What I researched and Why: I researched the different types of ‘mean girls’ in the lime light. Many female celebrities are known for feuding with other female celebrities. Fighting tends to draw attention to the celebrities, but when it is two females feuding it seems to be different. The papers keep bringing it up, even if it is over. One female may even be labeled a ‘mean girl.’ I find this very interesting because when men get into fights, it will be discussed for a period of time and then be dropped. However, when women tend to fight, it is brought up for a longer period of time and sometimes not forgotten.
What I found: Looking up ‘Mean Girls’ on Google brings up many different items. The first thing that came up for me though was People.com and the heading was ‘Mean Girls part 2’. (http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1215772,00.html) It was a feud between Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. I then researched fighting between Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. On Google, 1,860,000 sites came up. Many people are obsessed with girl fights. Some of the websites that came up were blogs about the fights. People can’t seem to get enough of this mean girl phenomenon. This feud between the girls seems to go on for a period of time and then they are best friends again. Many pictures also came up with Paris and Lindsay partying together. So whether they are feuding or partying, the attention seems to be centered around them.
My interruption/what this adds to discussion: I believe that girls tend to 'act out' for attention. Especially in the case of celebrities, I believe that they do it for publicity. If they are fighting one minute and best friends the next minute, it just does not seem plausible. I feel though that female actresses, especially young girls may look up to, should not be acting like this. It shows the younger girls that behavior like this is okay, when it is really not okay. I guess my question is do you think celebrity fights (girl fights) is propelling the mean girl phenomena even further into naughtiness? Personally, I feel like that is happening, but what could be a way to stop it?
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I don't know, people seemed pretty interested in that whole Kanye West/50 Cent feud. Although, that was ostensibly more of a competition, over record sales, which could be seen as more of a valid reason for press coverage than girl-girl bickering. That said, it all seems like part of the same game...
I think in the current state of the entertainment world focus, the idea of naughtiness amongst females (in particular female celebrities) is seen in the amount of partying they do. The Lindsay Lohan-Paris Hilton link describes the fighting that occurs at the party scenes and who gets the most attention. In the recent Miss USA pageant scandal, the girl whose name slips my mind, found herself in trouble for partying too much (and yes I'm aware there were drugs involved and rehab) but in terms of partying, she was doing just what most indiviudals do at that age, have fun. It's also interesting because in the Lindsay Lohan-Hilary Duff feud, Lohan is the one seen as negative and Duff as the more innocent girl, its all about how the media portrays this female naughtiness.
It certainly can be seen in some cases as an attempt for some kind of attention. I remember in one case, such a fight was used to get ratings.
Even though I don't/will never watch the show, "The Simple Life", does anyone remember the hook they tried to use in order for people to watch one of the season finales? I'm sure all the celebrity news shows, like Insider and company, didn't. It was probably major news until the episode aired.
The hook was apparently that the friendship between Paris and Nicole was "over". Naturally, I'm sure all Paris and Nicole fans had to watch because after seeing them together for so long, their friendship ending just wasn't possible.
Anyway, didn't they become friends again, almost instantly afterward? I don't remember. I only recall as much as I do thanks to E!'s "The Soup". (Great show by the way!) Nevertheless, their "fight" sounded like a game to me.
I think that celeb mean girls may be fueling the mean girls in real life but I don't know that they are just doing it for publicity. Girls always seem to have petty fights that they get all upset about and boys will have physical fights or just let things go. If you are in the lime light a man cannot simply punch another man, he will have charges against him and will most likely loose support. Girls tend not to fight so physically and therefore can get away with fighting. Fans tend to pick sides and follow the fight. So I don't really know if girl fighting is for publicity or just the fact that girls can get away with their type of fighting.
This blog brought up a really interesting point; that when guys fight, they usually physically fight and for the most part it is over, but girls' feuds can go on for weeks, months or years. I have known from experience so many girls that still dislike each other from stupid things in highschool. It's not even young girls either that I've seen this in. I've seen adults do the same thing. While celebrities may be the main focus, and I do agree that they use anything scandalous for profit, maybe the example is coming from closer to home.
I think it is interesting that both the Lohan-Paris and Paris-Nicole fights were brought up. From what I have read in many different magazines, I got the understanding that Lindsay and Nicole, both, were suppossed to be the best of friends with Paris. This is an interesting point to bring up, because I feel that the worst of the mean girl actions are not committed upon outsiders, but they are directed to their BBF's. This can even be seen in the movie, Mean Girls.
It seems to me that the nature of the way "mean girls" fight is what is so interesting to people. Will Smith and someone (I believe Eminem) had some lyrical exchanges in songs, and no one really said much about it. It was addressed, but not made a point of concern for what it could do to young impressionable boys. Stars party in Hollywood all the time, Mel Gibson and Keifer Sutherland both have DUIs and Mel in particular has made some pretty nasty racial comments, and yet no one is concerned that young people might idolize him.
Is it because these stars are older? Or is it because they are male that these feuds don't draw as much attention? Are we simply interested because girls are "supposed" to be nice?
Although I think that a good deal of things are done for publicity, I think we sometimes forget that those celebrity's we are watching are people, and maybe they really are just acting that way. If this is the case, I think it's more interesting to see how the "mean girl phenomenon" is acting on several different levels. We can see it in junior high and in Hollywood. It might be interesting to compare and contrast these two very different scenarios rather than to assume that one is genuine and one is staged.
I'd like to blame this, and a lot of other things, on the media. Magazines, TV and the internet spend so much time covering these "divas" and their petty arguments that young girls have nothing else to look up to. When Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are this generation's role models, you know there has to be a problem. There aren't enough stories being told about female CEO's or firefighters or other powerful and influential women that are doing good things in the world, instead of rich, spoiled celebrities fighting over guys or whatever they are in fact fighting about.
So, because of this, I do think that these feuds prolong the mean girl phenomenon. With these people being shoved in the face of all these girls, who else's actions are they supposed to emulate?
I think all this fighting and backstabbing and whatnot on the part of the ladies has to do with the fact that all women compete with other women. It is a known fact. I heard on the radio the other day, that over 50% of women said that when they get "dressed up" they are doing it for other girls, not guys. Girls are constantly in competition with one another...who is prettier, has better clothes, a better boyfriend, etc. I think all the anger and fighting stems from the fact that this is an ongoing problem and it does not seem to occur with boys. At least it seems that their competitive ways are somewhat more healthy.
The Kanye West/50 Cent feud is a good recent example of men feuding, but it seems like more people know about women celebrities feuding than men. The media and tabloids are to blame for this I feel. Too much attention is paid to negative things certain celebrities are doing and not enough attention is paid to good things celebrities are doing such as charity work for example. Some female celebrities get into feuds just for publicity it seems.
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