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Willa, it's amazing that Kate Gosselin—and Kate Gosselin's hair—have graced the cover of US Weekly for the past six weeks.
And it's clear that hunger for TomKat news has waned. But I've become
increasingly skeptical of economy-driven explanations for shifts in
mass culture, and I'm not as sure as you seem to be that this
preference for reality-based tabloid fodder is attributable to our... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)
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For the sixth consecutive week, Kate Gosselin’s on the cover of Us Weekly. “Mommy You Are Mean” screams the headline, while her husband Jon declares, “Enough is Enough” on the cover of People. In Touch and Star are selling the Gosselins as well. Only the Enquirer has chosen an old standard for its cover, Brangelina, and even the most famous couple in the world had to share the front page, with, you guessed it, Jon Gosselin.
Up until a few months ago, chances were good-to-great that if you picked up a tabloid one of the following subjects would appear on the cover: Brangelina, Jennifer Aniston, TomKat or Britney Spears. But recently, the attractive, famous folk who have dominated gossip for years and years (even when, as with Aniston, the relevant story happened eons ago), have suddenly, ignominiously been shoved to the side by a rag-tag crew whose members include the Gosselins, Octomom, Susan Boyle and, to a certain extent, Michelle Obama... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)
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Marjorie, I've been watching and rewatching the clip of a past-her-due date M.I.A. performing at the Grammys, and like Jessica am unable to muster up the same kind of ethical and fashion objections you express. Like Nina, I couldn’t get enough of M.I.A.’s stage strut or the male performers’ reactions to it. (Whether Kanye West’s frightened expression was made out of squeamishness or spotlight envy, one of the biggest egos in hip-hop was decisively outdone that night.)
And beyond the normal satisfaction I feel whenever female rappers, regardless of their crazy getups, are given the chance to showcase themselves, I actually saw M.I.A.’s performance as a feminist triumph. The ability of famous fetuses from Nadya Shuleman's brood to the latest Brangelina offspring to dominate headlines lends credence to the idea that a new mother’s career must re-center around her image as a mom to be a success. It was refreshing to see an expectant celebrity who didn’t fall victim to the tabloid characterization of pregnant women as either reformed sluts or pious earth mothers.
There’s also been plenty of judgment passed recently on mothers who work versus mothers who choose not to work, sacrificing themselves and their hard-won equal opportunities. Considering this, I guess it was inevitable for M.I.A. to take some heat for her choice of outfit and decision to perform but I was happy to see her making the choice to stay in her game.
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