I Know, it Shocked Me Too.
Jul. 24th, 2007 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
itsallovernowFile this under my raging feminism.
So, driving to work this morning, the local morning shows were discussing Lindsey Lohan's recent brush with intoxication and the law. And also, Britney Spears apparent meltdown/photoshot for OK.
Sure, fine, whatever. These are not the actions of people that effect me, and I like to see that much sort of... hubris and youth and nothing can touch me attitude get smacked every once in awhile as well.
But what finally struck me, and has lodged deep and tight and painfully in my chest, is that we are punishing these girls in ways that we would NEVER punish their young, male counterparts.
And jesus, we do this to women all the time. For all our talk of the sexual revolution, our equality, our modernism, we are still holding women (and in this case girls. These are GIRLS!) to a different standard of behavior and chastity. (And wow, fandom as a whole, I'm looking at you with your willingness to condem female characters in a way you'd never condemn male characters.)
This show kept suggesting that they were slutty, or whorish, or trashy, and hell, they may be, but so the fuck what? How is that a judgement on their character? And why don't we treat men, treat boys, the same way?
Yeah, I don't want my niece or my godchild looking up to Lindsey or Britney as an example of how to behave, but I also don't want to be the kind of authority figure in their lives who creates the kind of chaos that ends up with girls needing to behave this way. These girls are this way, not simply because of the fame and the cash (although that helps to facilitate it). They are this way because the people who loved them never stepped in, because they were exploited, and manipulated, and never learned to make the kind of choices that responsible adults make.
And we see this with boys, but I don't ever see their faces splashed across the tabloids, dicks hanging out for the world to see.
The problem is that it's pervasive. It spreads. Every time M. tells me girls are crazy, and I agree, feminism takes a hit. Every time some girl gets condemned for short skirts and poor judgement and we feel bad for the asshole who's ragging on her, we lose. Everytime you get pissed off because your male characters might actually want to fuck a girl, we all lose (let 'em fuck whomever they want, but if we're going to celebrate sex, celebrate it all. Het, queer, and everything in between.)
Argh. Someone distract me from the world out there. Give me some porn, ask me some questions, paint me a picture. I'm tired of reality.
So, driving to work this morning, the local morning shows were discussing Lindsey Lohan's recent brush with intoxication and the law. And also, Britney Spears apparent meltdown/photoshot for OK.
Sure, fine, whatever. These are not the actions of people that effect me, and I like to see that much sort of... hubris and youth and nothing can touch me attitude get smacked every once in awhile as well.
But what finally struck me, and has lodged deep and tight and painfully in my chest, is that we are punishing these girls in ways that we would NEVER punish their young, male counterparts.
And jesus, we do this to women all the time. For all our talk of the sexual revolution, our equality, our modernism, we are still holding women (and in this case girls. These are GIRLS!) to a different standard of behavior and chastity. (And wow, fandom as a whole, I'm looking at you with your willingness to condem female characters in a way you'd never condemn male characters.)
This show kept suggesting that they were slutty, or whorish, or trashy, and hell, they may be, but so the fuck what? How is that a judgement on their character? And why don't we treat men, treat boys, the same way?
Yeah, I don't want my niece or my godchild looking up to Lindsey or Britney as an example of how to behave, but I also don't want to be the kind of authority figure in their lives who creates the kind of chaos that ends up with girls needing to behave this way. These girls are this way, not simply because of the fame and the cash (although that helps to facilitate it). They are this way because the people who loved them never stepped in, because they were exploited, and manipulated, and never learned to make the kind of choices that responsible adults make.
And we see this with boys, but I don't ever see their faces splashed across the tabloids, dicks hanging out for the world to see.
The problem is that it's pervasive. It spreads. Every time M. tells me girls are crazy, and I agree, feminism takes a hit. Every time some girl gets condemned for short skirts and poor judgement and we feel bad for the asshole who's ragging on her, we lose. Everytime you get pissed off because your male characters might actually want to fuck a girl, we all lose (let 'em fuck whomever they want, but if we're going to celebrate sex, celebrate it all. Het, queer, and everything in between.)
Argh. Someone distract me from the world out there. Give me some porn, ask me some questions, paint me a picture. I'm tired of reality.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 08:08 pm (UTC)... I think we need a t-shirt.
I have no porn for you. And I want someone to write me warm and fun Sam/Cameron. With plot. *g*
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 08:28 pm (UTC)Possibly with a lasso around the words, like a rodeo theme maybe
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 08:42 pm (UTC)And I want someone to write me warm and fun Sam/Cameron. With plot. *g*
Not giggling at you. Nope. Not at all.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 08:24 pm (UTC)C'mon, tell me that's not the best wank ever. EVAH ever. Especially when you get to the part about his "agent" watching him try to cut-tag his entries for 20 hours...
no subject
Date: 2007-07-24 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 05:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 10:16 am (UTC)(Though in the case of Britney I have to say, I'd be critical of any male celebrity who flashed his genitals at public events too... )
no subject
Date: 2007-07-25 05:49 pm (UTC)