我的身體我做主

A ngelina Jolie， in publicly airing the details of a surgery that forced her into early menopause， is taking an activist approach to oversharing.

Lets talk about menopause. Or lets talk， at least， about Angelina Jolie. The actress， filmmaker， and advocate recently underwent surgery that removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes—and that， as a result， put her into forced menopause at the age of 39. Jolie wrote about the surgery， and its effects， in Tuesdays New York Times. “I will not be able to have any more children，” she writes， “and I expect some physical changes. But I feel at ease with whatever will come， not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared.”

That Jolie would undergo the surgery she did， given her genetic risk for ovarian and breast cancers—she lost her mother， her grandmother， and her aunt to the disease—is not in itself terribly noteworthy; it was a decision she made， she writes， after long consideration， and with input from medical professionals both “Eastern and Western.” What is noteworthy， though， is the fact that Jolie detailed the decision in the pages of the New York Times. Even in the age of U.S. Weekly and TMZ， celebrities personal health is still generally regarded as， you know， personal. And reproductive health even more so. What Jolie is making， by being public about her surgery， is a subtly political point： Shes breaking the barrier between reproductive health and health in general.

Shes also breaking a cultural barrier， though. In her essays—the one published today is the sequel to a piece Jolie wrote in 2013， detailing her decision to get a double mastectomy—Jolie has emphasized the fact that she still feels， despite and even because of the surgeries， fully feminine. “I do not feel any less of a woman，” she wrote in 2013. “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.” Todays essay echoes that sentiment： “I feel feminine，” she notes， “and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family.”

This is significant， and not just because Jolies openness is bringing normally taboo subjects into the public sphere. Theres also the fact that Hollywood has， particularly in its notoriously troublesome dealings with women， emphasized a divide between beauty and health. Or， more specifically， between health and “health.” The media-industrial complex， with its emphasis on images and consumerism， has treated beauty not just as evidence of well-being， but also as something that can be obtained at the expense of it. It has sold us， and particularly women， on beautifying solutions like Botox， tanning， and plastic surgery， with all its attendant dangers. It has emphasized， in other words， beauty—which doubles， often， as youth—over longevity.

The toxicity of all that， literally and otherwise， is obvious. The good news， though， is that as humans， were rapidly evolving away from it. Its not that were becoming less superficial， or less interested in beauty and youth and the extension of both; its instead that the media is beginning to understand beauty as a holistic proposition—something that is intimately connected to health. Sure， women can still buy their way to better looks， occasionally at the cost of their own longevity and quality of life. But whats becoming apparent now as never before is that the best way to look healthy is to actually be that way. All those Cosmo articles detailing the best diets for glossy hair and glowing skin; all those Marie Claire pieces sharing destressing tips. The rise of yoga and meditation and “clean eating” and detoxing and quinoa. The popularity of organic foods. The fact that “green juice” is a thing.

Its easy to make fun of this stuff， and of all the other things that tend to result when Peter Pan complexes meet conspicuous consumption. What they suggest， though， is an extremely salutary thing： that beauty， in the end， is another thing thats best when its organic.

Which is another way of saying that hotness is increasingly a holistic proposition. As is celebrity. U.S. Weekly and People magazine and TMZ have made a sport， if not an art， of emphasizing the human banalities of stars lives（“Celebrities： theyre just like us！”）. Social media have given celebrities even more platforms for sharing their relatable humanity. So have more traditional forms of commercial media. Beyonce has， on top of everything else， a line of yogawear and a vegan food delivery service. Gwyneth Paltrow is selling a life philosophy， along with recipes for gluten-free lemon bars， on GOOP. So is Blake Lively， on Preserve. Even Kim Kardashian， who might yet prove to be a mannequin come to life， is selling humanity—her lifestyle， her catchphrases， her particular approaches to celebrity and beauty and capitalism—along with her image.

In that context， Jolies discussion of her decision to remove her reproductive organs is not terribly surprising. Celebrities have long used their fame for political advocacy， and Jolie herself has been， on top of everything else， a human rights advocate. （Her bio on her New York Times essay lists her as“a filmmaker and special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”） The fact that Jolie is training her focus on her own health puts her in league with a long list of fellow stars who use their fame， and their personal experiences， to bring attention to health issues： Michael J. Fox and Parkinsons. Katie Couric and colon cancer. Magic Johnson and HIV. Padma Lakshmi and endometriosis. Brooke Shields and postpartum depression. Maria Shriver and Alzheimers. Etc.

Jolies advocacy is especially powerful， though， because the issues shes discussing—and the issues she is， more importantly， encouraging a discussion about—are intimately connected to cultural assumptions about youth and desirability. Jolie is oversharing， in a way， but its a productive form of oversharing—far removed from the vapidities of the Kardashian selfie or the self-indulgences of Celebrity Instagram. Jolie， in talking about her surgery， is also emphasizing the inextricable connection between inner health and outer beauty. “I feel feminine，” Jolie writes in todays essay. That declaration is preceded， tellingly， by this one： “I will look for natural ways to strengthen my immune system.”

安吉麗娜·朱麗公開了自己手術的細節，這個手術讓她提前進入了更年期，她以一位活動家的身份來大量公開這些細節。

我們來聊聊更年期。或者至少聊聊安吉麗娜·朱麗。這位女演員、導演、倡導者最近做了切除子宮和輸卵管的手術，這讓她39歲就進入了人為性更年期。朱麗在周二的《紐約時報》上就這個手術及其結果寫了一篇文章。“我將不能再生小孩，”她這樣寫道，“我會面臨一些身體上的變化。但我對將要發生的事情感到坦然，不是因為我很堅強，而是因為這就是生活的一部分。沒什么要恐懼的。”

朱麗做手術這件事情本身無甚值得大驚小怪的，畢竟她有患卵巢癌和乳腺癌的遺傳風險，她的母親、外祖母和阿姨都因此病去世;她這樣寫道，那是她自己做的決定，經長期考慮，并咨詢了“東西方”的專業醫生。而值得關注的是朱麗在《紐約時報》上詳述這個決定這件事。即使是在《美國周報》和《TMZ》時代，名人的個人健康仍然被看作，呃，隱私。而生殖健康就更是如此了。通過公開這次手術，朱麗在表達一個溫和的政治觀點：她要打破生殖健康和健康之間的界限。

她也在打破一個文化藩籬。在她今天發表的文章中，朱麗強調雖然進行了手術，甚至是因為這個手術，她仍感覺自己是一個真正的女性。這是她2013年所寫文章的續篇，那篇文章詳述了她做雙側乳房切除術的決定。“我一點都不覺得自己少了女人味，”她在2013年寫道。“我感覺充滿了力量，我做了一個重大的選擇，這絕對不會讓我失去女性特質。”今天的文章回應了這句話：“我感覺我是女性，”她說，“我為自己和家人做的這個抉擇讓我感到踏實。”

這是意義非凡的，不僅僅因為朱麗的坦誠向公眾帶出了常被視為禁忌的話題。好萊塢向來強調美與健康分離，從其對女性形象一貫具爭議性的表現上更可見一斑。更明確地說，是健康與所謂“健康”的分離。媒體行業一直重視形象和提倡消費主義，在該行業看來，美不僅僅是健康愉悅的體現，還是可以通過犧牲健康來獲得的東西。它向我們，尤其是女性，售賣美容產品，如，肉毒桿素、日光浴美黑和整形，全都伴有風險。換言之，它強調的是美麗——通常還包括年輕——比健康重要。

不管是字面意義還是以其他形式表現，以上信息的有害性顯而易見。好消息是，作為人類，我們正快速地進步。但這并不意味著我們從此不再膚淺，或不再關注美貌、青春及與之相關的東西;而是媒體開始明白美是一個整體——與健康緊密相連。當然，女性仍然可以花錢讓自己更好看，有時以健康和生活質量為代價。現在比以往更清晰的是想要擁有健康氣息，那么最好的方法就是擁有健康的生活方式。《Cosmo》雜志上關于如何飲食讓頭發有光澤、皮膚光滑的文章;《嘉人》雜志分享的減壓小提示;瑜伽、冥想、“潔食”、排毒、藜麥的興起;大受歡迎的有機食物;原來真有“青汁”這東西。

取笑以上東西很容易，當彼得潘情結遇上炫耀性消費時，這是通常會發生的。但他們的建議是非常有益的：最終，美變得不一樣了，天然的就是最好的。

對明星而言，那也說明了受歡迎越來越成為一個整體。《美國周刊》、《人民》雜志和《TMZ》都著重關注明星生活中的平凡瑣碎（“名人：他們跟我們是一樣的！”）。社交媒體給了明星更多平臺來分享人類共性。更多傳統的商業媒體也是如此。撇開別的不說，碧昂絲有一系列的瑜伽服裝，和享有素食供應服務。格溫妮斯·帕特洛正在GOOP網站上推廣一套生活理念，同時搭賣無麩質檸檬方塊餅的配方。布蕾克·萊弗利在Preserve網站上也在這樣做。甚至連金·卡戴珊——曾宣稱自己是真人版人體模特，也在兜售人性——她的生活方式，引人注目的話語，她當明星、美容、理財的特殊方式——附帶她的照片。

在這樣的背景下，朱麗對于自己切除生殖器官的討論并不是特別驚人。早有名人利用自己的名聲進行政治倡導，而朱麗（除卻其他身份）本身就是一位人權倡導者。（《紐約時報》在她發表的文章中對她的介紹是“電影導演以及聯合國難民事務高級專員辦事處特使。”）朱麗關注自身健康這件事讓她與其他利用自己名聲和個人經歷來讓人關注健康問題的明星站在同一陣線：邁克爾·J·福克斯與帕金森癥，凱蒂·庫里克與結腸癌，魔術師約翰遜與艾滋病，帕德瑪·拉克希米與子宮內膜異位，布魯克·希爾茲與產后抑郁癥，瑪麗亞·史萊佛與阿爾茨海默癥等。

然而，朱麗的倡導尤其有力，因為她在討論的問題——更重要的是，她鼓勵大眾討論的問題——與關于青春和欲望的文化成見密切相關。從某方面來說，朱麗分享過度了，但她的過度分享卻是成效顯著的——遠不是卡戴珊自拍照的無聊，也不是“明星圖片分享”的那種自戀。朱麗在談到她的手術時，也強調了內在美和外在美是密不可分的。“我覺得自己是女性，”朱麗在文章中寫道。這份聲明是先進、有力的：“我會尋求自然的方式來增強我的免疫系統。”