If you're like me, you're a big fan of heart-pounding thrillers with strong female heroines like Double Jeopardy and Kiss the Girls. You may also enjoy sentimental films that make you laugh, cry, and ponder the relationship between faith and morality such as my personal favorite, Simon Birch. Or maybe you connect with a Southern drawl and the woes of the dark histories, in which case you're drawn to Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood or A Time to Kill. If you fit into any of these categories, I'm sure that you, like myself, have enjoyed the dramatic talents of Ashley Judd.
But, whether or not you're a fan of any of the movies listed above, you probably have read about the Ashley Judd firestorm created this week, when the star wrote a searing criticism of the objectifying, "misogynistic" assault on women perpetrated by mainstream media. After much chatter that Judd's cheeks have appeared "puffy" in recent television appearances, Judd decided to respond on behalf of herself and the sisterhood of women at large. The Daily Beast article has gone viral, and feminists, journalists, and Judd fans everywhere have applauded her apt and meticulously worded argument against an intrusive and female-degrading industry. Her vocabulary makes it evident that a Harvard education has not gone to waste on this girl, and judging by her sass, neither has a Southern upbringing.
Having been a Judd fan since the late 90's, and considering the fact that I am a female, I feel semi-qualified to pitch my two cents into this conversation. Let me begin by confessing that I have seen Double Jeopardy so many times that I've nearly memorized it word for word. I also firmly believe that every woman should perfect a strong jab punch and decent upper-cut because of Kiss the Girls (Bring it, Cary Elwes).
That being said, when Judd's article hit the press this week, I initially read it with great delight. I love her tenacity, spunk, and unapologetic ownership of her personhood and her body. Go girl! But, when I reached the article's end, something felt a little off. Sure, Judd makes a accurate observation that the objectification of women in our culture is wrong. W-R-O-N-G. But, with an acting career that has often kowtowed to our culture's demand for illicit, meaningless, and gratuitous sex, when did Judd become such a passionate guardian of feminine inner beauty?
While I love Judd's girl-power edge and some of her more wholesome fare, I feel most confident approaching many others of her films with a finger securely placed on the fast-forward button. From tongue-in-cheek chick flicks ala Someone Like You to edgy mysteries ala Eye of the Beholder, Hollywood has enlisted Judd on several occasions to promote a culture of casual sex and disposable lovers. Though it presents an innocent enough veneer, (who doesn't feel compassion for a barefoot, pregnant teen living out of a Wal-mart?) Where the Heart Is vacillates between presenting sex as a weapon that incurs molestation and unplanned pregnancies, and relying on the presence of casual sex for many of the film's more humorous moments. And, then there is the dark thriller, Twisted. The name alone sums up the plotline, so we won't even get into that one.
Judd has also, unfortunately, been a party to this misogynistic system by shedding her own clothes for several roles and leaving nothing to the imagination in the way of sexual intimacy between two people. Otherwise smart films like High Crimes and Double Jeopardy would have been much better sans the one or two (completely unnecessary) salacious scenes. While it is incredibly entertaining to watch Tommy Lee Jones chase a fugitive Ashley Judd across the country, I prefer to watch the TNT version, censored to perfection.
This isn't meant to be an indictment, but rather an observation. Judd ultimately arrives at the conclusion that men don't bear the blame alone, but that women (herself included) become entangled in, and even promoters of, a degraded female sex.
"Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men participate...It is subtle, insidious, and never more dangerous than when women passionately deny that they themselves are engaging in it."
But she fails to acknowledge that the media which she so passionately accuses is the same media that vaulted her to success, touting her as well, a sex symbol. Indeed men and women, actors and audiences, have contributed to the media machine's insistence that sex is sport and bodies are toys. When this is the case, all humans are devalued to their potential as a sexual partner. And if that's where our value truly lies, then it is perfectly acceptable for us to critique one another's waistlines, bust sizes, and yes, even cheeks.
For the record, I happen to think Ashley's cheeks look just fine. Anyone with two eyes and a pulse will agree that she is still a beautiful woman. But, now that she's opened this conversation and invited others to join in, I hope it becomes evident just how deep this issue runs. The rude commentary on Ashley's puffy cheeks only skims the surface. In a world where young girls are bought and sold on the streets nightly, where predators lurk in every corner of the internet, and where babies are abandoned by unwilling fathers, it's clear that somewhere along the way we allowed sexuality to trump personhood. So, the question left to us today is, what role are we playing in this unfolding disaster?
And Ashley, I'll always love watching you kick the bad guy's butt. I hope that you're one day able to find the justice that you seek.
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