Hollywood Double Standard?

Gather is predominantly female, I seriously didn't know that! Are you sure Matt?

Oh... To touch on the crux of your article..... Many of these Hollywood starlets look as if they are in dire need of a sandwich, with everything on it!

ok you got me, maybe it's just my Connections list that is predominantly female lol

Really why should we even care. We give too much to these Hollywood idiots. They could be easily replaced and we dont need them anyway

I think that too much attention is placed on them as our attention should be rightfully placed elsewhere!

i don't think britney looked out of shape.. people are comparing her to the britney in the past, the britney that didn't have two chlidren. but the outfit she chose was NOT flattering at all, &her hair was a mess.. her extensions looked cheap and gross. it just looked like she didn't care at all about her performance. for something that was so hyped up to be brit's BIG comeback. it sure lacked any kind of talent. i think, because the way brit's been acting lately.. is why people are being so hard on her.. her behavior is just strange to anything were used too. she's had a rough year, but cmon. there might be a double standard.. but i think people were just expecting a lot more than what we got. i do think there is a lot of pressure to be "in shape" but just not in hollywood. girls everywhere feel this pressure. i know i do. but, that was my two cents! haha.

you're right Modern Day Publius, and that in itself is a bigger issue, the fact we hold up celebrities on such a high pedestal.

Meg, I agree with you, and someone sent an email to the show I mentioned saying that people just want to see her fail, which may very well be true. Often celebrities become targets of jealousy and people love to see them fail.

I think Britney looked dang good for just having 2 kids! I mean I still have the flabolanch hanging over my belt so I can't say I thought she looked horrible! I think her dancing was poor & she could have done her hair better. But honestly I didn't really care to watch the VMAs cause like someone said that we pay too much attention to the stars when we should be focusing elsewhere (Gather...) LOL. I can't say that I have ever really been star struck so I could care less :o)

Alrighty Matty. You wanted my commentary. Here it is. First, to answer your three questions at the end.

1. Is there too much pressure on Hollywood females these days to look "in shape" and have a certain image? Oh most definitely. All you see on the covers of gossip magazines is the before & now pictures of celebrities showing them as either too fat or too thin. Apparently people want to see perfection in celebrities. Ha. Nobody is perfect. So now you've got all these Hollywood females going crazy about what they look like and what not. Remember all the talk about Kirstie Alley and her gaining all that weight? It just went on and on and on. Even Tyra Banks was criticized for gaining a few pounds. Good for her for coming out and saying she was happy with the way she looked. That's the kind of influence this flippin society needs. Which leads to question number 2....

Is it hurting the way kids grow up and how they believe they have to look as they grow up? Yes. Most definitely yes. So many adolescents have insecurity issues and the media doesn't make it any better. I mean these girls (and maybe some guys) look up to these celebrities and when they see the things they do, then the girls do it too. They have that need to look like that celebrity because they idealize their look. (This part would've sounded better if SOMEONE didn't keep IM'ing back! lol)

And most importantly does Britney Spears deserve to be kicked while down? No, probably not, but people do it anyways. It's like what Meg said, people want to see these high class celebs fail. Maybe not necessarily for jealously all the time, but because they want to see a normal person. When you think celebrity, do you think normal person? No, but they are and maybe people want to see their failures too for that reason, to see that they are real. Anyways, back to Britney, I'll admit I'm not a big fan of her and I have a right to my opinion of her performance, as does everyone else. Right after the performance, I said aloud that she had done better performances and that she lip-synched. Okay. I don't like lip-synching. I'm sure many artists have done it, but it's so fake. We know she can sing, so why the heck are you faking it? Is that the way you want to come back? Her effort into the show was just lousy. Word on the street though is that she wanted all these effects and tricks with her performance, but for whatever reason they couldn't be done and she was pissed by that fact. I heard she also didn't want to do the show to begin with. Well if that's the case, then why the heck did you do it? If you weren't ready, then don't force yourself into something. I think she still needs some things to straighten out in her life before coming out with a new album and all. Ok, now I'm just rambling on. So back to the slamming question. Well I don't know what else to say about it now. hahaha. I'm just gonna point back to my point where people want to see something real and seeing those mistakes makes her more real to society. Yeah I'm one of the many that ragged on her, but I'm not perfect either. It's just one of the prices you pay when you're a celebrity. You know what you need to do if you don't want to be constantly criticized? 1. Don't read those bs magazines and what not. 2. Keep your personal life PERSONAL. Many other celebs do a pretty good job of it.

Okay. To the Justin Timberlake comment and all that. Guys don't wear skanky outfits. Not that Britney's was that skanky, but it didn't hide much either. So you can't see any gained weight. If you look at those gossip magazines like Us or Star, and others that I can't think of at the moment, you'll see female AND male celebrities' pictures of weight gain or loss. So it's not necessarily just females. Next time you're in the grocery store, waiting in line, pick up one of those, because one is bound to have something on celebrities and their weight, and you'll see my point.

Okay, and that's the conclusion of my "essay" for now. hahaha.

Oh & the only reason why I saw the performance was because someone posted it on here... :o) And also someone that says that their kids were mistakes is not right in my book! That pic above doesn't look like her...did she have a load of plastic surgery? That there would answer one of the questions if celebs think they need to change their look to fit in.... :o(

And Erica I KNEW you would come back about Justin LOL And I think a lot of weight gain can be seen in the face.... 'hmmm

I do think women in Hollywood have it a lot harder than men.

Wow thanks everyone...Erica, extra thanks for that answer, it just might have pushed my point total up bigtime lol jk

Yes they are totally

there is a double standard everywhere! but britney is a bad example to bring up because she has let herself go in so many ways, not just her body.

The girls in my office and I watched the video yesterday. Honestly, the fact that she has gained a bit of weight was the least of her problems. She was out of step with some of the other dancers, stopped lip-synching a couple of times, and generally looked like she was either drunk, hungover, or on drugs.

The fact that she has gained weight has earned her a lot of criticism, which is sad and annoying. So many girls have problems with their body image, and being told that Britney is "fat," because she has a bit of a tummy, is not going to help anyone with their body image. Honestly, most people who see me are convinced I don't eat, and I assure you, I've got a similar belly to the one Britney was sporting at the VMAs.

Matt:

Come on, you know there are not just double -- but mult-standards about beauty in our society, so I won't even go there. It's a sore subject with me anyway. The thing I am amazed about is just how much MDP and I agree.

Right on, MDP!

However, MDP; there are a few exceptions to that rule. Denzel is one. Tim Robbins is another. I know Denzel is not 6'5", but Tim is. Any male actor 6'5" or taller should be excluded from your ruling MDP.

Put your guns down! Put your guns down! Of course the statement is tongue-in-cheek. I'm trying to drive home the notions we have about beauty and the absurd standards. So why shouldn't all Hollywood actors also need to be muscular and at least 6'5" too AND. . . with a full head of NATURAL hair? Gentlemen?

So much discussion of Britney! So little discussion of her excellent backup dancers!

Poor thing. If she had just tried dancing a bit, she might've been okay.