanel is aware that she is constantly being scrutinized for her "cuteness" factor and behavior. However, Deschanel is serious about educating young girls and providing an outlet for them to express themselves and grow and develop.
"I just felt it's important to teach young girls to be strong people, to not think, 'I can't do this because I'm worried about what people will say,'" Deschanel told Marie Claire magazine. "There are worse consequences, but online negativity stops people from being creative, part of which is having bad ideas as well as good ideas. When somebody says, 'That idea's stupid,' you stop your flow of ideas. We can't have the next generation be so afraid because they have been attacked."
The actress decided to found the website HelloGiggles.com with two of her friends in order to provide an outlet for young girls. The site covers current social issues as well as short stories and creative writing, along with book, music, and TV reviews. The site is definitely for women and created by women.
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Deschanel noted that she is hyper-aware of the scrutiny she is under because of her personality and the character she plays on "New Girl," which is a flighty, naïve young woman who always believes the best will happen.
"I became aware that people were criticizing the way I speak, which seems weird to me," Deschanel said. "I speak the way I speak, and I am an intelligent person. Sometimes I lean into California-speak more for entertainment value. It's not that I can't live in a world without the word 'like.'"
She also described feeling somewhat frustrated by the lack of seriousness critics give her. However, true to form, Deschanel is hopeful that people will someday lighten up and accept others just the way they are.
"My theory is that people in this day and age want to dismiss things. So they want to be able to dismiss you. Smart people are doing it, and that's surprising to me. I'll give them being smart, but they're being very shortsighted," the performer explained.
