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.'
Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.
You may be a puzzle, but I like the way the parts fit.
We could say that love is a tenacious adventure. The adventurous side is necessary, but equally so is the need for tenacity. To give up at the first hurdle, the first quarrel, is only to distort love. Real love is one that triumphs lastingly, sometimes painfully, over the hurdles erected by time, space and the world.
The greatest single cause of a poor self-image is the absence of unconditional love.
I was in the parking lot, with the key in the car, and I thought to myself: If this is my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman? I ran across the parking lot, asked her if she'd have dinner with me. She said yes, we walked into town, and we've been together ever since.
You're in love? Out Out of love? I love someone. She doesn't love me.
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