Penn Badgley was celebrated as a boundary-setting King when he announced he was done doing sex scenes. I've been having that exact conversation with directors since I was a teenager — and it never once made headlines.
In this episode I'm talking about the shift that happened in mainstream TV and film over the last 15 years, why I partially credit Girls and Lena Dunham for kickstarting it (while giving her full credit for what she intended), and how what started as a radical feminist movement got taken by the patriarchy and turned into an industry expectation that is quietly pushing actors with personal boundaries out of the room.
I'm also telling the story of the time I was ambushed on set — pre-negotiated boundaries thrown out the window in front of a full crew of men — and why I still have a visceral reaction talking about it today.
This one isn't just about Hollywood. The \"just be a team player\" ask exists everywhere. At work, at the dinner table, in your relationship. And it almost always ends the same way — someone else's comfort, your compromise.
The permission to say no has always been yours. Nobody is going to give it to you.
","author_name":"Shenae Beech"}