Why Does Hollywood Love "Bad Girls"?

Posted by Guest Blogger at 12:00 PM on July 30, 2007.

This post, written by Vanessa Valenti, originally appeared on Feministing

The Observer had a piece yesterday on the media's obsession with the "Bad Girls of Hollywood," and questions why everyone seems to get off on watching these irritating rich, white women get in trouble.

While an obvious answer to this is that it's entertaining to see these overly privileged bad gals like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan who think they can get away with anything not only be treated as criminals just as any one of us would, but also have overwhelming flaws and personal problems. (In other words, rich life ain't all that grand.)

But is there more to it? And what is so appealing about famous women's demise rather than the lads? 'We have had years of young male stars running amok. It is now so much more fun for the public to see beautiful young women being hauled off to jail,' said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, New York state.

Is this saying something bigger about our culture? Why is it so much fun to watch "beautiful women" be imprisoned--or drug-addicted or clearly sick with eating disorders?

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Tagged as: gender, media, hollywood, hilton, lohan

Vanessa Valenti is an Editor for Feministing. She is also a co-founder of The Real Hot 100 and works at NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health.