Private Parts

Isn't it fascinating how that phrase invokes feelings of shame and guilt? This may not be the case for everyone, but for me it was generally considered something you just didn't talk about, and for good reason. Or so I thought.

I feel like in this season of sharing everything about our personal lives the term "private" has lost its meaning and place in society. I think of celebrities who provide their personal details for magazines and tv shows. These facts would be unknown to us for the most part without the facilitation of the Internet. A large percentage of their lives is not private due to their placement and role in media. I've often wondered if they feel they have publicly owned lives rather than a privately owned one like mine. Is that a sacrifice one must accept to be in the spotlight where everyone knows your name, the name of your hairstylist, and probably the time of month you get your haircut?

What is private anymore?

I read a quote the other day that said, "secrets are the currency of intimacy." As a writer and an actress, intimacy is one of my targets. Then I wonder where the private/public line lies and what is the cost of crossing it. What is lost, or gained, in being known to the public?

What is the public, even? Is it the majority? Or just people you haven't met yet? Ayn Rand, a writer and philosopher, posits in her writing that the "public" does not exist, only individuals. Then is sharing secrets to promote intimacy a risky business? Only if the ones who know your secrets use them against you. I suppose this is prevalent in my psyche because I grew up in the United States where a court of law decides the outcome of a crime. "Anything you say can and will be used against you," the Miranda Rights read. Then where does one draw the line? When does one stop living in fear of having his or her secrets used against him or her? When will vulnerability win over secrecy?

If that day arrives, what will be the new currency of intimacy?