Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Astalos-Jones.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I work within a lot of different circles. I’ve been an actor for over 40 years. For many years I did art shows, selling my pysanky (Ukrainian eggs). For seven and a half years I was a court-appointed special advocate, advocating in court for neglected and abused children who have been placed in the foster care system. In 2018, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I opted for aesthetic flat closure. The first surgeon ignored my request and left me with gross, painful, hanging bags of skin. When I confronted him about why I wasn’t flat, he condescendingly chuckled that “women change their mind”. I had to seek out a second surgeon (Metro Surgical Associates) to give me the flat closure I’d requested. After being flat for a few months, I realized that there weren’t really many places to hear the voices of flat women. So I started the podcast “FLAT is where it’s at” and interviewed women from around the world who were living as flat women. I made a point of trying to represent a wide variety of sisters. The podcast ran for three years and I still get messages from newly flat women who are discovering the podcast and discovering that they are not alone. So today, I’m an actor working in film and television, sometimes performing my one-woman show live, a caregiver to a 100yr old, an artist, and an active advocate for aesthetic flat closure. The podcast can be found at flatiswhereitsat.libsyn.com
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being an actor who chooses to live in rural Georgia is far from a smooth road. In fact, some would say you were nuts to stay in rural Georgia and pursue acting. And they might just be right. It is a constant struggle to be seen, to be heard, and to convince people that even though you didn’t run to LA, you actually have a lot to offer.
Maybe the biggest struggle was dealing with the friction I encountered from my first surgeon over wanting to go flat. This society bases so much of a woman’s appeal on breasts. Let’s face it, boobs are everywhere. So a woman saying, “Ya know, you can just cut them both off” is seen to some doctors as a sign of mental instability. Some doctors actually have their patients endure psych evaluations. The fact that a woman would refuse having plastic bags shoved under her skin, ensuring more surgeries, more risk of complications, more recovery time is seen as worrisome. Breast Implant Illness is real and thousands of women have had to undergo explant surgery to find relief from their symptoms. Learning to live as a breastless woman takes time and involves mental and physical challenges.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m perhaps known for writing for myself. I have a show where I play 15 different poets turning up at a poetry open mic and, like a real open mic, a lot of them are not great poets. It’s a lot of fun taking people through a night where they can laugh, see some weird sh*t, and be moved all in one show. I’ve been rotating poets old and new, through the show for years.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In my 20s, I found mentors in theatres. I studied under several great teachers, but after that I really sort of made up my own path, my own work.
Contact Info:
- Website: stephanieastalos-jones.com, flatiswhereitsat.libsyn.com
- Instagram: @flatiswhereitsat
Image Credits
For the headshot in the blue shirt, Tracy Bosworth Page
