Rosa Blasi biting a fishnet

Rosa Blasi: Sensory Overload

WORDS Tereso Caspa
PHOTOGRAPHY Montana U.S.A.

She pleases the eye, stimulates the mind, titillates the imagination, and ignites the spirit. Who is she? We'll give you a couple of hints: She played a doctor on Lifetime's Strong Medicine and hails from Illinois. If you still don't recognize her, don't worry. Her name is Rosa Blasi, and we're sure that you won't forget her again.

Sensual! That is the word I have been searching for. "Sexy" sounds too comical, too much like a blonde, blue-eyed bimbo in a teenybopper T&A movie. "Cute" would be a good word for the next-door neighbor's newborn baby. "Pretty," would describe a mare running through a prairie. To describe the former star of Lifetime's Strong Medicine, Rosa Blasi, I need to find strong words like sensual, luscious, voluptuous, or maybe something like unapologetic, bold femininity, or possibly, curvaceous, contentious, and charismatic.

When I arrived one Saturday afternoon at the office, the guys asked me if I wanted an assignment. They told me they wanted me to interview a woman for the cover. I told them I wasn't interested. I wanted to write something interesting, intelligent, and intellectual. I wanted to put my talent to better use. Please, let me interview a Chicana heroine like Dolores Huerta, but not another woman in a bikini. I mean how many ways can you say someone is pretty? It gets tiring. I am an artist and I want to create. I was halfway through my soliloquy with the editor when he broke out Rosa Blasi's photos.

Mmmmm...must give a man pause.

All my artistic integrity was out the door and replaced with my most base instincts. I would do the interview with pleasure. Unfortunately, I had to do it over the phone. It is never the same.

Rosa Blasi is another Latina on the rise. I was told that she was bold, unafraid to speak her mind, and very articulate. I was upset with myself for allowing my most basic male instinct to control my entire weekend. I was angry with the editors for using this knowledge of my own shallowness to their advantage. I decided that if this is what was before me, then I was going to get something out of it. Struggling with my own conflicts and relationships, I decided to use this opportunity to try and get some honest answers out of a woman. Fortunately for me, Rosa Blasi really was articulate, intelligent, and enlightening—not to mention fun to look at. (Okay, so maybe I'm not that intellectual.)

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You have sex appeal. Many women are pretty, but you have sex appeal. Where does it come from?
You are born with it, or not. I remember being eight years old and hiking up my swimsuit to make my legs look longer. I hoped that it would attract the lifeguard, who must have been...sixteen. In my brain, you know, I thought I had a shot. (she laughs)

Wow, you have been working a long time?
I remember being really little, and before I knew I wanted be an actress, I remember seeing the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders on The Love Boat. And I remember thinking they are all so beautiful, and sexy. I remember thinking I wanted to look like that when I grew up. It wasn't until a little bit after that I realized that I could actually be on a TV show, rather than just be a cheerleader with a guest appearance. It was then I realized I wanted to be an actress. Part of it was the allure. I just saw it as something glamorous that I aspired to be like, or look like.

Well, you certainly are beautiful, but like I said, where does that other quality come from? At a photo shoot, you are flirtatious, in control, but respectfully so. I have looked at the photos and you have an edge that many others don't.
It's within you, or it's not. I think there are women far more beautiful than myself... that are not sexy. And I think there are women that may not be stereotypically attractive that do exude a sex appeal. It is like trying to have charisma. You either have it or you don't...it's not about who is the best looking. It is about that certain something that you can't put your finger on, but people are attracted to it.

I imagine that men are putty in your hands. Is that true?
I am not interested in a man that is putty in my hands. Why not? Oh God no, who wants that? I mean, would you want a girl that is like, "Oh my God, you are so good looking. You are so great. You are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I can't wait to go out with you again." Ultimately people—women—want an element of challenge. Who wants to be with someone who is putty in their hand? Who wants that? I'll get a lap dog. Who wants that?

So you would like a man who is more in control, who...
You want somebody who is on your level, who is your equal. Or if not your equal, then darn close. To be complimented, to be admired, or to be adored by your boyfriend, it is wonderful, it is lovely, but to say putty in my hands...I don't want to have all of the control. That's not sexy to me. That is when a man becomes unattractive. You know, when he hands me his scrotum and says, 'Here, take my balls and put them in your purse.' That is not sexy to me.

Do you think men feel the same way, or do we like lap dogs?
For men it is the same. If you have your choice between two girls, say you start dating two girls at the same time, and you like them both about the same. And one of them returns your phone call when it is convenient for her, and likes to see you, and is interested in seeing you, but is not foaming at the mouth. And the other one calls you three times a day and, you know, twice after the date just to tell you what a good time she had. And she asks you when can you go out again and tells you that you are the cutest guy she has ever been out with. Honestly, you are innately going to be attracted to the girl who is a little bit cooler. You might think there is something wrong with somebody who is so over the top.

Let me ask you another question. Does Hollywood equal sexism? Do your looks get you through doors that otherwise you wouldn't get through even if you were the most talented actress in all of Los Angeles?
Absolutely. At the end of the day, this is a business that is based somewhat on how you look, and anyone who tells you differently is lying. Because if it were about who is the most talented, they would be recruiting people from the graduating classes of [the top acting schools] and the graduating classes of NYU, and they would just cast everybody on TV and film based on those graduating classes. They would find a new crop of talent every year from the best schools in the country, but that is not the way it works. Unfortunately—and fortunately—there is a market for the way people look. I am lucky I look a certain way...but listen, if I had continued to play those trophy girl parts that I was playing—I was making quite a career playing those, you know, the pretty girlfriend, the trophy girl, the sexy girl who walks in and does this—nobody wants to see you do that once you are 30 or 35. So if I wanted to sustain a career, eventually I had to get past that. Talent sustains a career, because, think about it, every year there is going to be a new crop of 19-year-olds who are a lot hotter than I am. If you want any kind of longevity then you have got to have talent. If you only work five years in your life and all you do is play the hot girl, then that is a sad career.

Rosa Blasi in lingerie posing in front of strobe light

MORE OYE GIRLS:

Has being Latina worked for you or against you?
Recently, what has been called in the press the Latin invasion...this movement has absolutely helped me get work. I would be lying if I said different. But before that, you better believe that I would walk into a room and there would be five other blondes sitting in the room, and you better believe that I would lose out because I looked too ethnic, too different. There was nothing like that on television a few years ago and whenever I made it in to the last wire...it was because I was the other way. They would say, "We can go this way, the normal way, or we could go the other way." I was "not normal," I was "the other way." Most of the time I wouldn't get the jobs though, because people are ready to see the same things over and over, cookie cutter. It has just been recently that this idea is slowly being overcome. In the last few years it has certainly been in my favor to be named Rosa and to look different.

In the past, how did it affect you when you knew you deserved a job, but didn't get it because of your ethnicity?
I would call my mom hysterically crying. I remember after one particular audition where it was down to me and two other girls for a part on a TV show. I remember hysterically crying and calling my parents and saying (she feigns crying to her mother) "I should just change my social security number to 000-00-000." They were like, "Okay, calm down." I didn't know what to do. I was like "What do I do? Do I dye my hair blonde? Do I change my name to René?"—which was suggested to me once...I have had many, many, many hysterically crying nervous breakdowns...because it has been tough [being] Latina. But listen, listen to me...even in those times I have always thought that as hard as it was, and as many times as I have cried about it, you better believe I have always felt in my heart that some day it would work to my advantage. Even though it was tough at times I would rather be unique looking than cookie-cutter. What about those who did succumb to that pressure? Look, if the producers are looking for a blonde, and I am sitting there with four real blondes, and I have my hair dyed, the real blonde is probably going to get it. So, you are who you are. And there is more than that to a person anyway. If they want to do it, then let them.

Is Hollywood a man's world?
Don't underestimate the power of a woman in Hollywood. I am not going to complain about being a woman. Being the female lead, on the women's network, on a show designed from a woman's point of view, it has been ground breaking. If I were a man it wouldn't be the place for me. So it works both ways. But no, I think women are making huge strides.

Many women get upset with us. "Too much sex," they say. These same women would be upset with you, and say that you shouldn't flaunt it. They'd also say that a woman should be respected for her mind, and if she uses her body then that sets women back. But you are clearly very intelligent, intellectual maybe, yet you flaunt it as well, without apology? How would you respond to them?
I feel I have been given the right to do as I please, to dress as I please, whether people consider that to be seductive or not, because I am not a kept woman. I am a working career woman, a very successful career woman. Frankly I feel more masculine than most men I meet...in my attitude...in my skills...in my ideals...I think...women should aspire to be independent. As long as you're being independent and you are not relying on a man to take care of you, then you are being a strong woman. And you have the right to wear pasties if you so chose. If you are strong within yourself, and you are contributing to society, and you have goals to achieve, then nobody has the right to tell you, with that package, that you have to wear a three piece suit, or you should be wearing an Amish dress to the ground. That doesn't make sense to me. I don't think it is weak to flaunt it, or to be photographed in a bikini, or to show cleavage when we go out. I don't think that's weak. I think knocking women who do that...and not having any goals of your own...or being taking care of by a man, or not aspiring to achieve success on your own, I think that is weak. If anything, I think that is what you should be ashamed of.

You are clearly a strong woman. Do you still want chivalry, do you still want men to play the role. If you are walking down the street with your boyfriend or husband and another man makes a rude comment to you, would you want your man to fight for your honor?
Of course, but that is not going to stop me from turning around and saying, "Dude, I guarantee that you have a really tiny penis, which is the result of that comment." Don't think I wouldn't take matters into my own hands...and relish in doing so. Of course I wouldn't want the guy I am with to sit there with his tail stuck between his legs, his head down and pretending like nothing happened. I would expect him to stand up for me, but I would expect that of myself as well. What is a good woman? A good woman...is a complete woman. One of the nicest compliments I ever got was from a guy I was dating. He said, "You are a complete woman." And what he meant by that was...in all areas. Not just that, "You are hot," or not just that, "You have a good job," not just that, "You are smart," or not just that, "You have motherly instincts and you are nurturing." It is everything. It is being a complete woman. It is being a jack-of-all-trades. It is wearing many hats, not just the stereotypical hats, but wearing all the hats. You better believe that I can pose in a bikini on Monday and on Tuesday grout the tile in the bathroom, myself. And on Wednesday bake muffins for somebody's birthday and FedEx it to them, and on Thursday, go sit ringside at a fight. That is a complete woman. And I think that is important. Wow, let's go out. Another great compliment that I received was, "If I were blind, I wouldn't know that you are hot." It sounds funny, but it meant many things to me. Because it tells me that if you weren't judging me by how I look and you were judging me by the person that I am and what that entails...well, that is a great compliment.

Do men assume that because you are beautiful, you are unintelligent?
I have watched so many times in my life, men look at me when I walk into a party, and they evaluate me immediately just on the basis of how I look and how I dress. Then I speak to them and I really see them awestruck by the fact that I am intelligent. That to me is hilarious. That, to me, would be the great sitcom, watching people stereotype a woman because she might be pretty or coquettish, then watch them become dumbfounded when [a woman] can back that up with intelligence.

What is a good man?
First of all a good man is someone that has the confidence and the self-esteem to be honest. Because that is the hardest thing. That is the hardest thing to find. You can find guys who seem they have self-esteem. But at the end of the day, if they are not honest, if they got to lie, cover things up, or tell you what you want to hear, but do something else, or sleep with other women behind your back. It sounds like I am almost doing a playmate thing (she mocks a cute voice) "I want a guy who is honest." But I mean it. When I say honest, I mean in all areas...that is confident in his choices and the decisions in his life to back it up. I want that. I want a guy to be my best friend, but the kind of best friend that I can't wait to just start kissing...a best friend...that you are passionate about...and you just want to grit your teeth when you think about.

That guy is really hard to find. All men want to know this. We want the shortest distance between two points. We meet a girl...we like her...let's say we love her. Eventually we want to end up in the bedroom, and we are stupid when it comes to trying to get there. The bedroom? How do we get there with grace?
Honesty, communication. It all boils down to that. First of all, if you are with someone who wants to go in the bedroom with you, then you will be on the same mental wavelength. If you and I are on a date or something, or we have been dating, or we are in love or whatever, and you and I are on the same mental wavelength, there is no line you are going to tell me that is going to get me in the bedroom. There is no convincing that is going to be done. There is not going to be a, "oh, let's give a massage and let's see where it leads to." If you are on the same mental wavelength as me, almost no words need to be spoken, first of all. Second of all, if we are on the same mental wavelength, and you are confident and honest enough to say, "there is nothing more I would like than to make love to you." If we are on the same mental wavelength then it is not going to be a problem, or if it is a problem then I am going to say why it is a problem. And believe me, we would both prefer that.

What if you are not on the same mental wavelength?
Then there is nothing a guy can say or do to try and convince me otherwise. It is just as simple as that.

What if you don't know? If you have to question it, or if you don't know, then you are not on the same mental wavelength? Okay, say there is a girl I like, and I have no way of telling whether she is interested in me or not. I'm not talking about the bedroom now, but in general. I think she is absolutely beautiful, but I have no way of telling whether or not she is interested. Where do I go from there? What does a guy like me do?
You must have a certain idea if you are communicating, and if you were not communicating, then how would you have any idea about anything? Again, it is honesty, As men, we want to find the magic button. We don't want to go through all that other crap. We want the magic button.

Is there any advice to men, if we have done all that other crap?
My best advice to men, to quote The Vagina Monologues, is "slooooow doooowwwwn." That goes for the bedroom and romance in general? Everything, you know, yeah, everything...if the girl likes you, then she's not going anywhere, so just slow down. Enjoy the ride? Yeah, enjoy the ride.

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