It's all about sex. It doesn't matter what "it" is: film, plays, business, paintings, music, power, ... The list goes on. There is a difference, however, between sex and 'sexploitation'. As actors, it's up to us to determine which is which and to make a deliberate decision about which we'd like to perpetuate.
Earlier this year, I posted an entry about a film in production that (in all fairness) I haven't read entitled Misogyny. I wrote about how much disdain I had for the very idea of an adult slasher film called Misogyny because I'm disgusted by the exploitation and objectification of women. I tried that genre once and determined, in spite of the sweet and supportive nature of the director and crew, that I would not have a hand in perpetuating the cultural objectification of women with gratuitous footage of the female body ever again. It means turning down a lot of paying work.
Last week, I was cast in a local film rife with skimpy clothing and sex. I get to play twins. One twin is a hot-mess of a wife who is severely mentally disturbed and the other twin is a stipper who has her life put together in spite of her work.
How can I, in good conscience, do this film?
I love the idea of playing twins, for one.
Two, these twins, however sexualized in the story, are written as human beings, NOT objects. This film is a story about human fragility and desperation, not a gratuitous presentation of half-naked women. That's the difference. Sex may be a part of that story, but this film isn't just sex. It isn't just a gratuitous representation of half-naked women for the purpose of tittilation and arousal.
We'll never get away from sex, especially in this business. Sex sells, afterall. But, we can choose to be responsible with sex. We can choose to take roles that are more than just a dehumanizing body. We can own it--own our sexuality and own our choices. Our culture can only move from sexpoitation to sex if every actor makes that choice.
