Ninety-Five

 Keywords: 

Ashley Judd, puffy face, feminism, beauty, body image, hypersexualization

Actress and Activist Ashley Judd. Source: Wikipedia

Isn’t it quite spectacular when someone with a global reach can chew up and spit out all of the terrible things said about them – but in the most eloquent way? Isn’t it amazing how social media and the Internet can propel something into the limelight to the point where it’s still talked about years later?

Ashley Judd a noteworthy actress with more than two decades of acting experience did just that.

Ashley Judd, sister to singer Wynonna Judd and daughter of singer Naomi Judd, most recently starred in the movie Divergent—an action film based on the young adult novel by the same name.

However, Ashley is probably more known for her activism in politics and humanitarian efforts, which means she’s comfortable with speaking her mind. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

In 2012, the media heavily criticized her for having a work done on her face (because it looked puffy) and for being “fat” and a “cow” when she went from a size two to a size six.

Ashley Judd’s own personal Ninety-Five Theses

Martin Luther. Image source: noiseofthunder.com

Ashley’s response to these derogatory comments is epic to say the least—she essentially wrote her own version of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. Instead of nailing her essay to the door of the Catholic Church, she blasted it out online right back at the media.

Check out this little gem from the very beginning of her statement:

“Consequently, I choose to address it because the conversation was pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic and embodies what all girls and women in our culture, to a greater or lesser degree, endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle. The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades, and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about.”

How can anyone not read this and be like, “Wow! She hit the nail on the head and did it with such intelligence too”?

All I have to say is Ashley Judd rocks it hard and true.

“If this conversation about me is going to be had, I will do my part to insist that it is a feminist one, because it has been misogynistic from the start…The insanity has to stop, because as focused on me as it appears to have been, it is about all girls and women. It affects each and every one of us, in multiple and nefarious ways: our self-image, how we show up in our relationships and at work, our sense of our worth, value, and potential as human beings. Join in—and help change—the Conversation.”