BC News|March 28, 2014 03:59 EDT
Hollywood's Pressure to Be Sexy: Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson and More Speak Out; 'I had given in to that pressure, I lost sight of who I was' (VIDEOS)
Body image issues for women have long been tied to Hollywood, and celebrities often serve as a poster board of how others gauge their own appearance. Stars such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, and just recently Selena Gomez - revealed the pressure they received from Hollywood to be sexy.
During the first annual "We Day California" at Oakland's Oracle Arena on Wednesday, Gomez opened up to thousands of young people about some of the pressures she has faced and still does, in Hollywood.
"I am surrounded by people who are supposed to guide me, and some of them have, and others haven't. They pressure me. There's so much pressure. 'You gotta be sexy. You gotta be cute. You gotta be nice. You gotta be all these things,'" she confessed. "They tell me what to wear, how to look, what I should say, how I should be. Until recently, I had given in to that pressure. I lost sight of who I was," she said emotionally.
The "Come and Get It" singer continued and said, "I listened to opinions of people and I tried to change who I am because I thought that others would accept me for it, and I realized I don't know how to be anything but myself."
Brittney Spears has been in the industry a lot longer than Gomez and she too disclosed on "The TJ Show" on AMP 103.3 radio that "A lot of sex goes into" what she does. "Sometimes I would like to bring it back to the old days when there was like one outfit through the whole video, and you're dancing the whole video, and there's like not that much sex stuff going on."
In her video for "Work B****," Spears, dressed in leather underwear, appeared in numerous bondage-themed situations. The pop star said the original cut was even more risqué and she said she had to draw the line.
"Oh my god, we showed way more skin and did way more stuff for the video than what is actually there. Like, I cut out half the video because I am a mother and because, you know, I have children, and it's just hard to play sexy mom while you're being a pop star as well," Spears said. "I just have to be true to myself and you know, feel it out when I do stuff."
Listen to Spears' full interview here.
Kelly Clarkson chimed in on this topic as well when asked what her thoughts were about Miley Cyrus' controversial choices. Clarkson opened up to Access Hollywood about her own pressures she has felt to sex up her image. See that video below.
Along with the pressure of being sexy there is an insistent stress to stay thin in Hollywood. Actress Tiffani Amber Thiessen told meinmyplace.com, she not only felt the pressure about her sexiness but about her weight as well.
"I think any time you are on a hit show as a young actor or actress, you feel that way. Then as a woman, there's some additional pressures you feel to look a certain way and be a certain size. I was not the girl that was a size two and didn't work for it. I was never the waify model type."
The Bible offered a solution to the constant pressure of wanting to look beautiful and be sexy. In Genesis 1:27 scripture said God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him male and female. People can avoid fitting another person's mold if they focus on reflecting His image. The Bible also said beauty should be from within.
"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:4
Do you think Hollywood should have a say in how a person looks or acts? Leave your comments below, and start a discussion.
