Finally, An Actress Owns Up to Self-Exploitation...Objectification

When actress Bo Derek was in her heyday during in the late 70s and early 80s, she wasn't exactly recognized for great acting abilities. Bo was sexy, and she made the kind of career choices that generated more interest in and appreciation for her physical attributes than her acting talents. Beginning with the movie 10, where she played a newlywed in an open marriage, the image of Bo running along the beach in a swimsuit, established her as bona fide sex symbol.  She went on to act in a few other films, including an X-rated feature, made guest appearances on tv and posed twice for Playboy.



The entertainment industry has no shortage of women like Bo Derek, women who achieved fame and fortune primarily because of their beauty.  There are of course lots of other actresses who are both beautiful and talented, and have achieved success by delivering amazing performances.  But some actresses, particularly those possessing the kind of beauty and sex appeal that opens doors in Hollywood, despite having only mediocre talent, find themselves in a career paradox.  They seem driven by the need to be the sexiest goddess of all.  They gleam on the red carpet in dresses that leave little, if anything to the imagination. They express outrage at having their intimate encounters "leaked" in a video.  Or vehemently deny the obvious symbiotic relation they have with the paparazzi.

But the thing that has always caused me to roll my eyes and sigh (uh, here we go again) is when an actress who clearly has done everything within her power to reign as Hollywood's leading bombshell (Do they still use that word?), blames the system for ignoring her talent, relegating her to just another pretty face.  Recently, actress Sofia Vergara (who I think is very funny) whined that being attractive has worked against her.  Maybe it's the fact that you'd be hard pressed to find a a photo of Ms. Vergara where she's not showing off her ample bosom in a dress with a plunging neckline.  Or Jessica Biel, who once told Allure magazine that her good looks hurt her career.  Perhaps a few less bikini clad pics featuring the pouty lip look would have helped.  Even Salma Hayek has joined the chorus of these damn good looks of mine are killing my career, when she told ET that her curves have limited her in Hollywood.

I don't know, maybe there is validity in the claims made by these actresses.  But, they should also own up to their role in how they are viewed.  Granted, none of these actresses had to do much to be viewed as a sex object, they are sexy women.  But the woe is me mantra gets rather tiring.  Which is why I was really impressed by comments recently made by Bo Derek during a CBS News interview.  Derek says she objectified herself (say whaaat?)  She went on to add:

“I created my own posters, I made my own movies. I produced them. Maybe I could’ve gone out to prove, ‘Oh, I’m a real actress, I’m not a physical being.’ But I pretty much exploited myself, too, at the same time.”

More actresses (and actors too for that matter) should just be honest and own up to the role they play in shaping their image, since it's painfully obvious. That's why when it comes to keeping it real, I think Bo Derek just scored a perfect 10.