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Shirley Manson's letter about Beyonce There is something about the way the media and Beyonce are publicly duking things out currently that bothers me so much I can’t stop thinking about it. I speak to the recent spate of media outlets who have gone to great pains to print “unflattering” photographs of Beyonce performing on stage. As though it was a mortal sin that a woman should be caught “in public’ looking anything less than perfect. I can’t even begin to describe how utterly reductive, offensive and dangerous this kind of thinking is. But what has bothered me even more than the media’s relish in printing unflattering photographs of one of our era’s most accomplished entertainers and one of the great beauties of our age was Beyonce’s reaction to the attempt to diminish her. What did she do? She banned photographers from the pit. The ultimate checkmate in her mind no doubt. However in doing so it feels to me like some kind of an apology. As though she’s ashamed of photos that portray her as anything less than perfect. As though in not being perfect at all times she is failing us and herself. At seeing the aforementioned “unflattering” press… why she didn’t flick her famous mane and say “Blow Me” is anybody’s guess. Who knows what her motivations were but I am somewhat baffled to even begin to understand why this unstoppable force, this incredible performer, this fully empowered businesswoman and successful star has allowed herself to be flapped by what the media has deemed “unflattering” images. It is almost as though she is allowing herself to be tempered and controlled by petty bullying. Because make no bones about it—that is what this whole carry on is about. A cheap attempt to “shame” her. When I have complained about stuff like this on Facebook before I have met with a variety of accusations that I am somehow “victimizing” women by even bringing up the notion that women are subjected to different expectations and more exacting standards than their male counterparts. But until women are accepted as they are and not as others believe they should be, I will continue to rail and rail against what I see as deliberate attempts to subjugate our sex. What is so insidious about Western culture of course is that the sexism that endures is rather subtle for the most part. Western women enjoy more freedoms now than ever before and we have it so good compared to some other women in the world. And for that reason and so many others I am utterly grateful and relieved to be living in a relatively emancipated country. We are not being forced to cover our faces and our bodies entirely at all times, we are not being sold at the age of 9 years old into a life of sexual slavery, we are not forced to the ground and mutilated at the whim of an elder without anesthesia in completely unsanitary conditions. However we are still expected to drop our family name when we get married and take that of our male mate, we are still frowned upon if we leave our child at home to return to work after childbirth and yet we are sniggered at if we remain at home and don’t return to a “worthwhile” career which we are generally paid less for as our male counterparts… I could go on and on. The list is endless. My point? Oh yes my point! My point is we still have a ways to go, gals and guys. And if you’re all right jack, well good for you, happy for you and all. But, please, take a moment to think about all the other millions of women around the globe who aren’t. I stumbled upon this amazing passage by my girl crush and current obsession Cheryl Strayed and identified with it so strongly I’m passing it along to some of you who I know will find your own truth in it. I pass it on to you here because there was a time when women were keen to call themselves a feminist. There was even a time when forward-thinking men would be clamoring to name themselves one. It feels to me now that an amazing heist has occurred under our very noses and we were oblivious to it. The word feminism was been deliberately obfuscated so that it has lost all of it’s thrust,it’s positive meaning and it’s power. This is what Cheryl Strayed had to say that rang my bell so loudly. “It’s true that in all the most important things I am—feminism is at the center. It’s a description so clear and permanent it seems to me it’s inked on my ass whether it’s literally there or not. I’ve been a feminist since before I knew what a feminist was. It’s an indelible part of my identity and it informs everything I do. It takes guts to be a feminist. It takes nerve to remind people that our world is colored by gender and gender bias, by inequality and ugliness and violence. It is a difficult business, emphasizing that these things matter, that they are not special interests or fleeting causes, that we are informed and affected by them whether we realize it or not, that we carry them with us not because we choose to but because we have to. It takes guts, too, to care. To admit that you want the world to change, deeply and radically into one that values women and values feminism.” (Ooh my girl crush is so articulate and clever.) Thanks for taking the time to read this and hear me. I appreciate it more than you will ever know. With love love love, as always Shirley Ann Manson (Artist and Feminist) I think Beyonce is more at fault for drinking the Kool-Aid than the website that published the original pics which started this whole fight, but Shirley still makes some great points about how women are perceived in general by society. Bravo. | |
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No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt
I find Ms. Manson's "letter" to be self-indulgent and much ado about nothing.
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Another person trying to have a powerful message with the word [img:$uid]http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbdqj12IXA1r8ndcxo1_400.gif[/img:$uid] since Madonna, but the power belongs to her. Sips tea and done.
I haven't read the letter fully yet, but I just have to say I think it's silly of Beyonce to ban photographers from her own tour. Big deal she has one or two 'bad pictures' which were a split second in mid performance. I know it must feel bad to have a picture of you floating around which isn't flattering, but Beyonce is a global superstar, it's not like shes you or I on facebook, having bad pictures of us uploaded by friends. She is a model, business woman and sells beauty products and fashion to masses of women. If she learned to laugh at herself that would probably buy her more fans than if she were to ban every damn picture where she was stuck in a hilarious pose. Which her team has been trying to do. The reason those pictures became viral was because Beyonce's team wanted them banned. If Beyonce is so worried about not being picture perfect in every single snapshot of her ever despite being globally known as a sexy lady to the point where she makes hits off of songs about how hot she is... she should get her team to ban some of those late 90s early 2000's Destiny's Child shots in those matching fashion creations. [Edited 5/7/13 16:12pm] | |
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Well, Bouncy displays the typical Virgo tendency to be a nit-picky perfectionist I guess... Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise. | |
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I dig Shirley's grace in critiquing Beyonce's complicity without resorting to the standard diss fest. Gotta love classiness. Ὅσον ζῇς φαίνου
μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶ τὸ ζῆν τὸ τέλος ὁ χρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ.” | |
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I agree with Shirley's point that Beyonce shouldn't care if there are less-than-flattering pics of her that appear sometimes as she is HUMAN. No one can look good all the time. Beyonce's banning of the photographers who weren't employed by her is ridiculous. The letter is a bit much but Shirley was coming from a good place with it. | |
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TD3 said: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt
This is my favourite quote ever since I was a little kid. | |
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She hasn't been allowing photographers to stay for more than a couple of songs since she started touring solo. This is not a new thing. | |
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I think this has more to do with how we treat people with fame in general rather than "feminism".
To be honest, Beyonce had her unflattering pics published for a cheap laugh the same reason she was on the Superbowl stage: she is an icon who everyone will recognize. | |
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Why can't people just leave people alone? I don't understand this "need," this "hunger" to destroy others. Instead of building each other up, seems like "sport' to break each other down. It's rampant today in American culture sadly. I mean, u got people talkin' about what you wear, how much you weigh, what kind of car you drive, where you shop, who you hang out with, where you eat, how you wear your hair, etc...It's obnoxious and furthermore, it does nothing to promote anything but unnecessary judgement. What does it serve? Beyonce clearly has encouraging parents, a strong work ethic and doesn't stop until she gets it right. Why fault her for that? She's doin' just fine for herself and I salute her talent, drive and will to succeed. More women should demonstrate such honorable attributes. Myself, I don't know her personally, but I'm proud of her. Hungry? Just look in the mirror and get fed up. | |
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That's why I didn't get Shirley's letter. | |
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Most people want to tear her down not because she is lacking any talent but because of her ego and faux humility she puts on. And because she likes to take credit for everything whether it's making a one word change to a song to get songwriting credit or copying others dance moves, routines, etc. People aren't "haters" just because some people can't comprehend that there are legitimate reasons people don't like her. | |
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I'm a Prince fan, and we all know how he is about pics. So meh, this is not a big deal to me. | |
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