Pop Star Fail

Whilst looking up info regarding Kelly Clarkson’s pregnancy I came across an interview she did with Time. While I'm still happy for her that her personal life is perfect, she just plummeted in my estimation.

When it comes to music she’s a bit more ballsy but apparently the only definition for feminism is “Get out of my way, I don’t need anyone” and she loves being taken care of by a man “who’s an actual leader.” The bottom line is “I don’t believe what the word feminism stands for”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is more than one version of feminism! I am so unbelievably sick of celebrities publicly getting it wrong and constantly bashing a word they can’t be bothered to try and understand.

Most pop/country stars are taught a very narrow and erroneous view of feminism. Rather than look into it for themselves, they continue to perpetuate a negative stereotype. 

If a New York celebrity went out and started bashing southerners because people from the South are unsophisticated, uneducated hicks who love Wal-Mart and processed food, the media would rip them a new one. If a non-religous starlet said she’s not into Jesus because Christians are holier-than-thou jerks more interested in what they believe than how they behave, the media would have a field day. When Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry do it with feminism, it’s fine.

Making blanket statements about people you can't be bothered to understand is ignorant and shameful as a role model. All feminists are not man haters, we don’t believe we in the ‘I don’t need anyone’ mentality, and we don’t hate marriage or family.  You want to know why 'feminism' is such a dirty word? Public figures constantly making ignorant and erroneous statements like Clarkson did at Time.

I believe I am just as capable as any man and deserve the same rights and opportunities. That's the core of feminism. If any starlet anywhere has a problem with that, you can give up your career and go home.

Let’s not forget how Clarkson subtly bashes men who date feminists as well. Just because a man loves a feminist does not mean he’s incapable of leading. Michelle Obama is a strong woman and a feminist and regardless of what you think of Obama’s politics, he is leading this country. 

Men who date feminists want partners. Period. One of my favorite things about The Boy is that he doesn’t want to be the center of my universe. If I lost myself in our relationship, I would stop being the girl he fell for in the first place.

In the unlikely event any of the pop darlings I tweet this at read it, here’s what life would look like without feminism:

-No athletic programs or scholarships for girls

-No female professional sports leagues

-Women would openly be paid less than a man for doing the same job

-Women would be relegated back to the typing pool and denied opportunities afforded to men

-Women would be openly denied leadership roles at work, school, and (probably) home

-Women would be forced to keep a pregnancy resulting from rape or risk a back alley abortion

-Women wouldn’t be allowed to wear pants to school, work, or church

-Women wouldn’t be allowed to vote

-The same celebrities who bash feminism (Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson) would have little to no creative control over their careers. No agent or manager would take their opinions seriously. "Just shut up and sing sweetheart."

My mother was denied a car loan despite having a stable career, good credit, and steady pay check. It wasn’t until my mother threatened to sue the bank for denying her a loan they readily gave to any man that they gave her the loan. 

Bashing feminism as a national role model who benefits from it every damn day is deeply offensive. To think it plays no role in a professional woman’s day to day life is impressively ignorant. I know Clarkson and Perry come from different worlds but they’ve been out in the big old world long enough to know better.

Before you decide you’re against something and start saying negative things about feminists and the men who love them, maybe you should know what you’re talking about. Ignorance should not be acceptable.