I want to be clear from the outset. I love Jane Fonda. She's a terrific actress, of course, and I've always gotten the feeling that she would be a great person to have as a friend. I have also always respected that she acted on her political beliefs, even if sometimes clumsily, and especially because she was willing to pay a price both professionally and personally.
My strongest connection to her is through her workout videos. There is where she has made her greatest contribution. She taught a lot of us that celebrities have to work hard to look the way they do. She got a whole lot of us up and at it, getting ourselves stronger and more energetic. She taught us that fitness is for any any age. Her workouts for seniors are just as good as those she made when she - and I - were younger. She is still able to lead a workout without getting out of breath, without losing the count or the beat, giving continual pointers on form, making little jokes, adding oomph and encouragement throughout the session. The energy and stamina with which she leads are amazing and genuine. She really rocks. She has been an inspiring role model for women - in every way but one.
She did not, or maybe could not, teach us how to age with natural grace. Her beautiful face now looks stern and false after surgery. Her boobs have been worked on, and it looks as though she is starving herself to stay thin. I understand why, of course. It must be terribly difficult to have so much expected of one, to be so much in the public eye, to have love go wrong more than once. Maybe it's too much to ask that a famous actress who wants to keep working defy Hollywood and its false descriptions of beauty and let her aging show naturally.
But it really would have been something if she had.
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