When I think about equality or equity,
I don't think about taking from a male figure.
I think about getting what is due to me.
I'm sorry to say
that I come from a very chauvinistic society.
And so I've had to really elbow my way
out of a lot of sexist boxes.
I was raised by two feminists; my mother and my father.
And so I was instilled with the idea
that just because you have female organs
doesn't mean that you are...
that you are less than in any sort of way.
I remember when I was younger, whistling,
and being told that women don't whistle.
I mean, just things like that
that are so extremely frustrating,
but I'm glad I had this... a core.
I had... my foundation was extremely feminist.
And so I think in the world as I navigate it today,
I personally know that I am capable
of whatever I put my mind to.
Whether someone agrees with that or not
is not a concern of mine.
And then sometimes it's just microaggressions,
tiny little things that you notice
in the way a question will be posed, or an expectation.
Like I've definitely been on sets...
I remember going to the craft table
to get something to eat,
and the person manning the table offering me,
"Oh, you might want a salad,"
because the assumption is because I'm an actress,
I don't eat carbs.
Or, you know, like just silly things like that.
They're really thin and subtle, but they exist.
And I point them out when I can.
When I think about equality or equity,
I don't think about taking from a male figure.
I think about getting what is due to me.
Unfortunately, male roles
have historically been more well-written.
So I can also understand
the impulse to take a male role,
and flip it for a female role,
so that it can have the depth of character
that we crave for.
But I definitely have more of an appetite
for new material than for redoing old material,
because there's just way more stories
than we give ourself credit for.
I think I've leaned into sisterhood the most right now.
It occurred to me that I didn't really like
how much time I spent on my own,
because my job requires me to relocate a lot.
So I asked one of my sisters who works virtually
to basically come and live with me
while I make Black Panther 2.
And it's been glorious to come home to her,
and have dinner with her, and explore Atlanta with her.
I think I've definitely learned
that you have to move with intention,
but you also have to let go,
because things don't always go according to your plan.
So I think I've grown a lot more relaxed
with the change of plans in a way that I wasn't
before, ooh, before this pandemic came,
and rocked our world.
I think I was a little bit more rigid
about needing things to go a certain way.
And now I let go a lot easier.
It was the first time that I was surrounded by
so many actor mothers.
It was so great to watch these women
at the top of their game, doing what they do,
and also having a set
that was embracing of their role as mothers as well,
and to observe how they negotiate
those two very important roles that they play in the world.
Obviously, I don't have a family of my own yet,
but it's lovely to see a healthy working environment
where femininity is being embraced in every way, you know?
I think really 2020 has been a real tester
of everybody's mental strength, right?
And mental health,
I think I spent a lot of time thinking about what was,
what I needed to do to remain healthy.
'Cause I spent a whole lot of time on my own
in a way that I just had never had to.
So I got into really good habits like meditating,
and going on walks, and without navigation,
which was one of my favourite things to do.
Just leave and find my way back,
and just yeah, to allow myself to be present,
and also practising gratitude.
Before every meal,
I express out loud three things that I'm grateful for.
And it just, for me, it really reminds...
even on a tough day when you have to do that,
when you really, really don't feel like there's anything
you can be grateful for,
just forcing myself to think about
something I'm grateful for.
And sometimes it's like,
I'm just grateful to have electricity, you know?
I wish that I could have told myself,
I've always known that it's OK not to know,
but I wish I could have... I wish I knew that it's OK
not to know what you don't know,
which is a whole other step of not knowing.
I have gotten to a place where now I know to say,
what questions should I ask?
Instead of trying to make up questions
that I really just don't have access to.
And I wish I'd have known that when I was beginning,
because there's a lot of fake it 'til you make it, you know?
Is one line of thought,
but sometimes it's even better not to fake it.
And just like, be honest to yourself, and to other people.
In my very first press tour, it was exhausting.
I was physically unhealthy.
You know, when I look at pictures, I was so thin,
and it was because I was stressed out,
but there was a lot of good coming my way.
And you don't think of good things
as necessarily causing stress.
So I didn't know that I was stressed
until I was like breaking down and crying,
but I didn't know how stressed I was,
because I was moving,
there was so much positivity coming my way.
I mean so much from absolutely nowhere.
It was all very new.
Experience will give you information about yourself.
So I don't regret any of it,
but I also know a whole lot better now,
and I know my limitations.
I know the ways in which I thrive, I can thrive,
so I can create the scenario for me to thrive in now,
because I know more.