Olivia Wilde is taking a modern approach to parenting.
The actress-turned-director recently discussed how she’s seen gender politics go down in her home — and how she’s doing everything she can to stop it.
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It is oh, so fitting for Olivia Wilde to be “InStyle’s” cover star for their “Badass Women” issue.
After all, she keeps on smashing those glass ceilings wherever she goes.
In 2019, she made the bold move from actress to director with her first feature film “Booksmart.”
For the critically acclaimed movie, Wilde put as many females as she could in roles, such as screenwriters, producers, casting directors, and actors.
But “Booksmart” isn’t the only area where she’s placed her feminist energy.
While speaking to Beanie Feldstein, one of her leads in Booksmart , Wilde explained how she’s raising her kids to be strong and independent.
She has two children, a boy and a girl, with her fiancé, Jason Sudeikis.
There’s Daisy Josephine, 3, and Otis Alexander, 5½.
“With Daisy, I have witnessed how women are born with an incredible amount of strength and that society quickly pushes them to assume the more feminine role,” she said.
“I mean, I love that Elsa is looking pissed off on the Frozen 2 poster, but there’s still an awful lot out there that’s encouraging young women to make themselves the weaker sex.”
Wilde even uses what’s called a “Daisy Chain,” which is named after her daughter.
The director explained that the Daisy Chain is all about females lifting each other up.
“I celebrate it because for a long time women have been told that in order to succeed, we have to push people out of the way.”
Such a sweet concept!
“My role is to be a safe zone of support that’ll hopefully counteract what society will inevitably do to them.
“When Daisy hits a place where she questions her worth, I want to be the one to remind her of the strength she innately has.”
Wilde even admitted that she’s seen some gender politics go down in her home.
“But it’s interesting because having a boy and a girl, you really notice gender politics within your own home.”
When this happens, she does everything she can to discourage it.
“She’ll clean up his plate for him after dinner, and I’m like, “Put that back!”
But it’s not just female gender roles that she’s confronting.
In October 2018, Wilde shared how she’s also encouraging her son to reject traditional gender roles.
“If my son equates his dad’s strength with Wonder Woman, I am given hope; hope that he never develops the artificial mental barriers — so prevalent in our society — that limit what women can and can’t do,” she wrote.
With so much going on in the star’s world — from career to parenting — it’s no wonder Wilde only gets five hours of sleep each night.
“It’s forever a process of trying to find the balance,” she shared.
“For me as a mom, time becomes essential, because there’s so little of it when you are focused on keeping people alive.
“Then the time that’s left for you becomes very potent, and you can achieve great things with it.”
She continued:
“I do like the idea of relaxing, but my best ideas don’t come from those moments of rest. I get those when I’m jumping on the subway and racing to a meeting.”
Thankfully, her plate is full with things that she loves — like directing.
It’s even the reason why she feels like a badass.
“If you had asked me this a few years ago, I would have said, “Oh, I’ve been skydiving. I have tattoos. I’m ballsy.”
She continued: “But hands down, directing a movie is the most badass thing I’ve ever done because it is the scariest thing I’ve done.”
“It forced me to tap into my inner strength, and you know what? That may be the most badass thing of all.”
For more of Olivia’s interview, you can read it here .
