And while I've GOT the internet..
Jun. 8th, 2007 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityvixenAllow me to say that I don't agree with this Pandagon article. Amanda Marcotte is often brilliant, but her extremism is way off when it comes to Paris Hilton and the many, many reasons to dislike her.
As I've said before, hating Paris Hilton, except in a few cases, isn't about hating a) women, b) unabashedly sexual women, or c) women who dare to be independent. Amanda is just wrong to say that the fascination derives mostly from wanting to punish Hilton for her sexual escapades et al. I'm sorry, I don't believe that for a second. She may have become famous for her leaked sex tape, but she hasn't stayed famous because she's a) attractive (SO NOT), b) sexy (good god, no), or c) got a nice personality (ewwwwwww).
Paris Hilton is famous--and infamous--because she's rich. End of story. She has the money and the under-100-lbs bone structure; she got a TV show; and now we have to look at her all the goddamned time. Okay, so probably she got so famous for her sex tape because she's a female rich person and not a male one and we like to shame women for having sex. Fine. But no one I've heard is celebrating her downfall from the life of the rich and fabulous because she's an uppity bitch. They're celebrating it because she's represents all that's wrong with the distribution of wealth in America--it's assumption of certain privileges and usually the bearing out of those assumptions where the poorer man/woman would be hung out to dry--and she's getting, justly, served instead of getting away with it.
When Hilton was originally sentenced, there was this huge outcry that she's was being picked on because she was famous (as opposed to, say, the accurate assessment that she was just getting what she deserved for flagrantly violating the conditions of her parole). Then she waltzed back out of jail because she was, apparently, too sick to stay there. Last I heard, "too sick to come in today" didn't apply to prison. Suddenly, it was like every tabloid paparazzo realized, "Hey, this girl's got absolutely no sense of responsibility or shame for what she's done." She wanted the judge to tell her what he was going to do to her over the phone, for fuck's sake! It's a sad state of affairs that it took that long for the tide of public opinion to come around to what I knew from the beginning of this brou-ha-ha, but I seriously doubt that anyone was like "HOORAY! THE SEX-WANTING-FEMALE IS LOCKED AWAY!"
Much as I'm gleeful that she's getting righteously served, I do hope she learns from it. I also desperately hope that, deprived of the spotlight for two fucking seconds, she will go away forever. Fuck.
Shorter bus-rant: It ain't about punishing a "girl gone wild." It's about being fed up with the attitude of the rich, borne out by the reactions of the courts for so long, that the rich don't deserve to be punished for what they do, no matter what it is. And yes, I was insanely giddy upon hearing that Paris Hilton was going back to jail. Maybe I'm a bad person for that, but I truly believe in getting what you deserve, and she's had this coming. I don't pity her at all. You know who gets my sympathy? Someone who makes a mistake and does their best to atone for it. Anyone can make a stupid decision. When you make a stupid decision and then follow it up with crass indifference to the harm you've done/might have done, you get no pity from me. I believe in second chances. I don't believe in thirds.
As I've said before, hating Paris Hilton, except in a few cases, isn't about hating a) women, b) unabashedly sexual women, or c) women who dare to be independent. Amanda is just wrong to say that the fascination derives mostly from wanting to punish Hilton for her sexual escapades et al. I'm sorry, I don't believe that for a second. She may have become famous for her leaked sex tape, but she hasn't stayed famous because she's a) attractive (SO NOT), b) sexy (good god, no), or c) got a nice personality (ewwwwwww).
Paris Hilton is famous--and infamous--because she's rich. End of story. She has the money and the under-100-lbs bone structure; she got a TV show; and now we have to look at her all the goddamned time. Okay, so probably she got so famous for her sex tape because she's a female rich person and not a male one and we like to shame women for having sex. Fine. But no one I've heard is celebrating her downfall from the life of the rich and fabulous because she's an uppity bitch. They're celebrating it because she's represents all that's wrong with the distribution of wealth in America--it's assumption of certain privileges and usually the bearing out of those assumptions where the poorer man/woman would be hung out to dry--and she's getting, justly, served instead of getting away with it.
When Hilton was originally sentenced, there was this huge outcry that she's was being picked on because she was famous (as opposed to, say, the accurate assessment that she was just getting what she deserved for flagrantly violating the conditions of her parole). Then she waltzed back out of jail because she was, apparently, too sick to stay there. Last I heard, "too sick to come in today" didn't apply to prison. Suddenly, it was like every tabloid paparazzo realized, "Hey, this girl's got absolutely no sense of responsibility or shame for what she's done." She wanted the judge to tell her what he was going to do to her over the phone, for fuck's sake! It's a sad state of affairs that it took that long for the tide of public opinion to come around to what I knew from the beginning of this brou-ha-ha, but I seriously doubt that anyone was like "HOORAY! THE SEX-WANTING-FEMALE IS LOCKED AWAY!"
Much as I'm gleeful that she's getting righteously served, I do hope she learns from it. I also desperately hope that, deprived of the spotlight for two fucking seconds, she will go away forever. Fuck.
Shorter bus-rant: It ain't about punishing a "girl gone wild." It's about being fed up with the attitude of the rich, borne out by the reactions of the courts for so long, that the rich don't deserve to be punished for what they do, no matter what it is. And yes, I was insanely giddy upon hearing that Paris Hilton was going back to jail. Maybe I'm a bad person for that, but I truly believe in getting what you deserve, and she's had this coming. I don't pity her at all. You know who gets my sympathy? Someone who makes a mistake and does their best to atone for it. Anyone can make a stupid decision. When you make a stupid decision and then follow it up with crass indifference to the harm you've done/might have done, you get no pity from me. I believe in second chances. I don't believe in thirds.
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Date: 2007-06-11 05:54 am (UTC)As for Paris, yeah, she's basically self-gratification personified. While it is, as you say in your adjoining comment, refreshing that she's not in the least cowed by her sexual exploits being out for all to know, there's a difference between confidence and arrogance, and she clearly assumes she possesses the former but not to the degree of having the latter. Which is obviously wrong.