She Who Shall Not Be Named
Where Do Disney Princesses Go When They Grow-Up
I refrain from using celebrity names in the headlines of my posts. I don’t tweet them. I don’t pin them. They are not in my feed. Not saying I don’t love popular culture or are aware of who’s making the news. I just don’t want to add to the mind-numbing buzz that keeps superfluous information on the front-lines of the attention wars.
Bad behavior doesn’t need promotional help from me. Sure, I like talking entertainment. I am interested in Hollywood business and I don’t mind poking a bit of fun at well known figures. To me media matters but when it gets nonsensical, mean and downright pointless, I bow out from repeating the conversation. I simply believe we have much greater things to talk about than celebrity rap sheets. I am under no illusions however as to being a voice in the wilderness. It’s a rare blogger that can pass up the SEO honey of using celebrity misfortune click bait.
Putting reservations aside I finally write this blog post about she who shall not be named but who has North America’s media wagging tongues along side hers. It was actually poli sci Professor, tv political and cultural commentator Caroline Heldman ‘s words that forced me to break my silence. In a short clip pulled from Lip TV’s extended interview, Heldman talked about the toils of objectification and social costs of hyper-sexualized images.
They have a proven negative impact on our psyche, and the psyches of our daughters and sons. Heldman states they create a distorted view of womenhood that undermined our social strives at equality. Heldman wasn’t, however, critical of childstar’s turned to sexpots themselves. She argues for little Disney Princesses there’s really no where else to go. These preened little girls now women had arguably no choice in order to stay relevant in the world they grew up in. Raised as an object they will stay as one, unlikely to know any other modus operandi. Heldman goes on to point out while each of these young women may claim they feel empowerment through their semi-conscious media manipulation, in reality they aren’t really directors of their own success. They’re playing the game but in truth only one role is really open to them if they aim to keep on the board. Heldman asserts ultimately we do not control our image and have little say in how it is perceived by others. Women, she says, to really achieve empowerment need to stop playing the game and change the rules of it.
