Jan M Flynn
May 14, 2023

I can cut Fonda a lot of slack for feeling a little squeamish about her body, even though to me she looks glorious. As you point out, she was born with the gift of physical beauty, along society's most accepted standards (thin, white, able-bodied). But that's a double-edged sword, especially for women in show business, most especially if they spent their formative years in the industry as Fonda did. I spent enough time on the periphery of The Biz myself as a young woman, and those messages — that no matter what, you're never pretty or thin or sexy enough — go in deep. Being comfortable in one's own skin after a long enough immersion in that toxic stew is a lifelong challenge (but, I agree with you, a worthy goal). Good article!

Jan M Flynn
Jan M Flynn

Written by Jan M Flynn

Novelist, essayist, inner space explorer. GRIFFIN SPEAKER, book one of a middle grade fantasy series, coming from Disney-Hyperion in spring 2026.

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