I don’t appreciate seeing Paris in the pages of magazines I casually flip through in waiting rooms. I don’t appreciate her apparent lack of talent, despite her attempts to demonstrate otherwise.
But most importantly, I don’t appreciate people, who know that through their own endeavours or otherwise that they are media subjects, that dribe whilst intoxicated and/or belittle other people.

So, in terms of my original statement: no, of course it is not good for people to unapologetically live their lives when they are publicly criticised for important reasons however, it IS good for women who are targetted because they don’t fit the mold of “the good girl” to continue to be unapologetically themselves. If there are other reasons for the criticism, that’s different, but then that’s what we’re discussing here. Are there other reasons or deep down is a lot of the criticism rooted in sexism?

As for your last statement, I don’t think Paris cares how the public at large sees her - that’s part of why I like her.

And if Paris doesn’t like the reaction she got for playing herself as an exaggeratedly stuck-up spoiled brat, tough; that’s show business. You create a persona for yourself, you gotta live with it.

? I honestly get why people don’t like her, but it’s the strength of feeling and the way it manifests itself that makes me think there’s a whole bunch of misogyny going on there.

If a tree falls in the forest, etc etc…

If the viewing public treats some shallow asshole heiress on TV to sexist remarks, does their misogyny surpass that of the media jaggoffs who elevated her to broadcast-worthy status in the first place ?

Yes, it’s sexist and misogynistic for people to call her nasty names like “tramp” and “whore.” It’s also sexist and misogynistic that someone like her uses up airtime in the first place.

And please, given that it wasn’t us Paris-haters who started this thread, can we stop the ridiculous ‘There are reasons to dislike Paris but why would people even talk about hating her so much if it weren’t partially associated with misogyny?’ kinds of lines? We don’t like her, but we’re not the one who brought her up in the first place, thanks.

I’m not directing “people” at people in this thread. Obviously we’re talking about her in a thread about her. I’m talking about the multitudes who see her in magazines and watched The Simple Life (where she’s admitted to playing a caricature of a little rich ditz) and conclude from these oh-so-accurate portrayals that she’s a slutty whore who doesn’t deserve anything she has and hasn’t worked a day in her life. Why are people so het up about Paris Hilton when they know very little about her? And why does she inspire these particular types of sexist attacks? I honestly get why people don’t like her, but it’s the strength of feeling and the way it manifests itself that makes me think there’s a whole bunch of misogyny going on there.

Alright, so what’s the difference between private citizens Paris Hilton and Fred Phelps? Or Pat Robertson? Ann Coulter? Do you laud Michelle Malkin for sticking to her racist guns in the face of sensible people’s disapproval? Or perhaps Bill O’Reilly for bravely standing up against the ‘massive amount of public criticism’ aimed at him for being a tremendous asshole? Maybe you’re proud of Rush Limbaugh for sticking to his guns?

And please, given that it wasn’t us Paris-haters who started this thread, can we stop the ridiculous ‘There are reasons to dislike Paris but why would people even talk about hating her so much if it weren’t partially associated with misogyny?’ kinds of lines? We don’t like her, but we’re not the one who brought her up in the first place, thanks.

…

This is all, of course, with the caveat that Britney and Paris and etc.’s public dim-bulb personas might be a totally masterful act of performance art, put on to make people think they’re vapid, empty-headed stars in order to appear less threatening to the patriarchy, in which case, I would have to respect that shit. However, I suspect not.

Rumblelizard, when it comes to deliberate manipulation as opposed to the “fuck you” attitude alone, I was referring to Pamela Anderson and, to a lesser extent, Jordan. That’s not clear from what I wrote, though. While they all have the “screw you, I’m not going to be chastised by the system that created me” attitude, Anderson in particular is an intelligent woman and is well aware of what she’s doing in creating herself in the patriarchy’s image. Which is why I’m pro-Paris/Britney but an actual fan of Anderson and (to a lesser extent) Jordan. So, I like all of them for telling patriarchy to fuck off, but only two of the four (and mostly Anderson) are fully aware of what they’re doing.

Garnet said:

Oh, and as for the idea that Paris (and Britney, and no doubt others of their ilk) should be lauded because they can “continue to unapologetically live their lives the way they see fit, in spite of the massive amount of public criticism aimed their way�; since when is that considered a blanket good?

I guess I’d say that the difference between George Bush being criticised and Paris Hilton is that the underlying reasons for the criticism are entirely different (which I think it the point of talking about criticism of Hilton). Bush is in a position where his willful ignorance and refusal to listen to criticism is ruining people’s lives and there is a strong need to criticise the awful policy decisions he’s made for the U.S. and the world. Paris, on the other hand, is so strongly criticised because she’s, frankly, an uppity little woman who refuses to apologise for her behaviour.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t things about Paris’ behaviour that are assholish or gross, but she would never get the amount of criticism she gets if she were a young male celebrity in a similar position. Of all the young starlets who fill the tabloids, ALL of the staples are very young women. ALL are accused of being sluts and whores at some time or another. The fact that Paris’s name is synonymous with “slut”, “whore” and “skank” is nothing to do with her excess consumerism. There are reasons to dislike Paris but why would people even talk about hating her so much if it weren’t partially associated with misogyny? She shouldn’t be worth bothering with, otherwise. I mean, if I’m hating people for their consumerism or whatever there are plenty of other people I would put ahead of Paris on my shit-list. Yet it’s her that gets all the criticism that rich white asshole men just don’t inspire in such a personal way. After all, most, if not all, of them came about their fortunes via daddy, much as Paris did (although she *does* work, despite what the critics would have you believe).