Now, I don't know a great deal about Pip other than that her bottom received more attention than her sister's wedding and that she's a reasonably (but not remarkably) attractive socialite who, as a result of her sister's expensive taste in men became famous. Is there much else to know? For the purpose of not looking like a total idiot, I did two minutes of Wiki research on Pippa's career to find that she works two days a week at the family business editing an online magazine about partying, and that she is writing a book about party planning. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now, it's nothing to do with me what Pippa wants to do with her life. Personally, no matter how much fame or money I had, I'd have to write or do some sort of charity work or I wouldn't be fulfilled and happy in myself but if Pippa gets fulfillment from spending her time in this way then I have no problem with it. However, I've recently stumbled upon an online debate that stemmed from an article Terence Blacker wrote on The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/terence-blacker/terence-blacker-a-worse-role-model-than-any-page-3-girl-7661560.html) critiquing Time magazine for listing Pippa as one of the 100 most influential people in the world over every single politician in the UK.
Terance's point was very much akin to mine: there is nothing wrong with Pippa's life, per se, but she definitely does not deserve a place on that list. She came to fame though none of her own doing, and has not used that fame to influence anyone to do anything other than party, and you can forget philanthropy, the only charity Pippa seems to give is not getting offended at the millions of people making a big fuss about her bottom. Maybe that tight dress was her idea of giving something 'back' to society, excusing the pun?
However, the comments on the article, which have now unfortunately been disabled, were attacking Terence for picking on an innocent girl who has received this attention though no fault of her own, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is entirely missing the point. Terence stressed multiple times that it was society he had a gripe with, not Pippa, and I must say that the comments only seemed to prove his point further. Rather than step back and think "Yes, it is a shame that British politicians and philanthropists lost out to a woman who's only talent is planning royal piss-ups and stealing her sister's glory on her wedding day", they stuck up for her, which in my opinion, only shows that we are far too obsessed with celebrity culture to the point where it is becoming unhealthy. Obviously, celebrity gossip rags are very successful, and I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with buying Heat! magazine or watching the Kardashian sisters have hair extensions glued in or whatever it is those women do, but when those things take priority over real issues in society it becomes worrying.
Other celebs on the list that are more famous for their sex lives than politics included Rihanna and Adele. Now really, I must take issue with this. If, Time magazine, you want to include pop stars or Hollywood celebrities on your list of influential people than how about Angelina Jolie? The woman is involved in all manner of charity, and, with her superstar status, has successfully raised awareness of the issues that she is passionate about, while still managing to maintain a glossy career as an actress. She instills values such as charity, a hard-work ethic and the importance of family, while celebrities such as Rihanna advocate sleeping with the very same man who beat her to a pulp just a couple of years ago (check out Birthday Cake if you don't believe me) and how it is imperative that you must wear as little as possible while being a provocative as possible in order to be successful at anything, while Adele promotes being a psycho ex girlfriend and writing entire albums about the same man while drunk. Seriously Adele, what happened to being a strong independent woman? I'd rather listen to Survivor by Destiny's Child than Adele crooning about how heartbroken she is for an entire album. (Don't get me wrong, I like Adele's songs, but I'd hardly say they're a good influence!)
It's a sad thing if strong, opinionated women don't appear on the list (Rihanna could be said to be those things, I guess, but one could argue that by sexualising herself to such an extent, she is essentially an object for the male gaze rather than an independent career woman) yet people like Adele who make riches off the back of men who have broken their hearts or Pippa, who's only concern is what dress to wear to Friday's event, are considered to be one of the 100 most influential people IN THE WORLD.
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