During a virtual panel at the Sundance Film Festival hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Berry — who directed and starred in the upcoming MMA drama Bruised — spoke about the importance of teaching her 7-year-old son to question gender stereotypes.
Bruised is rumored to debut on Netflix later this year; according to Variety, the film’s plot concerns “a washed-up MMA fighter struggling for redemption as both an athlete and a mother.”
“I have realized what my job is in raising him. If we want to have a future that’s different, that is where it starts,” she explained while talking about her son Maceo Martinez.
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Berry shares Maceo with ex-husband Olivier Martinez, whom she divorced in 2016.
While in conversation with actor and co-panelist Robin Wright, Berry stated, “You made me think of how many conversations I’ve had with him, say, since he’s turned 5 years old, about the differences in boys and girls, and I see how he’s taught to feel like he’s superior, at 5, [to] girls.”
“I’ve had to really break that down for him and give him a new perspective, and challenge those thoughts and ask him to identify where that comes from, and if he believes that or not and challenge what he’s subconsciously getting from somewhere.”
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“I can tell that because we’re having those conversations he is going to grow as a deep thinker on the subject,” Berry continued while discussing the potential impact that she can have on her son’s upbringing.
