Stop Scrutinizing Every Millimeter of Gillian Anderson’s Face, Tabloids

If it weren’t so sad, this bollocks would have made my day. https://t.co/UHAg2pMTxL pic.twitter.com/ruOfIjr3eh

— Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) February 11, 2016

It’s best to try to ignore tabloids if possible, but every now and then, it’s important to remember the intense scrutiny and unnecessary pressure that they place upon actors — especially women actors, and even more especially women actors above the age of 35. Gillian Anderson recently pointed out just one example of this treatment: this image displays an obsessive analysis of her face, along with speculation from the publication as to whether or not she’s had Botox or anything else similar.

Here’s the thing: it’s not our business what Gillian Anderson does or does not do to her face. Her face is her business, literally, because she is a professional actor, so getting her face to make expression and look certain ways by her command and choosing is a huge part of her job. I think we can all agree that she’s utterly fantastic at said job. So, really, why the hell would we question her on this? She’s an expert at her own face!

In response, Anderson’s fans have launched the #GillianAndersonIsBeautiful hashtag — but really, that’s besides the point. True, Gillian Anderson is conventionally attractive, and she continues to be so while also being 47 years old. But even if she weren’t still conventionally attractive according to society’s arbitrary standards, this level of scrutiny towards her would still be wildly inappropriate and unacceptable.

Gillian Anderson could have just not acknowledged this, but I’m glad she did, because every now and then, it’s important to remember that this crap is just part of her life. Bless her for dealing with it and somehow continuing to do her job with aplomb in spite of the fact that we live in a culture that consistently dehumanizes celebrities and treats their appearances as public property and the subject of “fun” debate.

(via Twitter)

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