Too embarassed to say ‘No’
Many actresses choose to promote themselves and their films through revealing and sexy magazine spreads. Much as we may enjoy them, for the “stars” of those sexy photos, it may not always be so positive.
Jessica Biel wrote a letter that appeared in the Jan. ’04 edition of Seventeen magazine, in response to her previous interview article, which she notes, “mentions a racy photo spread and story that appeared in Gear magazine in 1999. I had been working on 7th Heaven for three years, at that time, and was interested in appearing in a magazine that would portray me as a maturing young woman, because I thought that’s what I was!
“The shoot, however, turned into something different. I was encouraged to wear sexy clothes that I would not have normally chosen. The little voice inside my head said, ‘This is wrong,’ but everyone around me said how mature and stunning I would look, so I did it. I was also persuaded to take some of my clothes off.
“I felt that these people would protect me, but my naivete was taken advantage of. My biggest problem was that I was too embarrassed to say ‘No’ to all these adults whom I trusted and respected. When the the Gear article came out, I was humiliated.” …
Learn from my mistake
“The only reason I wanted to leave the show was because I had my heart set on attending college. I take full responsibility for my actions. By reading this, I hope you can learn from my mistake and realize that maturity is defined by confidence, not sexy clothes and cuss words.
“You can have the courage to say ‘No!’ to any situation that makes you uncomfortable. … Thank you to my fans, who have stuck with me throughout the years and who understand that growing up isn’t always easy and that everyone makes mistakes.”
Jessica Biel – from her official site http://www.jessebiel.com
> More quotes about the Gear mag. shoot on the page Sexuality: teen/young adult 2
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Aisha Tyler has commented about another aspect:
“It’s more about people looking at you and deciding that you didn’t have anything important to say if you were attractive.
“It’s funny because we are so fixated on beauty in this culture and at the same time pretty people, especially pretty women or sexualized women, aren’t taken seriously at all.
“Hopefully, we are at the point now where you can be funny and sexy and smart. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
[BUST mag., Summer 2004]
> Related page: Body image
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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