Rowan Blanchard has made a name for herself as more than just the star of Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World. She has successfully stood out from others in young Hollywood by speaking intelligently and candidly about being a feminist. Recently, she made headlines after posting an impressively insightful essay on intersectional feminism that was well beyond her thirteen years.
On Monday, Blanchard impressed us all over again in an interview with Elle Magazine. The interviewer asked Blanchard what, in her opinion, the worst thing to be asked on the red carpet is. Blanchard’s response was powerful and quite funny – she told the interviewer, “Someone recently asked if I had any dieting tips for other teenage girls. Try and reverse that. ‘Do you have any dieting tips for other teenage boys?’ I mean, come on. I don’t diet! I’m thirteen! Nobody my age should be dieting or trying to change themselves because society says so. And seriously, I’m thirteen! The only ‘dieting tip’ I have is, like, ‘if you don’t order fries, you’ll probably be mad.’” I have to be honest, I laughed out loud when I first read that because that’s exactly my type of “diet tip”- always get fries or you’ll be sorry.
The interviewer then asked Blanchard what she would do if a reporter asked her about her weight. Blanchard responded, “It’s inappropriate on so many levels. That makes other girls hate themselves or have eating disorders. We have to change all this. Girls tweeted me after Christopher Kane being like, ‘Rowan, I liked the clothes, but all the models were this one way.’ And I have to be like, ‘You don’t have to be that one way! You be you.’” That’s some great advice she’s giving to her peers, but she didn’t stop there. She also spouted some stellar advice for the fashion industry. “And again, I’m thirteen. The designer, the fashion industry—you’re the adults, the ones who can be telling girls, ‘you don’t have to be one way.’ Magazines are starting to address it, which is smart. But we can all do more. I thought we’d see more plus size models on the runway this season. We didn’t. That was a disappointment.”
It’s hard to deny that the absence of all different body types on the runway is a disappointment but knowing that there are thirteen-year-old girls out there that recognize that the industry needs to change is hugely encouraging. Rowan knows what’s up and gives me a lot of hope. Let’s all remember what she said, “you don’t have to be that one way! You be you.”
Make sure to read the full interview here.
Images via Instagram and Tumblr
Read more on Bust.com:
Rowan Blanchard Of ‘Girl Meets World’ Writes Awesome Intersectional Feminist Essay
Alex Mack, Topanga, Blossom: Here’s What Your Favorite ‘90s Girl Stars Are Up To Today
Meg Cabot Says Princesses Can Be Feminists, Too
