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Lacking a bit of attention? Get your gear off

Rose Russo

by Rose Russo

02 Dec 05:35am

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Filed under: Anne Hathaway, Celebrity, Film, Hollywood, Jake Gyllenhaal, Nudity, Society

38 comments

So Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal have stripped off for the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Surprised?

A rare scene from the movie where the characters are actually wearing clothes

It’s becoming a trend in Hollywood to gain attention through everything but their actual profession -acting.

It doesn’t shock me though that these two got partially naked to promote their new film, Love & Other Drugs. Hathaway, 27, plays liberal artist Maggie Murdock in the movie, opposite Gyllenhaal’s commitment-phobic Viagra salesman Jamie Randall.

The two strike up an arrangement based purely on casual sex but soon find themselves falling for one another.

The movie has been rated R in the US due to the level of nudity and frequent sex scenes. Just last week Miranda Kerr revealed all in a nude photograph of her baby bump. It’s almost become a rite of passage to show some skin when you’ve got a movie to promote, a bun in the oven, or new single that is making its way onto the airwaves.

I’m waiting for the day that P!nk bares all after announcing she is pregnant on the Ellen DeGeneres show this week. It’s not really shocking anymore but hey it gives the movie some publicity and sex sells, didn’t you know?

Like it or lump it these images will continue to bombard us through mainstream media. The line between entertainment, soft porn and body image sends us an array of mixed messages. We’re told to be happy in our own skin yet we are shown these highly airbrushed images of ‘perfection’ day in and day out. Are we only sexy if we’re nude? Is nudity empowering? To some, yes it is.

Gone are the days where nudity was reserved for R rated magazines; porn videos; or to be shared with whomever you invite into your bedroom. It’s now plastered on billboards, light entertainment magazines and music video clips. There’s no escaping it. And no wonder young girls are so confused about the real definition of sexy.

Sexy is not something you can wear (or not wear in this case). Now that we’re coming up to summer young girls seem to think the less they wear the better. Plunging neckline = cleavage = I will appear more attractive to the opposite sex. High waisted shorts = visible bum cheeks = let’s leave nothing to the imagination. Sexy to me is about confidence.

Now you might say that girls who wear plunging necklines or high waisted shorts must be confident, right? Well maybe they are as they dare to put themselves out there. But, sexy is what you feel on the inside and the confidence radiates out of you.

Growing up I used to tell my grandma that I wanted to be a model. I was no more than 10 years old and this was before I realised you had to be almost 6-foot and naturally thin to succeed in the industry. I am neither of these.

She used to tell me that if I were to pursue my “dream” I could only be a gown model, not a swimsuit/lingerie model. So we drew an invisible line in the sand that I could only be a model if I wore gowns/evening wear. Everything else was a no-go zone. A bit old fashioned? I don’t think so.

I think she was smart enough to take my comment seriously but told me what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

After viewing these photographs in Entertainment Weekly and the amount of discussion that has generated through online forums in the days following, it makes me wonder whether there is such a thing as tasteful nudity. Is getting your gear off for money, fame or to promote yourself ever tasteful?

Nowadays we consume quite a lot of soft porn and we have (well I have) become desensitised to it. I don’t really want to be, but I am. I don’t really mind that these actors have posed semi-nude for a magazine.

But, I am sure they’ll have their own grandma’s to answer to. No doubt about that.

When it comes to nudity I think there is a time and a place, and whether that place is on the cover of a light entertainment magazine I’m not so sure.

There’s no denying that being nude is sexual, and perhaps what these actors are trying to convey is a healthy attitude towards sexuality and nudity. Or maybe it’s just the money. I’ll have to be cynical (who me?) and agree with the latter.

Being comfortable in one’s skin has nothing to do with posing for a magazine shot to show or prove you are comfortable in your own skin.

Unfortunately, I think too many young women in particular will look at these shots (especially girls who have grown up watching The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada etc) of Anne and think she is sexy and confident because she’s agreed to a partial nude shot.

The movie is rated R for a reason - an over-18 audience and the themes of the movie are specific to an older crowd. Whether a younger audience needs to have the glossy cover idolised is another matter entirely.

Looking back on what I’ve written you may think I am against nudity or thinking “wow, on a trip to prude town are we?”. It’s not about either of these things - after all both of these actors are adults and can consent to these shots. I just worry about the message it’s sending.

Nudity is personal. And there’s nothing personal about a magazine cover shoot. And there my friends is the line.

Most commented

38 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • acotrel says:

      05:23am | 02/12/10

      So we’re going to see Tony Abbott in the buff now?

      Reply

    • ian m says:

      05:52am | 02/12/10

      Preferable to Julia the nuclear zombie

    • acotrel says:

      06:13am | 02/12/10

      C’mon Ian, Julia’s not a bad sort.  You’ve got a few ugly ones in the Liberal Party who persist in believing that making poisonous comments is good politics! - Doesn’t make them look beautiful!

    • Damocles says:

      07:00am | 02/12/10

      @acotrel…....I’d rather see buffed Tony than a stuffed Julia!

    • TimB says:

      07:25am | 02/12/10

      @ Acotrel

      Because Julia’s never made a bitchy comment in her life of course.

    • PL says:

      09:48am | 02/12/10

      I think most blokes would rather see Abbot naked than that pasty ranga… at least he looks fit (bloody fit for his age) and healthy

    • Paul Russo says:

      10:17am | 02/12/10

      Touche! Well said Rosie, Grandma would be proud!

    • deb says:

      05:24am | 02/12/10

      let them show themselves,nobody does more than glance at naked people anymore.we are so very used to tits and arse .talent?something else.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      09:19am | 02/12/10

      TimB, there’s a difference between bitchy and poisonous! Have a listen to Bronny, Fascist Barbie or Sophie sometime.  They’re always searching for an angle to poison the well! I saw Julia recently tell the opposition all about themselves and their lack of vision and luddite attitudes - none of it poisonous, just an accurate shot straight through the heart!

    • Jotun says:

      01:04pm | 02/12/10

      I agree with this.

      Why is nudity so frowned upon by people scared of its non-impacts on the world?

    • Jono says:

      06:17am | 02/12/10

      Great social commentary… we are allowing the movie industry to just about do anything they want… in fact nudity is a special thing, and not a commodity. The cult of the body image is messing with our kids. Thanks for your great stand on this… there should be more reflection like yours.

      Reply

    • Rose Russo says:

      08:57am | 02/12/10

      Thanks Jono. You are right, nudity is a special thing - and while I don’t have a problem with nudity itself, I don’t think it belongs on the cover of a light entertainment magazine.

      It sends the wrong message that nudity is sexy. Confidence is sexy, I think. But, plenty of people have no problem with the shots of these two. Different strokes I guess.

    • Jotun says:

      01:08pm | 02/12/10

      Jono, are you serious?

      Nudity being special is a social construct created over thousands of years through the denunciation of sexuality outside wedlock and the home. In short, it’s been drummed into us by the prudishness of religion.

      In fact, I’d go so far as to say that body image issues are aided by the ideal that nudity is special, and clothing that alludes to and suggests that if you don’t wear it well, you are not sexy, is more to blame.

    • rufus says:

      03:48pm | 02/12/10

      I agree with Jotun. Nudity is just the human body. Disgust with nudity is just social conditioning. Social attitudes to nudity have been changing since Queen Victoria scowled at her subjects, and will continue to do so, thankfully.

    • Mr Black says:

      07:39am | 02/12/10

      There’s nothing wrong with hot chicks showing a lot of flesh.

      It should be encouraged.

      The more it happens the more it brings a bright spot to your day!

      Lighten up

      Reply

    • Heath Karl says:

      09:11am | 02/12/10

      Especially when one of those hot chicks is Jake Gyllenhaal?

    • Mr Black says:

      12:15pm | 02/12/10

      No. I never want to see naked men. I choose to ignore them. But I don’t complain about it.

    • AdamC says:

      08:20am | 02/12/10

      They are a photogenic pair - it doesn’t bother me.

      This article, with its weirdly inter-twining strands of prudishness, pop (junk?) psychology and nostalgia for a time when mainstream nudity was confined to the sculptures in the art gallery is clunky and silly.

      One thing we can all agree on, though. Those young girls of today are just getting skankier and skankier, and less astute in their fashion choices.

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      09:31am | 02/12/10

      I agree with the second half of your comment AdamC. Skank-factor is huge at the moment and just when you think it can’t get any worse Supre bring out their Summer Collection of high waisted hot pants and mech bikini tops. I live in the tropics and apparently the excuse is “It is hot”. But in all honesty - I would rather see people getting about in the nuddy than some of the ensembles they put together of a morn.

      I think choice of clothes is huge and wearing no clothes is a pretty big thing too, but it just doesn’t bother me. I am shocked by it, but I am certainly not a prude. I guess I just don’t really care to see AHath’s bits while I unload the trolley at Woolies.

      As a result of all of this I think we have “nudity fatigue” and perhaps that is the entire crux of this article. There will come a time when we go - boobs, meh, I’ll have a latte thanks and do be careful not to burn yourself there love.

    • PL says:

      09:50am | 02/12/10

      Come on now, skanks have feelings too… skanky, skanky feelings…

    • John Smythe says:

      10:59am | 02/12/10

      What do you think contributes to the last sentence of your comment? I believe Rose is indicating it is the constant bombardment through media that is desensitising us, and as desensitised as it has become, the fashion choices themselves are dropping in standard.

      As an adult I don’t think twice to seeing partial nudity on magazine covers, but what message would an impressionable young teen receive by seeing their idol baring it on a magazine cover?

      It’s not about being prudish at all, which is why I believe the emphasis of the movie being 18+ was there. It’s taking those same themes (of nudity etc.) and then putting them out to the general audience (which includes kids) as if it were “normal”.

      Media is becoming like the average individual, doing what they want because they can get away with it, all the same while taking no responsibility for the potential impact.

      Maybe I’m a prude >.<

    • John Smythe says:

      11:19am | 02/12/10

      @fairsx2

      Nice comment! Reading it made me think of that earlier commentary on the suit advertising with the guy lifting up the woman’s skirt with a disinterested look on his face.

      Were some pretty funny comments about it too.

    • AdamC says:

      12:08pm | 02/12/10

      John Smythe,

      Were you talking about my last sentence, about the skanks?

      I think you have a point about the aggressive normalisation of sexuality, but I think that is slightly different to skankiness. Anna Hathaway, for example, nude or otherwise, is not a skank.

      I hate to say it (its so trite, but that’s because it’s true), the reason why our young women are so crass and tarty nowadays is because of an abandonment of traditional values. The flesh flashes in magazines and the like are just one of the symptoms.

    • John Smythe says:

      01:14pm | 02/12/10

      Hi AdamC. Yes I was.

      Totally agree with you there.

      Cheers and happy it’s almost Friday!

    • Prince says:

      09:20am | 02/12/10

      If you really wanted to critique nudity and the paradigm shift to soft porn in entertainment why wouldn’t you have picked music videos rather than feature movies? The trend is 10 times worse there to the point where all the music is re-cycled samples from creative work done in the prior decades just with new age bimbo’s and skanks draped on or off car hoods…

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      09:24am | 02/12/10

      I must be getting old!  When I go to the beach, the nudity doesn’t give a thrill!  You must realise when the media is doing a number on you! The sex thing in magazines is usually tired and old-fashioned!  I appreciate good photography, but most of what appears in the rags has little artistic merit.

      Reply

    • Lauren says:

      09:26am | 02/12/10

      The thing that annoys me more about this movie is not exactly the magazine shots (which, to a degree I do agree with you there) but it’s these actors thinking that to be taken seriously they have to be taken out of their comfort zone.

      The magazine shots are a lie - Anne Hathaway apparently cried every day she had to shoot a sex scene, despite it being in the script and the fact that it is her bloody job. So I doubt she would find posing nude for a magazine cover to be liberating, or whatever.

      The cliched naked pregnant shots don’t bother me so much, because they are not sexy, only confident and beautiful and embracing.

      Some actors can take on nudity roles and absolutely kill it, but some can’t.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      11:04am | 02/12/10

      When my daughter was born, I was permitted to attend the birth.  The doctor said to me that the baby was ‘crowning’, and asked whether I wanted to have a look.  I chickened out and probably missed out on a beautiful experience!  I find some things ‘sexy’ but not very much these days, I think I’ve had too much fun in my life, and the novelty has worn off. I suspect many women look enticing so they can lure young men into the maternity ward with them, and scare them silly.

    • Kate says:

      10:17am | 02/12/10

      Yeah, try as I might, I just can’t think of a reason why Jake Gyllenhaal getting nude is a bad thing.

      I think many men and women believe that women can be sexy without getting their clothes off or revealing lots of flesh. Sexy can be about what you don’t see, rather than what you do - for example, wearing clothes that hint at what’s underneath rather than advertising it.

      Reply

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      10:35am | 02/12/10

      Personally I think one of the best things about getting a present is the unwrapping of it, the renewal of the fashion of Maxi dresses is very sexy.

      Reply

    • Davida says:

      11:05am | 02/12/10

      So you enjoy unwrapping vast amounts of cloth…...is it a Mummy Complex?

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      03:17pm | 02/12/10

      Davida, What are you talking about girl? ? ? A maxi still shows the shap but leaves something for my imagination

    • S.L says:

      03:11pm | 02/12/10

      So according to this theory does that mean if Nine news overtakes Seven we’ll see Chris Bath getting her kit off? Or if Today overtake Sunrise? Mel Nat and FiFi….........OH STOP IT!!!!!!!!!

      Reply

    • Rose Russo says:

      03:28pm | 02/12/10

      Gotta love a good maxi dress!

      Reply

    • jane wallace says:

      04:49pm | 02/12/10

      if nudity does not reveal all secrets, wikileaks will

      Reply

    • jane wallace says:

      05:14pm | 02/12/10

      if nudity gets you plenty of attention, then julia gillard,julia bishop, anna bligh,kristina kenneally,and hillary clinton can make nudity a top priority on beaches.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      02:54am | 03/12/10

      There is a power thing involved with nudity, when the dominant partner has clothes on and the submissive is nude!  When nudity appears in the media, it is simply playing with your subconscious! I’d never oppose it on that basis, but I won’t be manipulated by stupid journos!  I pity the kids who end up with anorexia, and I believe the media has a bit to answer for.

      Reply

    • Marissa says:

      01:59pm | 03/12/10

      i think there might be a bit missing from this article. love and other drugs is a sexually charged film with copious amounts of nudity so, therefore even if a don’t really see the NEED for nude advertisements for it i CAN see the point.

      Why was Miranda Kerr naked? The black and white shots i think are not so much a fashion advertisement as a piece of art.

      we worry so much about nudity and “everyone, cover-up!” that i think we forget that the body is an amazing piece of artwork. i grew up a bit sheltered and always being told to “cover-up” even though i was never naked or anything silly like that and what did it give me… body issues like, the body isn’t something to be proud of and happy with - it’s just something we’ve got that must stay covered up. it took me a good while to even be happy standing naked toe to toe with a partner in the bedroom and not feel embarresed or somehow ashamed.

      while i think there are perhaps too many sexually driven nude adverts out there i also think there is merit some of them.

      now i’m not saying that everyone should have naked photos out there but shouldn’t we be confident enough about our bodies to do it.

      guess this will probably just sound like nonsence from a Gen Y’er

      Reply
 
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