Reading about Meghan Markle winning the lawsuit against Daily Mail got me thinking today....
Ladies, can we talk about the treatment of female celebrities in mainstream media and how badly they are portrayed? Taylor Swift, Meghan Markle, Priyanka Chopra, Megan Fox -they are strong, brilliant women who excel in their respective fields who are vilified by the media for having opinions and just..being themselves. Male celebs, however, face no such consequences. When I was younger (and dumber), I would find myself disliking so many female celebs for no apparent reason. Social media of course didn't help.
Just look at how Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie were pitted against each other in the media. The media always made it sound like Angelina 'stole' Brad away from Jen...why did no one talk about how Brad made the choices he did?
Everyone vilified Meghan Markle for her and Harry's decision to leave the royal family...without nary a consideration for the fact that Harry himself said that this decision was largely spurred by witnessing his mother's suffering as a child? Why does it always have to be the 'evil wife brainwashing her innocent husband' assumption?
Taylor Swift was slut-shamed and criticized for having too many boyfriends...I can't even begin to describe how illogical it is to shame an unmarried, single woman for dating men. Why are male musicians never held accountable for cheating on their spouses or for doing drugs? (What's that you said? What they do in their personal life is none of anyone's business? Tell me more.....)
Priyanka Chopra, in an interview a few years ago, said that she didn't need a man for anything other than to have children. There was a huge outcry in the media and also on social media because of her statement, with people calling her a feminazi and man-hater and so on. No one even bothered to read the interview and what context she made the statement in. She was asked about her new diamond ring and this was her statement - "They made a big deal of my solitaire. But I buy my own diamonds. I don’t need someone to buy them for me. When a guy comes into my life it’ll not be for the diamonds, it’ll not be for the cars, it’ll not be for the homes. ‘I’m PC from the block…,’ much like Jennifer Lopez’s song. A guy will be in my life only when I’m wholly, crazily in love. I don’t need a guy for anything else except for children. Don’t jump to conclusions because of my jewellery!"
These are just some examples, and I do agree that a lot of celebs do things for publicity as well - but it is just sad to see how women are held to higher standards than men, and criticized for the slightest misstep. The things they say tend to be misconstrued more. Their actions tend to be judged more.
Some of my friends argue "well its not about sexism, it's about the fact that these sensational stories sell more". EXACTLY MY POINT. If tabloid journalism relies on vilification and bullying of female celebs to sell more copies, then there is something wrong with that business model. Period.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
