Elaine C Smith speaks of ‘mad feminist’ label at launch of female arts prize

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Veteran Scots actress Elaine C Smith said young women entering creative roles deserve more support as she recalled some were labelled “mad feminists” for raising concerns about sexism in the 1980s.Smith, who played Mary ‘Mary Doll’ Nesbitt in Scottish comedy Rab C Nesbitt, said it is a “particularly hard game for young women” entering theatre and television.She said she is “very fortunate” to have made a career for herself in acting in a world where women in the industry are a minority.She acknowledged the situation today is “better than it was” when she started out, but said women still need more encouragement and support in the arts.She spoke to the PA news agency as she launched the £500 Elaine C Smith Student Prize for young women in acting at New College Lanarkshire, Motherwell, which will be given to one student annually.Smith, originally of Newarthill, near Motherwell, said: “I think for me, I have to put my money where my mouth is and say, ‘if I can help one woman – and hopefully over the years I’ll help quite a few – but by just speaking out you can do that’.“When I came into the business that support wasn’t really there.”She recalled the early days of her acting career, saying women were expected to “conform” and expected to be “good girls”.She added: “You had to know if you said too much, or were too vocal in the 1980s when I started and all that.“You were seen as a mad feminist by just saying, ‘actually I think that’s a wee bit sexist.’ So you tended to keep quiet, and it was hard for me to stay quiet.“But you tended to worry that if you spoke out you wouldn’t be used again; you’d be seen as trouble.