The Feminist State of Denial
May 16th, 2008 Roshan
I was just reading this BBC article about celebrities that we love to hate and I noticed that somebody tried putting a feminist spin on it, claiming that the reason we hate female celebrities is because they don’t conform to the rules of ‘femininity’.
Celebrities including Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Rumer Willis, Mischa Barton and Kerry Katona are routinely condemned for their perceived excessive lifestyles in terms of their disregard for the apparent rules of femininity through extreme diets or weight gain, drug abuse, supposed lack of fashion sense/style, and an ‘unfeminine’ need for fame and attention
Now look at this, isn’t this ridiculous? The rules of femininity decide that extreme diets, drug abuse, lack of fashion sense, and a need for fame and attention are a bad thing? That is such a joke, Ms. Kirsty Fairclough. The things described are simply repugnant, and most sane people see them as just that. These people conform to the rules of ’stay away from’. Too quick to call misogyny, ma’am. Tell me, who thinks an attention-seeking flamboyantly-dressed anorexic male heroin addict is acceptable company? Not even other people that fit into that class would think these people aren’t the detritus of society.
Let’s have a look at the Top 3 on the list of loved celebrities: Paul McCartney, Lewis Hamilton, Gary Lineker. And the Top 3 on the list of hated celebrities? Heather Mills, Amy Winehouse, Victoria Beckham. This obviously describes a bias against woman, correct? Wrong. Let’s look at them closer:
The Beloved:
- McCartney: Famous for being a Beatle. Illustrious post-Beatles music career.
- Hamilton: Famous for being an F1 racer. Nearly won a title on debut. Few are that talented.
- Gary Lineker: Football player who played twice for England in the World Cup. Not once cautioned by the referee. Career in sports broadcasting. Obviously famous for sport.
The Despised:
- Mills: Famous for being McCartney’s wife. In divorce proceedings, she got 35,000 pounds a year not including the acceptable child support. Public image of being hysterical, throwing water on her ex-husband’s lawyer, stuff like that.
- Winehouse: Famous for being a singer. Recently in the news for swearing at her audiences at concerts and having overdosed on heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine.
- Beckham: This one beats me. On interviews she has this almost-dumb air about her, but she made her money being a big singer albeit one whose music I wouldn’t listen to.
Now, excepting Victoria Beckham, there’s a pretty good reason to dislike these people. If I had a kid, these aren’t the role models I would want them having. And yes, people make fun of Mick Jagger all the time, and we don’t think he’s a hero either though he’s a pretty damn hilarious dumb-ass. Compare that with the loved celebrities, they’re known for what they’ve done not for what temper tantrums they’ve been pulling. Also, while Simon Cowell is on the hated list, Anne Robinson is nowhere to be seen. Must I take this to mean that society hates men being caustic? Please.
But let’s look at those people who have broken free of the rules of femininity and fought society’s distaste for successful women according to Ms. Fairclough: Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton. I left out those who I had no clue about. These are your great warriors? Your fighters against organised male repression? The battle is already lost. Jesus. Drug addicts, anorexics, drink-drivers, man the cannons! It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.
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