DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
To Be or Not to Be… Sexy, That’s the Conflict!
© NaimaLett.com/blog

Sparkle © 2012 Sony

To be or not to be… sexy.
That’s the conflict.
Particularly for female artists of faith.

I recently re-met a casting director whose candor I appreciate. When asked about Hollywood’s standard for a leading lady, she told her audience the truth: Hollywood’s leading ladies are “internationally sex-able” (though, her language was a little more colorful).

Internationally Sex-able

Translation: In order for women to be considered bankable to domestic and foreign film markets (TV is different), men all over the world have to want to sleep with them, i.e. Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, the list goes on and on.

Hollywood is a business like every other business and is built on the bottom line of making money. Audiences tell Hollywood what they want to see based on what they actually pay to see (not bootleg). So, if audiences, all over the world, consistently buy more tickets to see sexy actresses in leading roles, those are the ones pushed through the system. This creates an industry jammed with actors, singers, dancers and reality stars who want to crossover to the big screen, all trying to out-sexy each other (an exception being our funny ladies who make Hollywood lots of money making folks laugh).

Case in point, we are daily bombarded with leaks on actresses taking meetings to star in a film version of female author E.L. James’ 50 Shades of Grey smash trilogy, which has been #1, 2 and 3 on the New York Times bestseller list for over 25 weeks. With the LA Times reporting US sales of 20 million copies and worldwide sales of 31 million since its April mainstream release (over $145 million in revenue), every young A-List starlet is salivating over the lead role in what has been nicknamed “mommy porn” and the chance to be this generation’s Marilyn.

I just saw Sparkle (pictured above) starring American Idol winner Jordin Sparks and recently departed Whitney Houston (both very public about their faith as followers of Christ), produced by Sony Pictures with Bishop T.D. Jakes. I’ll try not to give any details away since it just opened. If you like the original, you’ll like the remake. You’ll love the feel-good soundtrack, costumes, and set. You’ll root for Jordin and be moved by the performance of Carmen Ejogo. And it explores this tension of a household of artists who don’t know how to reconcile their faith and their desire to “make it’ in the music industry, starting with mom on down. There seems to be this idea that you can’t do both. I fundamentally disagree with the premise that artists have to choose sexy over faith. What do you think?

The Conflict

This is all nothing new. But it’s got me thinking again about why women of faith have such an adventurous time navigating our industry.

While we love our art and want to work as authentic artists – bringing truth to the camera and stage – we usually don’t want to run around purposefully trying to make every man yearn to sleep with us, particularly if we value fidelity. We want to be beautiful and have the freedom to celebrate who we are as women, expressing our unique and flattering styles. We love who we are in our own skin, our bodies that were created by God, our sexuality and sex with our spouses. We have nothing to be ashamed of, yet, we don’t want to be reduced to objects of lust just to make studios a buck.

We learn from scripture that we’re a big family and we’re to look at those whom we’re not married to as brothers and sisters, not sexual conquests. In I Timothy 5:1-2, Paul encourages Timothy and other believers to “…exhort the older man as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

Purity is key. I’m surrounded by men in the industry and ministry, and yet, I am able to see them as brothers. Sex with any of them would not only be adulterous, but like incest. I don’t want them yearning to sleep with me. I have a husband whom I love sleeping with.

Now, I have been in both worlds long enough to know that there are lots of folks who struggle with lust. Each person has to take responsibility for his/her own sin, but I certainly don’t have to encourage or fan the flames. In ministry, I daily try to help folks be faithful to their significant others, in the same way I strive to be faithful to mine. We all have to ask God to help us look at one another with absolute purity.

I preach too, so I also have all kinds of standards people want to dump on top of me, from how long my skirts are to what type of shoes I wear. For the record, when I preach, my length is always to the knee. But I have long legs and I love heels, so I always ask my husband before I speak anywhere, “Is this cool?” Why? Because my husband is a man, and he would tell me if what I’m wearing is going to cause other men to not focus on the words coming out of my mouth. We’re honest with each other and do what’s best to help others.

This is such a loaded topic and I could keep unpacking it, but alas, I have a meeting to go to.
I’d love to dialogue more, as the conflict is not going away.

Let me know your thoughts,
Naima

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