" There ’s no style to get past the shallowness of this oeuvre . "
This post contains discussion of body image issues.
You knowPenn Badgleyfrom TV shows likeYouandGossip Girl.
In a recent interview withthe Guardian, Penn said that he struggled with body dysmorphia during his younger years as an actor.
“I know that I hated my body and simply wanted a different one,” he reflected. “There was just a period where, coming out of depression and isolation, I was jumping wilfully into, but also being thrust into, this world where the more conventionally beautiful I seemed, the more successful I might be, the more value I might have."
“There’s no way to get past the superficiality of this work, and if you recognize that, you can’t help but recognize the superficiality of our culture, because of the way it rewards this work.”
Penn went on to point out that TV shows likeGossip Girlactually encouraged a focus on beauty standards that led people to develop general insecurities about their own appearances.
“What was that show other thanaesthetic?" he asked the interviewer. “That was its thing—the way we all looked. I didn’t particularly love the superficial celebrity aspect of the way I was perceived.”
Penn also said that he ultimately credits his spirituality for helping him overcome mental health issues in general: “That is what allowed me to persevere through the disillusionment, all the things I’d been grappling with, and then come back to it all, but with hopefully some kind of inner transformation.”
You can read the entire interviewhere.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1 - 800 - 950 - 6264 ( NAMI ) and provides info and referral services;GoodTherapy.orgis an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who affirm efforts to reduce harm in therapy .
