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Girls who want to have fun... and people who love to gossip about it
Just when it seems things can't get any worse for Amy Winehouse, they do.
The singer, whose life has become a cautionary tale for the fame hungry, has a convicted criminal for a husband, a well-documented problem with drink and drugs, and a fragile body which increasingly looks like it's unable to support her big voice.
Last week when it emerged that Winehouse had been diagnosed with the lung condition emphysema and this weekend when she punched a fan at Glastonbury, the vultures once again began to circle and the rest of us couldn't help but look as her private life was once again picked apart.
"At the moment there seems to be a preoccupation in the Press and the public imagination with crisis female celebrities, women who are romantically disappointed, or unhealthy, or drunk," says Professor Diane Negra, who has researched the cult of celebrity and in particular how women are treated in the Press.
"Women who flaunt themselves are mocked and those who behave are lauded. It seems to me that the obsession with people like Amy Winehouse is symptomatic of an underlying distrust of women who are ambitious and women who are in the public sphere.
"Clearly we also still have a set of heavily idealised women, the old 'cinema goddess' type from the days of Hollywood studio cinema. Cate Blanchett and Angelina Jolie get some of this coverage and it's interesting because they contrast very dramatically with the sort of women who are deemed to be over-exposed 'tabloid trash'.
"There seems to be a lot of uncertainty about how women manage the work-life balance and we find in these stories about crisis celebrities, examples of people who seem to be trying and often failing to walk that line.
"One of the interesting aspects of this kind of celebrity is how rollercoasterish it seems to be. Up one day and down the next. Some people clearly derive a pleasure from watching the struggles of the famous and wealthy, but there's an assumption that all readers or viewers respond the same and I don't think they do."
Today, academics from this country and the US are due to gather to discuss our ongoing fascination with the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and, of course, Winehouse, but as they pore over research papers new headlines will already have been written about the most self-destructive celebrities and they're not all female.
Pete Doherty has become more famous for his court appearances than his music, John Leslie has found himself back in the news following allegations of rape some 13 years ago and Paul Gascoigne's troubles seem far from over. While the truth about their problems is often masked by hearsay, the growing obsession with the cult of celebrity apparently comes with dangers of its own.
According to research conducted by Dr John Maltby, a senior lecturer in psychology at Leicester University, a fixation with the rich and famous can lead to psychological problems, particularly among the young. After studying more than 100 children, the findings suggested one in 10 had an unhealthy obsession with celebrity.
Earlier this year, teachers' leaders also warned that children's educational aspirations were at risk of being damaged by the cult of celebrity.
The report made frightening reading. Some 60 per cent of teachers said their pupils most aspired to be David Beckham and some 32 per cent claimed their pupils modelled themselves on heiress Paris Hilton.
"They do not understand the hard work it takes to achieve such status and do not think it is important to be actively engaged in school work as education is not needed for a celebrity status," said one teacher.
"They believe that they are much more likely to achieve financial well-being through celebrity than through progression to higher education and a 'proper' career and I do think the focus on celebrities' negative behaviour encourages under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour
"Those celebs who are excellent sportsmen or excellent actors are often overlooked and not shown as desirable to kids."
The rise of the WAGs and others happy to make a full-time career out of shopping has been a case in point.
"Should we look to these people as role models? I would say an emphatic 'No'," adds Prof Negra. "I would rather see public attention to women who are achieving in their own right, but the high profile of the WAGs has the power to suggest very traditional ideas about how women's lives should play out.
"The age-old question is whether the media or the audience dictates what makes the news. I don't believe the media can prove Svengali-like and lead the public to think thoughts they wouldn't otherwise believe, but I do think the media can set an agenda and help to nominate things for public attention."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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