For actress Heather Graham, plays a stripper in The Hangover franchise, many people still expect women to be less sexual than men. Graham believes that this is a matter of sexual health and wellness, and that attitudes need to change with regards to female sexuality.
According to Heather Graham, ‘A man can be sexual and it’s OK. But if a woman is too sexy and sexual it’s not. I don’t think we have a healthy attitude in our society about women and sex.’ The actress, who has also starred in Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me and medical comedy TV show Scrubs, is convinced that legions of women suffer because of trying to stifle their sexual side.
‘I guess I feel it’s important for a level of happiness for a women,’ Heather elucidates. ‘Women should enjoy and appreciate their sexuality the way they want and not be judged by society about it. It’s about having an acceptance and dealing in a healthy way about your own sexuality. If you look at people who are rigid about sexuality they are at the same time doing something dark on the side.’
From an early age, Heather’s strict Catholic parents were so alarmed at her behaviour that they threatened to send her to a convent. They also delayed her career by preventing her from accepting a major starring role in 1989’s cult hit Heathers – because of the raunchy dialogue – and since have cut all contact with her after she bared all in her breakthrough role as porn star Rollergirl in 1997’s Boogie Nights.
So are sexy roles all that women can achieve in Hollywood? ‘There aren’t so many good parts for women,’ says Heather. ‘I think that in any given movie 75% of the roles are for men. Overall I think it’s a very sexist system. There are only 7% of all film directors who are women. So this is not a great number and it’s not about gender equality at all. It’s quite shocking, the small amount of women who are hired to direct a film.’
She adds, ‘I just wrote a script that I want to act in and also produce. It’s actually about how hard it is to make movies about women. It’s all about my own frustration in the business, I guess. The film is basically about sex and being a woman and dating and friendship. It’s really about how sexuality can be confusing as a woman — and also dating and stuff.’
