Naked Torso

Yesterday, I was in Little Tokyo having some food and then, later, some drinks with my girlfriend at the Far Bar in the back of the Far East Cafe. During our third round of chilled Patron shots, I got a call on my cell. It was an actor friend who is producing her colleague’s short film, and she thought I might fit one of the parts, mostly because of one reason: my torso.

Apparently, my not-too-young or -skinny torso fit what she was looking for. I even tried to “push” her onto a mutual friend/actor who is in better shape than I, but she was convinced she needed me and my torso for the part, and refused to take “no” for an answer.

That’s when the Patron shots turned sour. Or, maybe it was just the lime wedge. But regardless, my girlfriend didn’t like the idea of someone—anyone—looking at or filming my naked torso.

Now, this wasn’t really a problem. I’m fairly sensitive to the matter at hand. And before even telling her about the phone call, I prefaced it by saying, “Your opinion means most to me, so I’ll do what you decide.”

She immediately said no, which I expected. Sure, I could’ve saved a step by just refusing the part, but the woman on the phone wasn’t taking a no very easily, like I mentioned, so I had to at least go through the process.

Before calling my friend back, we got into a discussion about it, then an argument, then a full-on fight over it. Sure, tequila can raise the heat in any argument, but this was no longer just an argument. It was getting ugly, involving a couple of friends at the bar who had the misfortune of walking into the middle of it.

So why am I writing about this? To shame my girlfriend? No. Not at all. She had every right to defend the naked torso of her boyfriend from anyone else’s eyes.

But here’s the thing: If you’re an Asian in Hollywood, good luck on having a relationship. It will never be easy, even when you’re no longer young or skinny.

Because no matter how big the favor, or how close the friend you’re doing it for, asking your significant other for their advice or permission to do a scene involving anything intimate is like, well, let me put it this way: It’d be easier trying to get your girlfriend to do anal.