Chloe Bennet has discussed how pressure on women to conform to age expectations has affected her.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress Chloe Bennet spoke up about age expectations in Asia and America.
Comparing the expectations from the two regions, Bennet, who recently partnered with J-beauty brand SK-II, said Asia has societal expectations, whereas America has age expectations.
“In Asia, there’s definitely a specific kind of societal norms that you’re supposed to be like,” Bennet said. “In America, you have to have a family, have kids, have a career, have all of this before you’re a certain age because every woman in the world feels that.”
For Bennet, conforming to age expectations has never been her forte as maturity came at an early age for her.
“I’ve never felt I fit the age I was supposed to be,” Bennet explained. “At 15 I left my house. I left Chicago and moved to China by myself. It didn’t feel like I was too young. It didn’t feel wrong. It felt like this was the maturity level I was ready to go and do this.”
Bennet revealed how pressure from others about her relationships made her uncomfortable. “I was in a relationship for four years and he was older than me,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘this is when people get married’, even though I wasn’t ready for marriage.”
“It wasn’t coming from me, it was coming from everyone else’s pressure about where the relationship should be going at a certain point.”
The 25-year-old who celebrates a birthday in a few weeks said she feels the pressure mounting. “I turn 26 in a few weeks and someone was like, ‘well maybe it’s about that time to find a guy and have kids because you’re going to be 30 soon’,” she said. “Soon feels relative because that’s in four years but also it’s so backwards to think that because you’re getting older as a woman, your fun is over and your job as someone who makes other humans is beginning.”
However, Bennet said women are now beginning to tolerate the pressure less nowadays. “It’s something I think women are now ready to stand up against and say, ‘no, I’ll be the one that decides’,” she said.
Insider also reports that Bennet revealed that she prefers accentuating her natural Asian features instead of hiding them to show off her half-white heritage.
“I really like accentuating my Asian features and the almond eye shape that I have. For a long time, a lot of makeup artists would try to open my eyes really wide and I felt like I didn’t look like myself and like it changed the shape of my face,” Bennet said.
