Dear Feminists, Count Me In!

With all of the woman-bashing in the media lately, I've thought more about acting roles written for women my age. Now, I won't even begin to open the Rush Limbaugh can of worms here, because, well, if I exude more angry feelings on that topic, I think I will just burst. I'll let the more political bloggers handle that one. All I'm putting out there is that the Los Angeles acting scene is a particularly interesting sphere to navigate as a woman in her early twenties who is an "unknown." An "unknown" has less power than a "name" in stipulating what she will or will not do on screen (and offscreen, for that matter). It's essential to be mindful and careful in this territory, and to stick up for yourself.

More often than not, I see roles that casting websites have deemed appropriate for me to submit for who are described in less than flattering ways and asked to bare a lot of skin on camera.

Don't get me wrong -- I am no prude in the artistic sense. I've watched me some Bertolucci and I've seen me some artistic nudity that is beautiful, inspiring, and necessary to move a narrative along and succeeds in adding an atmospheric quality and edge that could not have been achieved otherwise. But when I read a breakdown for a character who dies in a degrading fashion in a no-budget indie horror flick, I am less than enthused. I wonder about the actresses who are compelled to submit for these kinds of roles. I am not judging -- I am more inquisitive about how actors can justify certain things and where they draw a line for themselves.

At the Oscars this year, I was inspired by the meaty roles there had been for women this year, both nominated and not -- from Meryl Streep's filterless performance in The Iron Lady, to the female ensemble of The Help, to the fearlessly funny comediennes of Bridesmaids. I must concede, however, that I still haven't watched Rooney Mara as the infamous Salander in Dragon Tattoo. I realize that the characters in the film are trying to annihilate a killer of women, but since watching Swedish version, I haven't felt the need to see more of what I know will be disturbing displays of violence. Plus, I know how it ends!

I guess I am a walking contradiction -- I am a summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa graduate of what I will argue is the best women's college in the country, whose seal is Athena, goddess of wisdom. There, I learned that women can be powerful, smart, strong, and still beautiful. But at the same time, I am an actress, and I understand that I may need to portray characters who aren't this self-assured and passionate about society's perception of women.

Several years ago, I worked on a music video for a popular band called All Time Low. The video now has nearly 29 million views. I play a character in it that is far from who I am and how I would normally see myself. However, being the oxymoron that I am, I find it empowering. I felt comfortable on set, had a good time, and felt confident and attractive. Would I do this job again if it were offered to me today? That is beside the point. Besides, it's 29 million views too late to even think about that now.

Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcNiKCmWdYE&ob=av3e

Until next post,

G