September 20, 2007 6:07 AM

Is it really necessary to be so mean?

Is It Fair to Savage Britney’s Figure?

NEW YORK (AP) - The consensus is clear: Britney Spears performed like she was sloshing blindfolded through mud at MTV’s Video Music Awards. No one disputes that the troubled pop princess royally mangled her much-heralded comeback. But what about the nastiest comments of all - those about her body? “Lard and Clear,” read Monday’s headline in the New York Post. “The bulging belly she was flaunting was SO not hot,” wrote E! Online. And so on. Was it fair? Did Spears, lest we forget a mother of two, deserve to be held up against the standard of her once fantastically toned abs, sculpted by sessions of 1,000 tummy crunches? Or was she asking for it by choosing that unforgiving black-sequined bikini? More profoundly, in an age where skinny models and skeletal actresses are under scrutiny for the message they’re sending young girls, what does it say that we’re excoriating a young woman for a little thickness in her middle?

I’m by no means a fan of Britney Spears, though even I would admit that she is (or at least was) undeniably talented. Spears’ talent (or perceived lack of same) is not the issue as far as I’m concerned. What does make me stop and think is the unbridled meanness that seemed to follow her performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards. I’ve seen enough of it to know that it was…um…less than top-notch. Spears’ outfit certainly- and deservedly- raised some eyebrows. What really got Spears savaged, though, was her figure. Really, though, for someone who’s had two kids, I think she looks pretty damn good. Honestly, how many guys would kick her out of bed? And how many women wouldn’t kill to look even half that good? Yet people and pundits from coast to coast have been ridiculing her as if she’d been caught masturbating in a movie theater.

I’ve been amazed at some of the thorough and over-the-top mean-spiritedness that so many bloggers and even a number of people in the Mainstream Media treated Spears to. Good Lord, you’d have thought that Spears was a cross between Fat Bastard and Jabba the Hut in a bikini. Apparently being a celebrity means that you’re fair game and that the Golden Rule no longer applies. You can be savaged, pilloried, and ridiculed as if you’re an unthinking, unfeeling commodity who exists only for the public’s entertainment.

Expressing an opinion is one thing, but whatever happened to treating someone with even a minimum of respect and dignity? You make not like what Britney Spears stands for; you may not even respect her. But when did we lose sight of the fact that she’s a human beings with feelings? When did we decide that because she’s a public figure that we’re under no obligation to treat her as we might hope that others would treat us? Whatever happened to walking a mile in someone else’s shoes…or, in this case, someone else’s bikini?

Sometimes I fear that we as a nation have lost the ability to be nice. OK, so I grew up in Minnesota, and we’re legendary for a quality called “Minnesota Nice”. Really, though, how difficult should it be to simply be nice to someone? This isn’t to say that someone’s faults or foolishness shouldn’t be pointed out when appropriate, but does it have to be done in such a catty, hateful, mean-spirited manner? Surely, we’re better than this…aren’t we??

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on September 20, 2007 6:07 AM.

You know you're about to have a VERY bad day when.... was the previous entry in this blog.

It wouldn't hurt if it weren't true, eh? is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12