2008 Woodie Awards
Bring 'Normal' Women Back to Entertainment
U-WIRE
Issue date: 12/10/03 Section: Opinions
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(U-WIRE) AMES, Iowa -- From anorexics to "minimalist" clothing enthusiasts to just plain playing into stereotypes, in every woman who has made her way to fame through the entertainment industry, there seems to be an element of self-exploitation.
However, it also seems we pretend to not notice these things women undergo, or are even forced to endure, on their road to stardom. Everyone praises the talents of actresses Jennifer Aniston and Debra Messing without batting an eye at their apparent extreme weight loss. Britney Spears (who I'm sure is still human, although she seems more like a Barbie doll every day) has endured so much molding and shaping of her "image" that she's been appropriated as public property -- especially since virtually nothing on her body has been left to our imaginations ... what hasn't been revealed has been translucently masked behind two thin pieces of fabric or hidden delicately below the waistband of her super-low-rise jeans.
When I was very young, I don't remember having so many problems finding young women to look up to. I think it has a lot to do with how women's characters have been developed within television series (and in movies to a lesser extent) or how they have been portrayed within the music industry.
For instance, back when I was a kid, there were Melissa Joan Hart, from "Clarissa Explains it All," and Candace Cameron, who played D.J. Tanner on "Full House."
Even though Hart currently stars in "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (along with another of my childhood idols, Soleil Moon Frye of "Punky Brewster" fame) and is much more visible these days, both of these women seem to have had relatively no problem avoiding over-sexualization or worries about their appearance. The television shows they starred in didn't require these things from their characters, therefore they haven't been portrayed as such in real life.
While that should have carried over with the Olsen twins, they were apparently exempt ... men older than me have their 18th birthday circled on their calendars. Does this mean that they can lust after them wholeheartedly in 187 days and not feel like child molesters?
However, it also seems we pretend to not notice these things women undergo, or are even forced to endure, on their road to stardom. Everyone praises the talents of actresses Jennifer Aniston and Debra Messing without batting an eye at their apparent extreme weight loss. Britney Spears (who I'm sure is still human, although she seems more like a Barbie doll every day) has endured so much molding and shaping of her "image" that she's been appropriated as public property -- especially since virtually nothing on her body has been left to our imaginations ... what hasn't been revealed has been translucently masked behind two thin pieces of fabric or hidden delicately below the waistband of her super-low-rise jeans.
When I was very young, I don't remember having so many problems finding young women to look up to. I think it has a lot to do with how women's characters have been developed within television series (and in movies to a lesser extent) or how they have been portrayed within the music industry.
For instance, back when I was a kid, there were Melissa Joan Hart, from "Clarissa Explains it All," and Candace Cameron, who played D.J. Tanner on "Full House."
Even though Hart currently stars in "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (along with another of my childhood idols, Soleil Moon Frye of "Punky Brewster" fame) and is much more visible these days, both of these women seem to have had relatively no problem avoiding over-sexualization or worries about their appearance. The television shows they starred in didn't require these things from their characters, therefore they haven't been portrayed as such in real life.
While that should have carried over with the Olsen twins, they were apparently exempt ... men older than me have their 18th birthday circled on their calendars. Does this mean that they can lust after them wholeheartedly in 187 days and not feel like child molesters?