Chastity as Purity

One of the great social beliefs of our time that I'd love to see changed is the belief that chastity is purity, embodied in the archetype of 'the holy virgin' (represented in Christianity by the Virgin Mary - note the implication, that only a virgin's womb is suitable for God).

It's the kind of attitude that leads to people not merely disagreeing with you if you, say, decide to pose for Playboy, but outright criticizing you for it. And that discourages others from pursuing that path in the future. "Oh, I don't want to be treated like that, I better not pose for Playboy." It's a symptom of slut-shaming.

It's the sort of thing that leads to an actress like Ashley Benson requiring her role in Spring Breakers to be changed to avoid nudity. Yeah, she's a Disney alum, with perhaps a certain amount of innocence to her reputation, but the whole point of Spring Breakers is for the ex-Disney actresses involved to change up their image and pursue a more adult path.

Now, I believe that when a director springs an unexpected nude scene on an actress, that's not just creepy, it's unprofessional. But if an actress goes into a role on a project that's meant to be sexed up, and she refuses to do any nudity, requiring the script and the character to be modified to suit, that's just as unprofessional. If she wasn't comfortable with these things, she should have sought out a different role.

I'm not crying any tears over not getting to see Ashley Benson topless. If she's not comfortable with it, that's her decision, and it deserves to be honored. But I would hope that the reason has more to do with her personal feelings and not the social pressure (which, nevertheless, can influence personal feelings) we put on people who embrace nudity or their sexuality in the public sphere.

Because if you're just shying away from it because you've been told all your life that chastity is a virtue, and to expose yourself in that way is a sin and a vice, and a poor reflection of your character, well...it's not saying much, but you won't get any respect from me that way.