http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/fashion/17celeb.html?scp=2&sq=girls+will+be+girls&st=nyt
It's all about the difference in tabloid attention that male and female celebrities attract.
"Ms. Roy said that troubled male stars like Robert Downey Jr. are encouraged to move past problems to a second act in their careers, while the personal battles of women like Lindsay Lohan or the late Anna Nicole Smith are often played for maximum entertainment value.
“With men, there’s an emphasis on, ‘he had this issue, but he’s getting over it,’ ” Ms. Roy said. “But with women, it’s like they keep at it, keep at it. It’s almost like taking the wings off of a fly.”"
This one is really great, "Girls Will Be Girls"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/magazine/10wwln-lede-t.html?scp=1&sq=girls+will+be+girls&st=nyt
I think it really speaks to what "Uncommon Women and Others" is about.... what does it mean to be a girl? And it also brings the issue into the 21st century.... how is this different from what it means to be a boy?
Check 'em out, they're not that long.
Lets discuss!
Alice
3 comments:
I think the idea of Father vs Mother is something that we really need to look at. Why can a father just be a figure while I mother must install all of the values and morals in the children. Its so bad for a mother to slip up but a father, its as if nobody cares. Esp with celebrities. Im going to try and see if I can find that Glamor article on the dad is the mother of the family. Good job Alice!
Also, the fathers are "traditionally" the disciplinarians, and the mothers are then left to take care of the child afterward. It's like he's absent until the child screws up. In turn, the father is always the 'bad guy' and the mother gets to be the 'good guy'. With the mother being the "submissive" woman, the father gets to (again and again) prove his "dominance". However, we know today that those sort of labels are dated and you hardly ever hear any more of the father taking his belt to the child, or the child going outside to get a "switch". But it is interesting to think about that verses the "daddy's little girl" idea (which most of us relate to) verses the role of the male within the play.
The NY Times article posted above, is an eye-opening and very true observation of the media. I think that women as a group, have this looming cloud overhead. Because Britney became famous, and was cute and entertaining, the public put her up on a pedestal. We clung to the idea that she was a virgin and we desperately hoped that she would stay as innocent as her Mickey Mouse Club persona, forever. But fame is hard and life is hard. The media has a way of portraying these girls like Britney, Lindsay and Paris as examples of unattainable beauty and likability. The minute they falter or slip-up, the public wants to tear them down completely. It's almost like saying, "As your fans you'd be nothing without us. Be grateful for your success and be perfect, or else." With men, especially in the case of Owen Wilson, the media said, "oh let's give him space to get better." Meanwhile tabloids were joking about Britney's obituary already being written! Where's her "space" to get better?
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