I am not a great admirer of Angelina Jolie, neither her beauty nor her prowess as an actress. Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Catherine Zeta Jones, are more my cup of tea. Discussing her with my 20-year-old son a couple of years ago I asked him what was so great about her and he said: “Ma, it’s the X factor... something you can’t describe.”

Well, that X factor has come alive for me today as far as Jolie is concerned. I am in awe and admiration for a Hollywood star like her for having gone in for a double mastectomy as she is genetically at risk of getting breast cancer, and making it public with a clear message.

That she wants to live long years for the sake of her children, and more important, she doesn’t “feel any less of a woman” because of her surgery. I laud her for taking the decision she did, hailing as she does from an industry where mega bucks ride on a star’s physical attributes, and where beauty is everything.

There has been a groundswell of support for the actress’s decision from across the movie industry and other areas as well. Of course, doctors have warned that such a preventive action might not be warranted for all people who carry a faulty gene in them.

In a detailed and signed article in The New York Times , Jolie has explained the rationale for her decision, and how she planned and underwent this procedure over several weeks. How a mega star like her managed to keep this a secret from the prying eyes of the media is a mystery. But surely sooner than later this would have become public knowledge, with the tattler making a small fortune by selling the story to the highest bidder.

That Jolie chose to reveal it herself has also affected public response… fortunately, till now at least, her decision has been treated with great dignity and respect. Your heart goes out to her when she says that even though a difficult choice, she made it, and feels this “choice in no way diminishes my femininity.”

Reminds me of Julia Roberts’ famous line in Notting Hill, when she asks Hugh Grant why such a big deal is made about a woman’s breasts. “Seriously – they’re just breasts, every second person has them.”

Of course, his response is another matter!

And then there is this passage attributed to the slim and svelte Audrey Hepburn: “Sex appeal is something that you feel deep down inside. It’s suggested rather than shown. I’m not as well-stacked as Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida, but there is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don’t need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain. The important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy- it’s all that matters.”

Amen!

Published on May 15, 2013