Why Do We Hate Female Celebrities?

May 18, 2008     Posted in Buzz, News

parandlindsQuickly, make a list of your top five least favorite celebrities, celebrities that you would go so far as to say that you really hated.


By CC Staff

Now how many of those are women?

According to an article from BBC News, female celebrities seem to bear the brunt of the world’s popular culture-related displeasure. A British poll stated that four of the top five most-hated celebrities were female and the top five most-loved celebrities were all male (strangely, Simon Cowell showed up on both lists).

If this poll is an accurate indication of the way societies view celebrity, there seems to be a misogynist slant against females that is fairly representative of the way women in general are viewed by the world. That is to say, female celebrities are vilified for the same reasons that females are vilified by culture as a whole: they are catty, or overly ambitious and assertive, or bad mothers, or too sensitive, or greedy. It doesn’t need to be pointed out that many of these qualities would be applauded in a man.

But before this goes too angry and feminist, the saddest and scariest part of the article was that most of the anger directed at females in the spotlight come not from men, but from other women. Women no doubt influenced by history and society’s unrealistic expectations of them, but women nonetheless.

This makes a good amount of sense, because women seem to be the ones most often consuming the sort of popular culture that features other women and are more likely to form strong opinions about women in entertainment. Perhaps it is because we are unsatisfied with the way that females like Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton represent our sex. But I’m inclined to think that it’s something a lot less noble.

As the article states,

“despite years of equal opportunities, the media – and the people who watch and read – prefer the stay-at-home mother over a woman who lives her life in public, particularly one who is overtly ambitious or successful in making money. There is great satisfaction among many people in seeing them humbled.”

This makes me think of dating shows like Rock of Love and The Bachelor. I think that women don’t generally watch those shows to see a fellow woman find love and happiness, we watch to see the women tear each other down and act like idiots. And over a man who probably couldn’t care less.

Also, I’m not a Hilary supporter, but I can see this sort of mindset directed at her and her campaign as well. One of my favorite reporters Leonard Pitts wrote a beautiful article last year that started like this:

“So,” the woman asked, “how do we beat the bitch?” And Sen. John McCain laughed.

It was, he said, an “excellent” question. Yes, he went on to express respect for Hillary Clinton, to whom the woman referred. But not once…did he suggest that it wasn’t appropriate to call Clinton a ‘bitch.’”

I think this all leads to a much more important question than “Why do women not like female celebrities?” And that is “Why do women not seem to like other women?”

7 Comments on "Why Do We Hate Female Celebrities?"

  1. thestorysofar says:
    Sun, 18th May 20081:41 pm 

    i *love* some female celebrities. lindsay lohan and paris hilton, however, are disgusting, drunk driving, drug abusing, crazy people. why the hell should i like them?

    There are much more talented, honorable celebs to pay attention to, who dont, say, drive the wrong way down a freeway and act like lunatics in public.

  2. Casey says:
    Sun, 18th May 20082:44 pm 

    since the feminist movement women have yet to find a role that we really fit into. We don’t want to be the stay at home mom types anymore but so far that is the only role that really seems to fit us. But maybe that is because we act up in every other role we have tried. Women always want to be the center of attention and in doing so make themselves look like fools and morons.

    And then there’s the fact that most women are hypocritical. They want to be equal to men but they still want to be treated like princesses. Umm hello, YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS! pick one and stick with it! Women are catty, bitchy, hypocrites that love to complain, tear other people down, and freak out over the stupidest crap.

    Why do you think men don’t respect us? It’s probably because we have all these stupid rules that they need to follow so we don’t flip out on them (never answer the question “does this make me look fat” never tell a woman she looks tired (even at 6 am) and other stupid rules like that) Women wonder why all men want is sex and not a relationship, because in a relationship they have to worry about all those little rules we expect them to know and follow so we don’t turn into raging bitches. With just sex they don’t have to worry about any of that they can just F**k ‘em and forget ‘em. And no it’s not every woman, but it’s the majority, and the majority give us all a bad name. And where did all this spawn? I think the feminist movement is to blame.

    But that’s just my opinion, feel free to agree or disagree.

  3. Troy says:
    Sun, 18th May 20088:47 pm 

    I fail to see how people like Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan are “overly ambitious”, unless you count binge-drinking and flashing photographers as worthy goals in life. I wouldn’t label those no-talent bitches as victims of misogyny just yet.

  4. Claire says:
    Tue, 20th May 20081:28 am 

    Casey, I don’t think it’s right to automatically point a finger at feminism. The point of the fmeinist movement is to promote an inclusive environment without gender discrimination, therefore giving women a “place” is only separating them.

    I think that the patriarchy has given women so many rules to follow that it’s impossible to be perfect. If we see things that make these women (Paris, Lindsey, Britney, etc) seem imperfect, we automatically berate them. However, we see men who do similar things (Mel Gibson, Owen Wilson, etc.) and still see them as decent human beings. It’s a double standard. I’m not advocating the behavior of these women, I’m just saying that there’s a small margin of error for women in the realm of being seen as “okay” by society. They may not be as talented as other women, but Owen Wilson’s kind of a one-trick-pony actor and generally everyone thinks he’s still hot stuff.

  5. Belle says:
    Wed, 21st May 200810:13 am 

    I think the reason for this is that there aren't as many men out there like Paris and Lindsey. The reason people hate Paris is not as much for her irresponsible behavior as it is for her lack of any talent or skill and simultaneous desperation for the spotlight. Anybody that desperate for attention deserves truckloads of derision. I think a good male example of this is Spencer Pratt. Men might not be as good at riding neglible notoriety to the top as women are and for that reason fewer of them are celebrities for us to hate.

  6. abenzio says:
    Thu, 29th May 20083:20 am 

    1 Night in Paris (2004) is a sex video depicting Paris Hilton and her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon engaging in sexual relations. The video was released shortly before Hilton's TV series The Simple Life debuted, causing a media sensation. Salomon originally sued Hilton for defamation when Hilton claimed publicly that she was "out of it" and didn't know what she was doing during the taping of the video. Hilton also sued Salomon over the release of the tape, but settled out of court in July 2005. According to reports, Hilton was awarded up to $400,000 and planned to donate a percentage to charity.[1] However, in a 2006 interview with GQ magazine, she stated: "I never received a dime from (the video). It's just dirty money and (Salomon) should give it all to some charity for the sexually abused or something.

    http://parishiltonphoto.50webs.com/

  7. Troy says:
    Thu, 5th Jun 200812:12 am 

    Claire,

    Men like Mel Gibson and Owen Wilson actually have accomplishments outside the hemisphere of reality TV or sex scandals.

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