Ladies, Please Entertain Your Partners

As an avid occasional reader of celebrity gossip I was so sad to hear that Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis have split up. There were so many reasons to root for them, their kids, being from different backgrounds, their unconvential marriage but the fact is that couples split up. The thing that makes me angry are the articles trotting out the line that the blame falls squarely on Vanessa's head. A few articles said that poor Johnny Depp was bored to death by his partner, others say she was too pushy. And thus we have a clear picture of the situation women find themselves in these days. Not only is it the wife/girlfriend's job to be constantly entertaining to their partner but the moment they expect anything they are a bitch. I'll concede that this is not necessarily the idea that most people have but it's certainly the one put out by the media. Scorned women are the punching bags of gossip columnists who constantly accuse them of being desperate, unable to find love and dying to get pregnant (Jennifer Aniston *cough, cough*) while ex-husbands/boyfriends are manly, finally available again and to be pitied for having been shackled so long to such a horrible woman.In the case of Johnny and Vanessa, Johnny Depp is rumoured to have had affairs but according to the celebrity gossip it's okay because their relationship was "on the rocks". In this day and age of supposed feminism, why are we still trotting out lines like these? Personally, I think that the celebrity gossip is silly and it may be okay to laugh at their antics but ultimately it's a petty pastime. Nonetheless, a lot of people do read or watch it and as   long as writers continue to adhere to these outdated ideas they will continue to be a part of out cultural mindset. Writers need to be accountable for what they are saying and double standards like these need to change, especially in the celebrity gossip arena.

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Check out an article about US Weekly's piece: Here