Freaked Out Over Standards?

We’ve all heard about it. The infamous Russell Brand comment criticizing the Jonas Brothers and their purity rings.



(However, if you, like me––a college student deficient in spare time and available cable channels–– were unable to watch the VMAs live this year, well you’re in luck: MTV.com. has dedicated an entire page to get you up-to-date on the controversy.)

Nick, the youngest of the group, told People Magazine in June that the purity ring is “a personal choice.” And wondered, as if prophesying the Brand incident two months in advance, “Why is the world so freaked out that we have standards?”

Indeed, it has been a well-publicized fact that the boys have committed to stay pure before marriage, since they are hounded by questions on the topic in almost every interview.

The article in the August issue of Rolling Stone (of which the Jonas Brothers were on the cover) was no exception. In it, Jason Gay summarized the brothers’ views very well:

“If there is one subject the Jonas Brothers are tired of talking about, it’s their purity rings […]

“We’ve talked about it enough,” Nick says abruptly. "We’d rather focus on the music and the movie.”[…]

“Well,” Nick says quietly, “to us, the rings are a constant reminder to live a life of values. It’s about being a gentleman, treating people with respect and being the best guys we can be.”

Was it something you guys all decided to wear collaboratively?

“We all did it at one point in our life,” Kevin says, “On our own personal time.”

Russell Brand was not the first dubious critic of the boys and their decision. Back in March, Michael Buckley of the “What The Buck” YouTube show, poked fun at their virginity, claiming that the only way teenage boys and abstinence could be reconciled was if they were gay.

Conversely, many have also embraced the brothers’ counterculture attitude. In the same Rolling Stones article, Jason Gay claimed that at every concert he attended, fans were showing off their rings. In fact, a “spokeswoman for James Avery Craftsman, a large Christian-based jeweler, [told him] that sales of the company’s ‘True Love Waits’ purity ring are up 25 percent this year. ‘We can’t say for sure why, but it’s up,’ she says.”

But something tells me that these millions of supportive teenage girls may be likely to start practicing regular flossing if the boys chose to promote it. Elsewhere, however, other artists have followed the brothers’ lead. Among these, of course, is Ms. American Idol Jordin Sparks, who albeit in a more forthright manner than the boys, voiced out her view of promise rings later on that night at the VMAs, claiming that “[i]t's not bad to wear a promise ring, 'cause not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut.”



Some may claim that Jordin may be biased, admitting on Hannity & Colmes on Wednesday evening that she herself wears a promise ring. But the real surprise came when self-proclaimed “gossip gangster,” Perez Hilton, defended the boys, expressing his view that “those Jonas brothers are good kids, and we shouldn’t be making fun of them for promoting good values.”



Deep down, I don’t believe that individuals are actually contemptuous towards those who have chosen to abstain from sex until marriage. It’s just that no one can deny that such a goal in the context of our sex-obsessed culture seems quite impossible. Tila Tequila once shared with Fuse the pressure she had to deal with as a teenager:

“I didn’t have my first kiss until I was 15, which was very embarrassing for me, because I had to lie to all my friends…I knew everybody at school and I had guys…that had crushes on me, but I had never made out with anybody, and my friends... were already having sex and stuff, so I was like “Of course I have!” And I was like "Oh my God! I gotta start practicing!”

As undoubtedly inappropriate as Brand’s comment was, I can honestly say that I am thankful that the incident happened. Furthermore, I am ecstatic that it happened on a platform as far-reaching as the VMAs. There could not have been a better place or time, in which such a pervasive issue was allowed to surface before the very audience struggling with it the most. As reflected by most movies, television, and music leading up to the present time, having sex before a lifetime commitment was considered not simply a cultural norm, but more like an unavoidable and inevitable reality. At least now, thanks to the Jonas Brothers and likeminded young stars, there is at least some possibility of an alternative.

P.S.
See Brand’s forced apology here. ;)

Celebrities.

Especially as an American, it is impossible to get through an entire day without hearing something from or about them. Movies, music, and television shows are saturated with them. Most news shows include a segment about them, and there is even an entire television network dedicated to the subject. Celebrity news flood the magazine racks, so even standing in line at the grocery store becomes yet another platform for the propagation of their life stories.

But what exactly is a celebrity? What are the criteria that set one apart from “normal” people? A basic definition is someone who all the girls want to be, and all the guys want to be with (or vice versa). It is someone whom the public can’t get enough of. It is someone, for instance, like Marilyn Monroe.

Her official website describes her life and legend the most succinctly: “A global sensation in her lifetime, Marilyn's popularity has extended beyond star status to icon. Today, the name ‘Marilyn Monroe’ is synonymous with beauty, sensuality and effervescence. She remains an inspiration to all who strive to overcome personal obstacles for the goal of achieving greatness.” But what does Ms. Monroe say about herself and the life she lived?

Marilyn Monroe Quotes:

"I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful."

"No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't."

"An actress is not a machine, but they treat you like a machine. A money machine."

"Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered."

"I don't want to play sex roles any more. I'm tired of being known as the girl with the shape."

"[Hollywood is] a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your
soul."

"I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one."

"Everybody is always tugging at you. They'd all like a sort of chunk out of you. I don't think they realize it, but it's like 'grrr do this, grr do that...' But you do want to stay intact--intact and on two feet."

"It stirs up envy, fame does. People...feel fame gives them some kind of privilege to walk up to you and say anything to you--and it won't hurt your feelings--like it's happening to your clothing."

"She [Sadie Thompson] was a girl who knew how to be gay even when she was sad. And that's important--you know?"

"With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you,
but what's important is how you feel about yourself--for survival and living day
to day with what comes up."

"Fame is fickle and I know it. It has its compensations, but it also has its drawbacks and I've experienced them both."

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else."

"It's all make believe, isn't it?"

Decades after she left the world, singer Elton John wrote the song “Candle in the Wind” about her…

Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your
name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something as more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe

When I first learned of Marilyn’s true story, it finally clicked: most celebrities are misunderstood. The media portray such distorted pictures of them, and it is sad to say that most viewers don’t mind. Most of the time we tend to do one of two things: (1) put them on a pedestal, deeming them unapproachable and “above” us, or (2) observe their lives from a microscope, criticizing their every move.

This blog will follow the lives of celebrities, as they share it: through blogs, websites, songs, and interviews. Through this, hopefully you too will discover that they are not immune to pain, loneliness, or the universal need to be loved. Celebrities, after all, are still just people.