TV’s Scully pens a feminist ‘manifesto’
X-Files actress and friend tell women to get real and know who they really are
Actress Gillian Anderson is best known for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully, a skeptical, fearless foil to alien abduction conspiracist Fox Mulder on the ’90s hit series “The XFiles.”
Her character is believed to have inspired young women to enter the fields of science, medicine and law enforcement.
She demanded a salary equal to her male “X-Files” co-star David Duchovny, both in the ’90s and the series’ recent reboot. Anderson now plays sexually empowered and dogged serialkiller-hunting detective Stella Gibson on BBC series “The Fall.”
So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise she has put together a feminist self-help book with coauthor and longtime friend Jennifer Nadel, a journalist and lawyer in the U.K.
“We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere” was released last month by Atria Books as a sort of road map to living a more centred, authentic life.
The word “journey” is used a lot and this one is based on a series of nine principles to be adopted in steps, such as honesty, acceptance, humility, peace, love and joy.
But the main message is this: Women need to get real about who they really are, whether they’re willing to accept their current circumstances and if not, how to empower themselves to change things.
Can you describe your friendship — how it started and how you ended up writing a book together?
Jennifer Nadel: We have children the same age and tried to persuade them to become friends. They sat in stony silence, but we couldn’t stop talking. We’re both seekers and have struggled with many of the same issues and tried many of the same spiritual and emotional solutions. Ten years into the friendship, Gillian asked whether I’d be open to talking about a book idea she’d had. Her idea chimed perfectly with a desire I’d had to write about a new kind of feminism.
There is a surprising amount of personal information, especially coming from a journalist, and an actress who has mostly managed to keep her private life private. Can you explain why you decided to openly discuss experiences with menopause, divorce, anxiety, periods of reliance on drugs and alcohol, depression, etc.?
Gillian Anderson: The first principle in our book is honesty because it is an essential part of any path to change, personal or societal. First, one must fully understand the reality of a situation. We realized that it would be unfair to ask readers to get honest about themselves and their own lives without first doing so ourselves.
You talk about self-care being a necessary component of activism and creating change. Do you think it’s particularly important during this political and social moment?
GA: If we don’t practise self-care, then often, our unruly or egoic selves push to the foreground to run the show and be heard. When we practise self-compassion, we are more likely to be compassionate toward others, even those we don’t agree with.
JN: All of us are called to activism of one sort or another at this time in history. It’s no longer an optional choice. Every one of us who can needs to show up and be counted. Millions of us marched around the world after (President Donald) Trump’s inauguration. I was in D.C. and Gillian in London. Those marches were just the start and if we want to be in it for the long haul, we need to develop and foster resilience. So, self-care is vital if we want to really make an impact and avoid burnout and depression.
There’s a lot of discussion about women’s bodies and how damaging it can be to accept a narrow version of idealized beauty, i.e. thin,
young. Yet Hollywood and pop culture still demand these things. How do you navigate that?
GA: Hollywood and pop culture are not where most of us live. The more we start to reject those images and demand realistic representation, the more empowered we will feel. But it does first start with accepting ourselves as we are. Really, truly embracing ourselves and refusing to attempt to conform.
How do you find the time, logistically, to practise meditation — and the other essential practices — when life gets hectic?
GA: Life is always hectic. But there are tools in the book for finding ways to eek out time for oneself regardless. That can be starting with just two minutes of meditation, or making hard rules about the amount of sleep one gets, or replacing negative messages with positive ones.
How do you balance desiring selfimprovement and affirming you’re perfect the way you are?
GA: That’s a good question. Actually, we are encouraging women to ban the “P word” from our lives. Perfection is an unrealistic goal. But at the end of the day, it comes down to getting really honest about the reality of who we are. Choosing to actively change how we relate to ourselves and the outside world is empowering and of course within that, we will undoubtedly make mistakes and fall short of our expectations and realize we need to be kind to ourselves in the process.
It seems like the main journey you want readers to take is toward a more authentic self. Which of the principles do you still struggle with the most and which were the most rewarding to adopt?
GA: The principle I struggle with the most is joy. My natural tendency is toward doom and gloom. I have to really work hard to create space to do the things that I know make me feel joyful, but I have a tendency to think of them as frivolous time-wasters. Undoubtedly, when I give in and, say, sit in a park for the sake of looking at the blossoms, I do indeed feel more joyful and the gloom lifts. Acceptance, on the other hand, I find easier. Over the last few years, I’ve had some life experiences that have required me to let go and accept on a level I’d previously not experienced, and consequently, it has gotten much easier and actually quite freeing.