Actress Cameron Diaz says sexual labels
make people unhappy.
The 41-year-old co-star of The Other
Woman, told Michigan
gay weekly Pride Source that because she's sexually
attracted to women doesn't mean she's a lesbian or bisexual.
“What I really think is a problem is
that for some reason everybody needs to label,” Diaz said. “There
needs to be a label for something, and you have to qualify it with a
label. If we didn't put labels on ourselves, I think we would
probably live in a much better society. We would just let people be
who they are and we wouldn't have to define them.”
“Over the years I've known people who
are male who love women, who want to be in a relationship with a
woman, who want to raise a family with a woman, who have that
relationship and that's where they want to put their energy – but
they also are sexually attracted to men. And just because someone's
sexually attracted to a man he has to choose whether he wants to be
with a woman or a man, and vice versa with women. Women may want to
have a relationship with a man, and to raise a family with him, but
may also be sexually attracted to women.”
“Because we have to label it, because
we make people choose who they want to be, people aren't happy.
They're ruining relationships and friendships and marriages, and
they're feeling like they can't have all sides of themselves. They
feel like they have to choose. If we just allowed people to be
themselves and to be open to it and not have to be absolute one way
or another, life could be really full.”
Diaz added that she would not label
herself “bisexual.”
“I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but
it's a beautiful thing that we can appreciate beauty in other women.
I think that's amazing. If they're confident in themselves and know
who they are, heterosexual men can look at another heterosexual man
and go, 'Yeah, he's pretty hot. He's a sexy man.'”