I will tell you that when I was heavy, people would say to me - and it was such a backhanded compliment - they would say, 'You've got such a beautiful face,' in the way of, like, 'Oh, isn't it a shame that from the neck down you're questionable.'
Interpretation
The quote highlights the backhanded nature of compliments that shamefully emphasize a person's appearance.
In this quote, Kate Winslet reflects on her experiences with body image and societal standards of beauty. She points out how backhanded compliments can reveal underlying judgments about one's body, suggesting that the speaker acknowledges beauty but simultaneously critiques the person, imposing an unrealistic standard that ties worth to appearance.
In practice
In a speech about body positivity, you might quote Kate Winslet to illustrate the impact of backhanded compliments.
As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, "I love my body". Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, "I am so proud of my body." So I make sure to say it to Mia , because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age.
What I am very, very moved and struck by is that so many people in the world are often living a life that they hadn't planned for themselves. And they wake up one day and say, 'Hang on. Who am I? Is this really me? Is this what I really wanted?' And also, 'Can I change it? Have I got the courage to change it?'
Real luxury is having the time to read endless stories in bed with my children. And I get that all the time. I'm so blessed.
If you're not still learning and growing as an actor, then you have no backbone and no career
I think there's a lot of pressure on young people to really be the thing that everyone is telling them that they are, opposed to discovering it for themselves.
I've decided I am going to start loving my backside because I don't know anyone who does that. And for my daughter, I want to be able to say to her, 'I love this.'
Go to the truth beyond the mind. Love is the bridge.
We are the sum of the Father's love for us
The pleasures of love are always in proportion to our fears.
...losing through you what seemed myself, i find selves unimaginably mine; beyond sorrow's own joys and hopings very fears yours is the light by which my spirit's born: yours is the darkness of my soul's return... you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars.
That love of self, which the world advocates, is a thousand times more dangerous than any poison.
A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it, A song's not a song 'til you sing it, Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay, Love isn't love 'til you give it away!
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