It has gotten to the point now where every celebrity gossip columnists will fight tooth and nail to slam celebrities for every photo op and every mishap that is caught on tape or film. While there are numerous financial reasons for such action, lets note that most of this exploitation is centered around female celebrities
Case in point, have we not heard enough about Britney Spears? While we are more than happy to sneer and cajole about the mishaps of Ms. Spears and her excess 20 lbs, but what happened to her deadbeat husband, Kevin Federline, who is dropping $2,000 tips in Las Vegas when his average gross income is merely $24,000! WTF? Can men really criticize what they have little to go by, such as putting on weight when you have children back to back? How many women actually can put on a size 8 or 10 after 6 months of giving birth to their second child in the last 24 months? It’s actually quite unfair to even compare the notion.
Why are we constantly attacking our female counterparts when our male counterparts are equally liable and responsible? Take the latest incident of celebrity exploitation where we are criticizing Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton for being skanks and illegitimate whores when we do not categorize their male companions for the same deed. Sex in rehab is not a one man job, especially for Lindsay Lohan, and Hilton with the latest member of Good Charlotte did not happen because she was a solo practitioner. Lets drop the sexism people because men are just as whore-ish as women yet they do not get half the backlash. While I’m more than happy to bash celebrity whores, I want to make it an equal opportunity basher. Don’t hold back because they are male, apply the same principle or else don’t do it. If we’re going to criticize someone for their weight, sexual preference, and public persona, apply it regardless of their gender. At least then we know that we are not differentiating indiscriminately.
While I generally despise “South Park”, and consider it rude, crude, and not nice, there was a recent thought provoking episode featuring Britney. The story line was that the hidden agenda of the media onslaught was to get her to kill herself because she was chosen (without her knowledge) to be the sacrificial “maiden” to ensure a good harvest. She didn’t succeed in killing herself, so they had some ritual and did away with her. I couldn’t watch that part (South Park is disturbing!) but it certainly made the same point you are making.