Lost Girls

I've tried so hard to ignore it. I didn't want to give in and take up space in my blog with a post about it. But I had to do it. The time has come to comment on the out-of-control nature of young female celebrities.

Allow me to first say that I have never been a big fan of pop culture. I don't personally care one bit about celebrities. I don't buy the miriad of magazines focused on catching celebrities in compromising positions. I don't agree with the tactics of the paparazzi who stalk certain mega-stars and basically make their lives miserable. I've also never been a celebrity (in case you were wondering), so I'm sure it's harder to live in the public eye than I can imagine...but still, sometimes these celebrities we claim to "love" need someone to tell them "Get a grip!".

Case in point: Britney Spears. She began her career as a wholesome Mouseketeer on the Disney channel. Then her career took off and she became famous for her school-girl vixen looks in her now-famous music videos. Men of all ages found her attractive and young girls thought she was pretty. Then her videos (and concerts) became more risque and overtly sexual in nature, using skimpy clothing and prop like live snakes. Next came the kiss with Madonna (hardly a wholesome role model for a young woman). All of these things show a pattern of escalation that couldn't possibly end well, and as feared, it doesn't look good.

Britney went on to get married and then have that marriage annulled in a record number of hours. Most people attributed this "mistake" to being young and in love and, quite possibly, drunk, but no one really thought too much about it. Then Ms. Spears married Kevin Federline, a young male who had already sired several children by another woman, with one more on the way. We all knew this would not end well. Britney got pregnant, had her baby and then made some mistakes that, unfortunately were caught on camera. (For this, I can feel some sympathy, since new moms make a lot of mistakes.) She got pregnant again very quickly, which probably wasn't her plan, and that's when (I think) things got out of control. Britney had her second baby and lost control. She was frequently spotted in nightclubs, very drunk, with her "friends" Lindsey Lohan (now herself in rehab) and Paris Hilton (caught on tape having sex, among other things). She was photographed not once, but twice, exiting her limo in a very un-lady-like manner, wearing no underwear. And now, Britney has shaved her head a la Sinead O'Connor. It's not pretty and a part of me thinks she has gone off the deep end.

Which begs the following questions: Where are her parents? Where are her true friends? Where are her children? Why do we continue to accept (and eagerly eat up) this kind of behavior? And last, but certainly not least, when will girls like Britney, Lindsey and Paris realize that unless they change their dangerous ways now, they will end up just like Anna Nicole Smith?