Actress Winona Ryder, known for her roles in films like "Girl, Interrupted," "Reality Bites," and "Edward Scissorhands," has spoken about how sick she is of how women are ridiculed for being sensitive.
"I'm so sick of people shaming women for being sensitive or vulnerable," she told New York Magazine. "It's so bizarre to me."
According to the same publication, Ryder could either be speaking about the press or her role in the Netflix web series "Stranger Things." In the supernatural/horror drama, she portrays a single mother to two sons, the younger of which suddenly goes missing. As she and the police try to find the 12-year-old boy and unravel the mystery behind his disappearance, a government agency tries to cover it all up.
"Stranger Things" was released on July 15 on Netflix, wherein it has gained positive reviews with an 8.2 average rating out of 10 in Rotten Tomatoes. Critics like Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times says Ryder puts a "defiant edginess" into her mostly hysterical character, Joyce Byers, and calls the actress great.
In the NY Mag interview, Ryder said that when her character was described as having had anxiety problems, it was picked up to mean that she's crazy. Ryder said that "anxious" has been often used to mean like it's a bad word and "sensitive," to connote weak or crazy. However, she said Joyce is struggling and working to support two boys, a situation that would make anyone anxious.
The report mentions her interview with TV journalist Diane Sawyer in 1999 where she spoke about anxiety and depression. While in doing that, "there's this 'crazy' thing," she also said she doesn't regret having opened up about depression because women would tell her how it meant to them.
"I wish I could unknow this, but there is a perception of me that I'm supersensitive and fragile," Ryder said. "And I am supersensitive, and I don't think that that's a bad thing. To do what I do, I have to remain open."