SuperBeauty: Bessie, you vocally and intellectually defend using the beauty of your body. Most women use their beauty to some extent but very few ever defend it. What makes you so different from 99.999% of the women on the planet?
Bessie Bardot: Sadly society finds it hard to process the fact that a woman can be stunning and smart, mainly because it just seems too unfair. We are stuck in a Judeo-Christian society that teaches us that nudity and various body parts are unclean or rude and this perpetuates the insecurities we already have about our looks or whether or not someone is a good or intelligent person. I can not understand these boundaries and never have been able to. The female body is undeniably beautiful. It has been painted, worshiped, stared at and adored for millennia, so why are we all ashamed of it and why do we criticize those who poses beautiful physical attributes and choose to show them off? You don't see a genius being criticized for using their talent, be it playing the piano or solving a formula, yet for a beautiful girl to display to the world her body she opens herself up to name calling, her intelligence is often questioned, and her morals are judged to be at very least lacking. Religion and hypocrisy are the sole culprits for killing what, after all, nature gave us to enjoy. Instead we are taught to act like 12-year-old school kids with a lingerie catalogue giggling and feeling dirty! I simply refuse to subscribe to the mass hypocrisy and stand very proud of what I do and who I am. I deliberately work my sexuality and my views into all I do. I love the way I look and I want other women to feel free to express their sexuality and beauty without the hang-ups forced on us by this ridiculous and childish belief system we all subscribe to! So I guess I am a bit of a crusader for women's right to be sexy, nude and love it. Most women don't hold their torch quite so high fearing rejection and I guess that is why you see me as unusual.
SB: Bessie, no doubt you're one of the most beautiful women in the world. FHM named you #22 sexiest woman in the world this year, and put you in a bikini on both the front and back covers of that issue. You have what many have called the perfect body. Most people would think you haven't a care in the world because of it. Yet it's becoming more and more clear these days that female beauty and sexuality are often as much of a hindrance as an asset. On one hand, judging from popular movies and television, people love it; on the other, they are terrified to admit that they love it, since they've been told it's immoral, and they give any woman who uses her beauty a terrible time of it. Do you think your beauty has hurt you more or helped you more overall?
BB: I think without doubt my looks have helped me. But for others it is not always the case. After owning Australia's biggest model agency I got to watch many beautiful girls close up. I noticed when I observed how they presented themselves and talked about themselves that most of them did not do a particularly good job. Thus leading to an overall assumption that beautiful girls are not that bright which of course is a gross generalisation. The reason I bring this up is that those who were able to present themselves as charming and intelligent far outdid the ones that weren't (even in situations where beauty was the only criteria required) and were offered far more opportunities. So beauty may hinder those who do not have the personality to break the old dumb blonde stereotype but to those who can beauty is without doubt a plus.
SB: It does seem that women are standing up more and more these days for their beauty and their right to enjoy it. For instance, in Ontario, Canada, where we're located, some women have gone topless in public to establish women's right to do so and have succeeded. Now we notice your 'Nude Ain't Rude' campaign on your website, which seems to be about defending women's right to express their beauty and sexuality. Is this correct?
BB: I think it is great that women are claiming back their bodies. For too long they have been treated as taboo, rude, dirty and it has caused a myriad of social problems for not just women but the men who find themselves feeling like dirty little boys for appreciating them. My NUDE AINT RUDE police is in direct relation to making women and men feel comfortable about their bodies - removing the childish views forced upon us by the church and so called moral majority. I want women to feel good about their naked bodies not feel like tramps or whores for wanting to show the world. Female beauty is one of the greatest gifts we share in our life and it is sullied and dirtied by idiots who dictate and brainwash us into believing it's evil or taboo.
SB: Can you give us a couple of examples of the kinds of things you've done to fight for women's rights, or for any causes that you care about?
BB: Apart from my very open views in this county about the subject and posing for many magazines often in the nude, and despite the fact I have a mainstream business profile, I am in the process of starting a political movement to lobby parliament on a number of freedom of choice issues including censorship, same sex marriages and public nudity. Hopefully If we lead by example people will start to lighten up and we can begin to undo the damage done by years of sexual oppression.
SB: Many women these days seem to think they have to be as beautiful as you to have any power in society, or even to be worthy of falling in love. What would you tell these women?
BB: This is RIDICULOUS! Beauty has very little to do with real attraction and almost nothing to do with love. I know many beautiful girls who can't find love. My experience is that if you look after yourself and shine as a person you will attract a far bettter quality of partner than simply being beautiful. I actualy get quite annoyed at girls who are down on themselves because that alone makes them less attractive. My partner and I often see girls that we think are gorgeous who could never fit into the traditional 'beautiful' steryotype but radiate sex appeal and confidence. I mean I myself am not your typical cover girl with long blonde hair and big lips, but it is how I carry myself that puts me alongside these 'typical' beauties, not my features. Sure if you are 20k overweight and don't spend any time on your looks you are not going to have much luck, but beauty really is much more than skin deep, and who would want a partner who thought otherwise?
SB: We always wonder what beautiful women think about female beauty itself. For example, some people say female beauty is the result of our genetic programming, that evolution has decided what men find attractive in women. Others say it's our environment that decides for us, that we find beautiful what society tell us to. We at SuperBeauty.Org think differently. We say neither of these theories is true, that beauty is actually the result of our choice of values in life, that whatever you value in life, you will find beautiful in a woman. For example, if you value health, happiness, and sex, you will find a woman who is happy, healthy, and sexy more beautiful than
a pessimistic, depressed, sickly woman. Thus we believe female beauty is the result of one's chosen morality. What do YOU think female beauty is?
BB: I believe genetics programming, pheromones, society and personal values all play a part in what we perceive as beauty. I do think we should look a little closer at our choices when deciding who is and who is not beautiful because there are so many factors involved and it is good I think to be able to see something beautiful in almost anyone. I actually make an effort to do this when I meet people I don't think are attractive. I make a mental note to look for something that will re-colour my judgement. Like nice eyes or a quirky smile or cute accent. Once you have found the thing you like your opinion will change of them. Ok, so not everyone has something you will be attracted to but that's ok. I find it quite interesting doing this because often people I don't think are beautiful after a while become quite attractive because I have taken the time not to instantly write them off as ugly. It also works the other way where beautiful people become less attractive because of negative factors like rudeness or selfishness. Which proves that beauty is far more than just a look and is far wider and more diverse than what the media would have us believe.
SB: Thanks Bessie. Good luck in the fight for female beauty on your part of the globe. And thanks for letting SuperBeauty.Org bring your considerable beauty to the fight on ours.
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