In an interview with British fashion magazine The Edit, accomplished actress Lena Headey spoke about the sexism that still runs deep throughout the entertainment industry, speculating that she may have lost roles by not flirting with directors.
“There’s a real pressure on women to be beautiful and skinny. When I was in my twenties and doing a lot of audition tapes in the States, a casting director told me: ‘The men take these tapes home and watch them and say, ‘Who would you f—?’ I’ve never played the game of going in [to auditions] and flirting; I’ve never done it and I’m very happy I didn’t.”
It’s a sad reminder that even a capable and charismatic actress like Headey is not immune to the misogyny of Hollywood. Although, read the comments below any publication sharing this news, and it’s pretty shocking to see how many people justify this behavior, or even express anger at Headey. The entertainment industry may be comprised of pretty people whom we want to see on screens, but that doesn’t excuse powerful individuals taking advantage of industry newbies.
Not that this an exclusively female problem either; there are plenty of young men in the entertainment industry who face difficult choices if they want to catch that big break. Selling yourself has been part and parcel of the entertainment and modeling industries since they were founded.
But time moves forward, and civilization continues to grow more civilized, hopefully. There’s no excuse for predatory hiring practices to be continuing in this day and age, especially in an era where discrimination is being challenged daily, in online think-pieces or out on the streets, in organized protests.
But onscreen, it’s not a secret that women are playing the game on a crushing level of difficulty. I’ve mentioned this before, but Lena Headey’s infamous “walk of shame” scene from Game of Thrones is the perfect example.
When Headey’s character, Cersei is forced to disrobe and walk naked through the jeering city folk, her body certainly isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Indeed, Cersei, a heavy-drinking mother of three, would never be able to maintain this statuesque physique, not without a team of medieval personal trainers and dietitians. So what was going on? Well, Lena Headey’s head was digitally placed onto a body double, Rebecca Van Cleave.
This expensive effort was done to spare us the “horror” of seeing a typical forty-year-old female body, not something that’s usually allowed to appear onscreen without being artfully covered by bedsheets and bubble baths.
It’s worth noting that there are not many beer bellies in Game of Thrones either; the men all appear to take time in the morning to shave their chests and do sit-ups. I think one day, we’ll look back at the sculpted bodies we pretended were standard and laugh, the way we do at old movies that depict women waking up with a full face of make-up.
We’re slowly getting to a place that isn’t quite as imbalanced; the success of the female-directed Wonder Woman is a recent example. But let’s not kid ourselves, we’ve got a long way to go.
Source: http://bit.ly/2uIcBwg
