I get it; I get why. Too many female actors are thought of as "less than," getting paid less and being abused more. We don't have a feminine word for "writer," so why should we have one for "actress?"
Short answer: we shouldn't.
But a friend recently wrote me that she loved the word actress and I have to admit I do too. Not because it's feminine; it's just such a pretty word.
There's also something historically interesting about it. Actresses used to be thought of as SO subversive (which I decided is MY favorite word). They were almost considered women of "ill repute" and to be avoided in polite society (though I think Charles Dickens married an actress and was very - even deliriously - happy.)
This goes together with the idea of women drinking and smoking, dancing in public (like the can-can dancers in France or the Rockettes in New York).
All these words conjure images of "bad girls," or women who weren't thought of as "nice girls" because they didn't do what society expectetd of them.
To which I (and many others) say, thank you. That is so cool.
To which I (and many others) say, Sarah Bernhardt, you must have been a titan of your time. And you didn't care what kind of stuff people were making up about you.
Sarah was one of the first people (actresses) I wanted to be like when I was little. And at that time, we called her an actress.
So I want to keep a special place on my shelf for this word, whether I use it now or not. Because actresses gave me my first taste of freedom, the first inkling I had that I didn't have to sit with my hands folded waiting for approval. I could make up some new rules: my own.
To learn more about some of my role models:
Sarah Bernhardt's Dramatic Life, Onstage and Off
What Was So Special About Greta Garbo?
Photo by JJ Jordan on Unsplash
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be courteous and please do not post ads for your business on this blog.