The Full Monty: maybe you’ve seen the movie or the musical, but what is it like backstage? What are the actors thinking? What would you be thinking if you had to take your clothes off in front of an audience? Would it make a difference if you were a man or a woman? How so? This week I take a look at the Full Monty and issues like body image and gender. I interview the cast and I think you’ll find their views very interesting. Join me as I go backstage and explore the psychological and societal issues brought up by The Full Monty musical.
There were several controversial opinions about body image and gender expressed by the interviewees during this episode. I’ve pulled of the quotes out. Listen to them here: body image and gender.
The Full Monty Actors Interviewed for this Episode
- Playing Jerry Lukowski….Scott Laska
- Playing Dave….Andy Lindberg
- Playing Horse….Richard Waits
- Playing Malcolm…..Michael Dunn
- Playing Ethan…..Jason Winfield
- Playing Harold…..Me
- Special thanks to the Tri Arts theatre in Sharon, Connecticut
Resources on Body Image
- Mirror Image by Alicia Potter
- Here’s a great summary of a research article on body image called Ken and Barbie at Life Size.
- Here’s a fascinating article on gender roles in cartoons.
- Unrealistic body size can also be found in action figures (not surprising, I guess) in this article.
- More on the male body image and the media.
- This article might be of interest. It’s about plus size supermodels breaking the mold on body image ideals.
- A recent piece of interesting research was conducted by Deborah Schooler on men and real bodies. Here’s the citation: Schooler, D. & Ward, L. M. (in press). Average Joes: Men’s Relationships with Media, RealBodies, and Sexuality. Psychology of Men and Masculinity
