At the height of Mad Men's success, its cast was incredibly in demand — including Christina Hendricks.
Christina, who portrayed the charismatic Joan Holloway, recently admitted that while the public immediately latched onto the show's male stars, it felt like it took more time for the women to be recognized.
"Men started dressing like Don Draper and Roger Sterling. Suits came back in; skinny ties came back in. It took three to four seasons, and then all of a sudden people wanted us [the female stars] on magazines. We were like: 'This is strange — we’ve been doing this for a while,'" Christina told the Guardian.
And when they finally did get the attention they deserved, Christina says she often faced the same questions over and over, specifically about Joan's undergarments.
"There certainly was a time when we were very critically acclaimed, and getting a lot of attention for our very good work and our very hard work, and everyone just wanted to ask me about my bra again. There are only two sentences to say about a bra," she explained.
But the interview questions were far from the first time that Christina experienced sexism in the entertainment industry, something she says she has dealt with her entire career.
"Do you think anyone in the entertainment industry comes out unscathed and not objectified? I don’t know one musician or one model or one actor who has escaped that. I have had moments — not on Mad Men; on other things — where people have tried to take advantage of me, use my body in a way I wasn’t comfortable with, persuade me or coerce me or professionally shame me," Christina shared.
And while Christina has faced her fair share of uncomfortable situations in entertainment, she understands that it's not the only industry where it occurs.
"It gets a lot of attention because people know who we are. I’m sure there’s a casting couch at the bank down the street; I’m sure the same thing happens in management consultancy, but people don’t know who the management consultants are," Christina noted.
