Keira Knightley Reveals Her New Rule For Doing Nude Scenes
Keira Knightley has made a big decision when it comes to her career. The actress has been seen in quite a range of roles, from mainstream to indie films, and has made quite a name for herself in the many years she's been acting. But she has recently announced that despite her incredibly versatile filmography, she may begin to limit which roles she takes moving forward as a result of being a mother now.
Knightley announced on an episode of the Chanel Connects podcast that she is no longer interested in participating in sex scenes or nude scenes in any of her future films. In the episode, she sat down with filmmaker Lulu Wang and journalist Diana Solway, saying that while she's still ironing out some of the details, she has decided that she strictly will not do these scenes if the film was directed by a man. "I don't have an absolute ban," Knightley added, "but I kind of do with men," explaining that she would consider it if a female director found it necessary to the narrative (via Deadline).
Here's why Knightley is over being naked on camera
"It's partly vanity and also it's the male gaze," Keira Knightley explained further. "I feel very uncomfortable now trying to portray the male gaze." The concept of the "male gaze" is one that is spoken about more and more these days — but what exactly does it mean? According to feminist theory, it "invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualized way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women. In the male gaze, woman is visually positioned as an 'object' of heterosexual male desire" (via The Conversation). And indeed, the effects of the male gaze can be "poisonous" (per The Guardian).
Knightley said that while she understands that directors mandate sex and nudity in their films because they need "somebody to look hot," she calls these "greased up" and "grunting" scenes "horrible." She added, "I'm too vain and the body has had two children now and I'd just rather not stand in front of a group of men naked," she said (via Deadline).
Knightley joins a long list of actresses who have also made the decision not to engage in these types of scenes anymore, such as Julia Roberts, Anna Kendrick, Kristen Bell, and Megan Fox (via Insider).