While society has come a long way in the past thirty years in overcoming the gender barriers and stereotypes of women, press relating to the media scrum at Sydney airport for the imminent arrival of a string of international female celebrities for the last MTV music awards, has got me thinking; the battle is not only far from over, but has perhaps become a whole new terrain.
Celebrities are now so celebrated for their refusal to conform and to grow up, forget Pepsi being ‘the choice of a generation’; it’s evolved into that of the illicit, with ‘rehab’ emerging as the millennium’s new buzz word.
Countless media articles criticising the lackadaisical to the downright rude behaviour exhibited by US celebrity Nicole Richie, towards fans and paparazzi alike during her short stint in Australia is neither new nor groundbreaking news. What grabbed my attention though, was a comment posted on an Internet site in response to a quote from a teenage fan of Richie. The seventeen year old girl lamented to the SMH that after not getting any sleep for two days, she was devastated at being ignored by the star who also refused to sign autographs, declaring it ‘pretty heartbreaking’.
The response from bloggers: pathetic, sad, ridiculous, and desperate. I tend to agree. One in particular, remarked that this girl’s life must be so dull that there ‘mustn’t be much happening Down Under’.
Or up top, for that matter.
To add fuel to the fire, similar scenes were witnessed last year, when Richie’s on again off again best friend and arch nemesis Paris Hilton visited Sydney to judge a Bondi beer competition. Scores of fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the infamous Hilton trailed her entourage all over town for the entire duration of the trip.
Why are these impressionable young girls in such a state over glorifying these emaciated Mattel-type figurines? Admittedly, they’re attractive, wealthy and have a certain charisma to them, but what exactly is their claim to fame other than possessing the ‘right’ family name. It’s understandable for fans to camp out to snag concert or sporting tickets, or to even pursue actors when they’re in town.
The difference is the latter have genuine talent and jobs, albeit to varying degrees, and thus, are worthy being role model material to some extent. Certain high profile personalities in the entertainment and sporting arena are exemplary examples, validating the true distinction between the ‘tried and true’ as compared to the impending ‘train wreck tragedies’.
When Hilton’s fans were questioned regarding their obsession with the heiress, their remarks all rang out simply that they wanted her life. They wanted to be ‘just like her’, conducting themselves physically and mentally in as similar a manner as possible. Can anybody say Mini Me?
The ongoing debate around Paris Hilton’s worthiness (or lack thereof) in society, has become an age old topic of discussion and is an entire separate argument of its own, but after countless scandals and controversy, the timely announcement of her parole violation following an alcohol related, reckless driving conviction and subsequent 45 day jail term (later reduced to 23 days) should serve as timely reminder that if this woman is considered an iconic role model by Generation Y, the world is in a pretty bad state.
The eighties ‘Brat Pack’ has now morphed into a female ‘Brit Pack’ - enter Stage Left Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan to the mix. To their credit, these two have grown up in the limelight and are actual entertainers in their own rights, although Lohan’s freshest brush with the law after her car crash and subsequent arrest for DUI and the possession of narcotics found in her car by police, seems to be her strange way of mocking her highly publicised and obviously futile attempt at rehab. Britney’s own numerous rehab stints, mental breakdowns and public lashouts have also provided fine fodder for media outlets.
I can’t help but think, this gradual infiltration of new breed role model is tantamount to trouble. Their uninhibited party animal antics and sexual exhibitionism, surely does not warrant a gold medal or seal of approval, and despite their substance abuse and addictions, eating disorders, emotional breakdowns and relationship break ups, the media continues its unwavering cyclical and yet contradicting pursuit: Build them up; tear them down.
The media must then take some responsibility for the current situation. Its contradictory and unabashed devotion to inundating newspapers, magazines and broadcast mediums with a miniscule number of the same celebrities is becoming quickly frustrating and to be quite frank, downright boring.
So why is it then, that when I open a copy of any magazine, (and I’m not merely referring to that of the gossip variety – I’m talking fashion, beauty, health etc), I am hard pressed to flick through a few pages without seeing one of the four aforementioned ‘role models’ smiling or pouting back at me. And if it’s not these women, it’s their bevy of beautiful and equally scandalous sidekicks honing in on my precious magazine space.
We’ve become almost so anaesthetised to such conduct, that it’s become acceptable for society to not only tolerate having this saturate our newspapers, magazines and televisions, but to watch on helplessly as today’s youth epitomise and consequently imitate this. Young women look to these stars as their muses and guides, as the potential for future achievement, when they should rather be looking to themselves, peers, parents, mentors and the people around them for inspiration.
In a study conducted by Penelope Lockwood at the University of Toronto, Lockwood asked 44 female and 38 male students to read a fictional newspaper account of an outstanding professional who had excelled in the same field that they aspired to work in. Some of the students read an account of a female professional while others read about a man.
Afterwards female students who’d read an account of a female professional rated themselves more positively than the female students who read about a man, and more positively than control students who hadn’t read any account. By contrast, male students who read about a male role model did not rate themselves any more positively than male students who read about a female role model, or than control students who hadn’t read any account.
In Lockwood's second study, students were asked to name a real person who was a role model for them in their career ambitions. 63% per cent of female students chose a woman, 75.6% of male students chose a man. But crucially, whereas the male students said gender was not a factor in their choice, 27% of female students who named a female role model said that they were inspired by the gender-related obstacles overcome by their choice.
It’s a fact, women inspire women, and their successes need to and should be celebrated in order to boost the self-esteem of the up and coming younger generation. Women can ultimately inspire and encourage others to pursue greatness, but allow this power to fall into the wrong hands and what will consequently be perceived is a massive step back in female equality and evolution.
Oprah Winfrey is a prime example of a self-made woman. Her life symbolises what can be achieved from what some may consider the most disadvantaged of starts; someone who has overcome trials and tribulations fraught with race and gender bias, to catapult herself from a journalist to not only one of the most recognisable faces in the world, but one of the richest and most powerful females alive today. Winfrey was added to the Forbes Billionaire list in February 2003.
Take a look at NxE's list of the 50 Most Influential Female Bloggers. You may not have heard of many of these talented and inspiring women, or recognise their faces, yet these are entrepreneurial women who are helping reshape the world around us and our roles and responsibilities in society through their work and their passions.
In my eyes, an icon and role model is a person who shows others how to turn trials into triumphs.
It describes someone who displays wisdom, dignity, grace, courage and intrinsic determination in the face of adversity; who elicits independent thought and enables others to strive for greater achievement and to become better individuals; who displays non-compromising strength, free will, self respect, and humility in accomplishments; who serves as a catalyst for positive self evolution; character integrity and the thirst for knowledge and success.
This is what we should exemplify as being true iconic behaviour.
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