If I didn't end up talking about the things that I care about, I wouldn't be myself. I didn't like the idea that I would be a different person on the internet than I would be in real life. And I see people struggling. I see people who face prejudice and people who feel invisible. And I recognize that I already have a built-in platform that I can utilize so easily to actually do something.
Amandla StenbergThe thing that makes makeup or clothing or fashion beautiful is the fact that the person wearing them loves themselves and loves being able to kind of use them as artistic tools. And so if I was to give one piece of advice, it would be to find beauty in your core first before you go out into the world and find it in other ways.
Amandla StenbergI think 'The Hunger Games' has a really powerful message about survival, and sacrificing for the ones you love. It's almost like a warning for us to not lose touch of our humanity. We live in a world in which we watch other's misfortunes for entertainment.
Amandla StenbergPeople experience all kinds of prejudice because of all different parts of themselves. And that doesn't make one part more important than the other. We live in a society that does not openly accept every kind of human being. And so the result is when you are yourself and someone who's marginalized, it becomes a revolutionary act - just being comfortable in your own body and being comfortable speaking, sharing your ideas. It's really amazing and also, like, kind of sad.
Amandla StenbergI don't really see myself that way, as some typical sexy young ingรฉnue. I've never been that way. And, for a while, there was a disconnect between who I am and how I present myself on a public platform. That was because I didn't necessarily feel comfortable sharing that much of myself with other people who I didn't know.
Amandla StenbergThe internet has allowed me to just be authentically myself, as opposed to having to perpetuate a certain image, and so I'm lucky that I don't have to fit into a certain box.
Amandla StenbergI'm realizing that the people who criticize what I'm doing, their intentions and comments are not actually real.There's nothing happening in the real world outside of whatever they're writing on the internet. Whereas for the people who feel inspired by what I'm doing, there's something so concrete and powerful in what's happening when they feel empowered. There's actually some kind of growth or self-acceptance, some kind of self-love that's actually being triggered, hopefully. And that's real.
Amandla Stenberg