Olivia Wilde speaks about the ‘gender politics’ with having a son and daughter

Mother-of-two Olivia Wilde has revealed how she is raising her son and daughter to treat one another as equals and reject societal gender norms.  

The Booksmart director, 35, has a five-year-old son named Otis and three-year-old daughter named Daisy with partner Jason Sudeikis, 44. 

And when speaking to actress Beanie Feldstein, star of Booksmart, for the latest issue InStyle, Wilde said she actively fights against pushing Daisy into a more feminine role within their household because she doesn’t want her daughter to feel like she has to meet societal stereotypes. 

Cover star:Olivia Wilde, 35, (pictured on cover of InStyle) has opened up about her parenting style with having both a son and daughter

Balancing act: The Booksmart director, 35, has a five-year-old son named Otis and three-year-old daughter named Daisy with partner Jason Sudeikis, 44 (pictured)

 Frustrating: ‘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

‘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 p****d 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.’  

When it comes to her own role as a mother, Wilde said she has strived to be a ‘safe zone of support’.  

‘My role is to be a safe zone of support that’ll hopefully counteract what society will inevitably do to them,’ she said. ‘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.’ 

One moment that resonated with Wilde specifically was when she saw her daughter falling into a more feminine role with her son, which she halted immediately.  

‘It’s interesting because having a boy and a girl, you really notice gender politics within your own home. She’ll clean up his plate for him after dinner, and I’m like, “Put that back!”‘ 

Important: Wilde created the mentality called the Daisy Chain, named after her daughter, which encourages her to lift, or pull, up other women in the industry 

Her position: In an interview with InStyle, Wilde opened up about her parenting style and dealing with ‘gender politics’ with her son (right) and daughter (left)

Lesson: Wilde had a conversation with her daughter after she saw her cleaning up her brother’s plate (pictured) after dinner 

Inspired by her daughter, Wilde even created something called the ‘Daisy Chain’ mentality in her career, which involves the woman ‘pulling up’ the next group of women to help them succeed in the industry.  

‘The Daisy Chain is about wanting to lift 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,’ Wilde said. 

‘Producer] Jessica Elbaum was someone who dared me to take myself seriously. There were so many people who said, “Oh, you should direct.” But there aren’t many who will actually help you when you’ve never done it before. 

‘Jessica had the confidence in me to put her own reputation on the line by recommending that [production company] Annapurna hear my pitch for Booksmart. And that’s real generosity.’

Since the term is about lifting up other women, Wilde decided it should be aptly named after her daughter whom she also wants to lift up in any way possible. 

Wilde is now busy balancing her new role as a director with other projects in the industry, but she confessed her family is still a priority.

‘I see that it affects them,’ she said about her children seeing her in showbiz. ‘But for me as a mother, it’s such a balancing act.’