A naked Gillian Anderson is sharing interesting bits and pieces of her life to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, revealing every story behind scars and tattoos she bared in her nude photo posted on the website of the animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
As a long-time supporter of the organization, Anderson has proven herself a true advocate for the group after she willingly posed sans clothes for an anti-animal cruelty campaign in February.
Based on a report from the Inquisitr, the 49-year-old Emmy winner became the face of PETA’s “ naked advocacy ” to capture the public’s attention and send the message across.
The Hannibal actress expressed her thoughts on the eye-catching campaign and compared the effect it has on the audience when compared to traditional PETA ads that show horrific situations involving dogs, cats, and all their relatives in the animal kingdom.
“I found it liberating to use my body to make an important statement,” she said.
“People tend to look away from anti-fur ads showing mangled animals, but they’re drawn to PETA’s ‘naked’ campaign, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
At the time, the photo was put up as a 70-foot billboard over Penn Station during the entirety of the New York Fashion Week in February.
Now, another version of Gillian Anderson’s naked image was featured on the PETA website to celebrate International Women’s Day, accompanied by an interesting story written by the actress herself.
“This is me. Naked. See that scar? Three children came out of there,” the article read.
She also pointed out that the “P” tattoo on her lower belly represents “Piper,” her eldest and only daughter, and that it covers a scar, one from an ectopic pregnancy.
“That’s for Piper, my eldest—a tattoo to cover another scar from an ectopic pregnancy. That’s part of the story written on my body.”
She went on reveal that even though the camera’s lens cannot capture it, she has minute scars on her knees from when she knelt on a shard of glass while shooting A Streetcar Named Desire in London. Gillian also proudly revealed that she had flaws in her body and that using her body to express her support for an advocacy is her right and choice.
“My nakedness also makes a bigger statement. As an actor who is usually unusually modest, suddenly I find myself concerned that modern feminism has too many people confusing sexy with sexist,” she said.
“It’s easy to forget that, in the annals of activism, there is a history of women protesting naked, which has had little to do with being directly sexy and is ultimately about freedom of expression.”
She went on to emphasize a person’s freedom to use his or her body as he or she sees fit, in any way the person wants.
“But I am in favor of doing whatever the f*** we want with our bodies to make a statement that is important to us.”
Aside from her bold PETA ad, Gillian Anderson’s “naked campaign” on feminism also includes a book she co-authored with journalist Jennifer Nadel titled “We: A Manifesto,” which serves as a helpful guide for women “on a path of self-discovery and spiritual awakening,” according to a 2017 report from the Independent.
At the time, the actress spoke with the outlet about her experience in unequal pay she experienced during her career in Hollywood, revealing that she was “offered less than 50 percent” of what her colleagues were getting in both the original and reboot of The X-Files series.