Naked, With Kate Flannery

This was an original post for LA Moms Blog on July 17, 2009. SV Moms Group was acquired by Technorati, so I post my archives here on Fridays.

At an event this evening I met Kate Flannery, who plays Meredith on “The Office,” which is my favorite currently running TV show.  Once I got used to the cringeworthy humor, I eagerly devoured four seasons of the faux-documentary in just two weeks because they make me laugh and laugh, and sometimes, as the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine.

Flannery’s character, Meredith, is a boozy, often unkempt office worker, who has had some…ahem…wardrobe malfunctions on more than one occasion.  The second thing I thought when I saw her at the party was “How on Earth does Flannery take her clothes off on television, especially when her character is usually the butt (no pun intended) of the joke?”  (The first thing I thought was “Squee!  It’s Meredith!” and then I calmed myself down.  I’m a professional, after all.)

I asked her what it was like to bare her flesh to the camera on such a popular show.  She laughed at first, but then answered me thoughtfully.  “The Office is so well-produced that I felt very taken care of,” she said.  The first time she did a nude scene, the set was cleared of all but the most crucial crew, someone stood by with a robe, and they didn’t shoot until she was comfortable.  “By the third time, I was saying ‘Hey, you didn’t get the right angle of me here…'” she laughed and pointed at her chest.  It reminds me of how I felt the first time I gave birth.  By the time my son was finally born, so many people had rooted around down in my lady parts that I didn’t care who saw what.  I might as well have hung out a welcome sign.

The act of giving birth, which I’ve done twice, and the extreme physical transformation that accompanied it have made me much more comfortable with my naked body.  I’m not saying it’s perfect, or even all that great, relative to some other women who have had babies (uh, Brooke Shields, anyone?).  My comfort level with my body has gone up because frankly, I no longer have the time or energy to care about who sees it when it’s uncovered.

There was a time not too long ago when I was shy about being naked in front of other women.  In the gym locker room, I hurriedly changed my clothes out in the open or did it in a toilet stall.  Being in close proximity with the women who pranced around nude, parts jiggling everywhere, made me uncomfortable too.  I tried not to look, stealing sidelong glances just to orient myself so I didn’t bump into any of those parts.  I never consciously worried that onlookers in a women’s locker room would judge my body, but I covered myself up by instinct.  The irony is, of course, that my pre-pregnant body was much more worthy of being pranced around than the one I inhabit now.

Last week I opened my eyes and found myself in a curious situation.  I was perched on the underwater ledge of a pool-sized jacuzzi within a local day spa, a place I have often visited, and to which I refer as “Heaven on Earth.”  My muscles, tensed from reacting to a recent back injury, were finally relaxing in the very hot bubbling water, and my head was cooled by a cloth soaked in icy water.  I looked around me.  Five other women were doing the same thing while also chatting amongst themselves.  They all wore swimsuits – I was the only one in the spa who was naked.

I didn’t mind it.  In fact, I stood up and bared all for them to see, asking if they would toss me another cool cloth.  If they were uncomfortable with my nakedness, I couldn’t tell.  Everything is a blur when I’m not wearing my glasses, and as I said, I wasn’t wearing anything.  Even my face was naked.  If they were uncomfortable, well, I certainly didn’t care.

Kate Flannery tells herself not to care.  Why should we care?  They’re our bodies!  Even she has moments when she thinks losing 5 pounds would make her feel better, but then she reminds herself that there’s a purpose to what she’s doing.  A very funny, very brave purpose.  Let us all embrace our inner Meredith, I say.  Better her than me, but I’m glad someone is doing it.