today we had a talkback with the lovely actress Christine Lahti and something that came up was our struggle as young actresses to get work but yet maintain our sence of art and self worth.  Because in a male dominated industry where often time work is work, where do you draw the line?  How many bikini clad roles, or objects of sexual desire does a young actress have to play in order to earn her right to more challenging work?  Christine responded eloquently and directly on target, saying how yes it is hard, and it is work and you need to pay the bills. but you can never accept something that will challenge your sleep at night(in a matter of dignity)  But that does not mean censorship, don’t censor yourself.  

Thinking about that I took a step back to think of all the women I have seen exposed in the media or entertainment.  In this day and age a. I hardly notice they are naked other than noticing how firm thier butt is or the size of thier nipples.  And i realize women are constantly asked to bear themselves at the risk of judgement in this industry.  But we only judge them because they judge themselves.  think of women in porn(or alot of todays tv)those women may lack clothes but that does not keep them from hiding behind layers of insecurity and judgement of themselves.  

now think back to the last time you saw someone truly naked, yourself included.

If there is anything I have concretely discovered in acting school, it’s that our emotional and physical bodies are interchangeable.   when you physically loosen up, your emotions open up and when you tense your body to the world around you, you become numb to the energy and emotions of yourself and others, etc etc.

now back to nudity,  as a society we are so focused on the tangible.  That is why people like megan fox have a career(she is tangibly hott, but does she have process, skill or craft? no. but those are things you can not measure with the untrained eye. Im not trying to get elitist or anything, many untrained actors have raw talent and are brilliant, im straying from the point)  

We find nudity sexy, because it is allegedly raw, our most animal form. But Physically we suck it in, push it out, shave and lift everything and as I previously noted our physical directly relates to our emotional. so if our most natural form is contrived where does this leave us?

i cant help but think of the movie “conversations with other women” helena bonham carter plays and older woman reunited with her first love after many lifetimes past.  When she took off her clothes she didnt only bear her body, she bear her soul.  That is what is truly human.

try this for me.  
the next time you go to hop in the shower take a few minutes to look at yourself in the mirror.  feel free to examine, but don’t judge.  accept your imperfections as something that makes you unique and breathe it in.  
find your skin again, literally. you may be surprised with the discoveries you make.