Memo to Margaret
No she doesn’t. Here’s what Cho’s got to say about Courtney Love bashers :
This is unfair. I was speaking to another feminist, whose opinion I hold in high regard. She admitted, quite casually, that she hated Courtney Love. When pressed for a reason why, she stammered over her words, not realizing that she might be taken to task for her own misogyny. She couldn’t come up with an acceptable one, other than “I just love to hate her.” But what for? Courtney Love is an incredible artist who has endured public derision and scorn for well over a decade. What man could survive that? Yet in any real way, the feminist majority has yet to come to her defense. No one has come forward with the simple statement “Why is it with such ease that I am hating another woman?”
Courtney Love is a selfish, hypocritical opportunist. That’s why. And what makes things even worse is the fact that she doesn’t seem to stand for anything.
She sued her record company ostensibly to stick up for artist’s rights, but then settled as soon as she could and left all the people whose causes she pretended to champion floundering. For all her talk about being “a smart gal with a fat bank account who is unafraid to go down in flames fighting for a principle”, those immoral record companies didn’t seem to bother her as much once UMG started waving a new contract under her nose. Her pledge to work with other artists to “look for solutions to the problems we face in the music industry” rings as hollow as O.J.’s search for the “real killers”.
She rode the wave of riot grrrl bands to success while priding herself on her individuality, but spent the last few years getting so much plastic surgery that she’s barely recognizable. She’s spent the last ten years being obnoxious and relishing in the publicity that it provides her, yet is the first person to play the “sexism” card the moment the media isn’t manipulated to her benefit. Sorry, but I can’t think of anything less feminist than using your gender as a way to shield yourself from responsibility for your actions.
So I can’t speak for the rest of the world that loathes Courtney Love, but what really drives me nuts about her is the fact that her knee jerk defense to almost every criticism is that people wouldn’t be criticizing her if she were male. I’m very open to arguments that women are held up to extra scrutiny due to sexist double-standards, but as far as I’m concerned, Courtney used up all her goodwill in the mid-90′s. Based on what I’ve seen in the media, she’s got some serious mental and substance abuse problems which should afford her a certain amount of pity, but that doesn’t mean that she’s any less accountable for her behavior than the rest of us.
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Okay, I have no great love for Courtney or Martha, but the question here is not are they saints, but are they being singled out for being female? Should a woman have to be a saint in order to qualify for a feminist defense? My thought is that the whole point of feminism is getting away from that–to ask that women not be held to higher standards than men.
Cho is right–male rock stars do far, far, far worse things than Courtney Love has ever done or ever will do and they are given a free pass. Jim Morrison was a worthless piece of crap that treated others like dirt, sold out at the first opportunity, stood for nothing except his own ego, and then killed himself with drugs. So how is it that he’s a revered icon and she’s a worthless piece of trash? Well?
That’s what I thought. This isn’t about defending saintly women against the perils of the world, it’s about just getting a level playing field.
Comment by Amanda — July 21, 2004 @ 6:28 pm
Jim Morrison was a product of a different era. He was sainted before we even had a chance to argue the point. I think a more apt comparison to Courtney Love would be Axl Rose. He was on top of the world, leading one of the most popular bands in the world, and because of his behavior, he is basically just a memory. Guns N Roses did make some great songs, but the excess with which he lived was his ruin. A feminist defense of Courtney Love and Martha Stewart would ask that they be held to a lower standard than men. Frank Quattrone was recently found guilty of obstruction of justice too. These people were taken down because they are high profile targets. We should give Martha a free pass because she’s a woman?
I’m glad that you wrote about Margaret Cho because I’d actually meant to bring up Margaret Cho, Greg, during your previous Martha post.
Comment by E-Rock — July 22, 2004 @ 4:38 am
Greg,
I’m surprised you didn’t mention that her fame is derived almost entirely from her marriage to Kurt Cobain. Because let’s be honest – Hole would never have been given a chance were it not for them being referred to as “Kurt Cobain’s wife’s band” for the first few years of their existence.
Comment by albino — July 22, 2004 @ 5:18 am
I’m not saying that someone should be held to a lower standard, just that I suspect that there is a pile-on going on here and her femaleness is the cause. I think Love is a goob, and I think that Rose is a goob, too. But most people think Rose is a goob and Love is a bitch and probably a murderer. I see a difference is all.
Comment by Amanda — July 22, 2004 @ 7:19 am
I really don’t care that she’s female. Being an obnoxious, talentless, self-important hack is gender blind. The idea that people are picking on her more because she’s female is absurd. Robert Downey, Jr. has gotten 10 times the press Courtney Hole has over the years and hasn’t done half as much. He also isn’t a parent, which is a big part of why Courtney is seen as such a self-centered screw-up.
Comment by albino — July 22, 2004 @ 7:51 am
just a thought:
i wonder if margaret would have any less sympathy for courtney if the person she knocked in the head with a microphone stand was female.
Comment by josh — July 22, 2004 @ 8:16 am
The reason I wrote this post in the first place is because of Cho’s contention that people who dislike Courtney Love have no reasons other than they “love to hate her”. If that truly were the case, then I could see the argument that she’s just being viewed as some sort of she-devil who’s maligned because of her gender. But I’ve pointed out a few reasons why I have no respect for Courtney and even if you don’t agree, I think they’re deserving of more than just insinuations of sexism.
That said, I made a point of not mentioning her music or Kurt Cobain. I’m not a fan of her band, but mostly because I think there are much more talented female musicians out there who actually go to the trouble of writing their own songs. But being in a shitty band isn’t a legitimate reason for the scorn she recieves. I also think that giving Cobain full credit for her fame overlooks the fact that Love will do anything to be in front of a camera.
And I really don’t buy into the conpiracy theories about her being a murderer. If you dislike somebody, it’s easy to assume the worst, but the idea that Courtney Love is a murderer is complete bullshit based largely on one of the worst documentaries I’ve ever seen.
Comment by greg — July 22, 2004 @ 9:22 am
Heh. The first thing that really struck me when reading Cho’s site was this insane conclusion :
The idea that Martha Stewart was convicted because “America doesn’t like women who are powerful…” is as absurd as the Courtney murder conspiracy theories. If Martha Stewart really was singled out and unjustly convicted because of her gender, I’d love to see the evidence.
Comment by greg — July 22, 2004 @ 9:22 am
Robert Downey Jr. actually is a parent. He has a child named Indio that is around Frances Bean’s age. They could swap stories…
Comment by Kyle — July 22, 2004 @ 3:23 pm
Greg is right that the idea that Martha was convicted for being a woman may be absurd, but the media firestorm and general cultural attitude toward her is very definitely related to her gender. Simply put, America is not comfortable with a strong, powerful woman unless she is brought down a notch and jokes are made at her expense. Hilary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, et al. I can’t think of a famous businesswoman that hasn’t had to go through this. It happens every time, and it will keep happening until there are so many successful businesswomen that there are just too many targets.
I think Courtney is irresponsible and ridiculous, but she gets far more slammed than the great multitude of rock stars who are lauded for crazy drug use and who have umpteen children that they then ignore. The only thing with Courtney is that she wants that press attention, for better or for worse. She’s not interested in being a standard performer; she wants to be a full-time celebrity.
Comment by Kyle — July 22, 2004 @ 3:33 pm
maybe it’s just because i am old, but when held up to the standards of artists like chrissie hynde and kristin hersh, i’m afraid that courtney comes across as little more than a mere celebrity fodder for Us/ People/ Interview, etc. it’s nice work if you can get it, but it doesn’t make me want to buy her CDs. which is too bad – live through this showed signs of great promise, but i think she allowed herself to get distracted by all the attention.
Comment by r@d@r — July 23, 2004 @ 11:40 am
Courtney Love is a telentless hack who is famous for being famous for her bad behavior and edgy, artistic demeanor. Since I know about a thousand women who are better musicians and better people than her, I think the sympathy she has garnered and the wider significance she is given are inappropriate and silly.
Kyle is right that famous and powerful women are either ignored or degraded by the media culture. But Love is not a case of this. in my opinion, since her power comes exclusively from the media.
The real question is, where are the male insider traders going to jail? There actually are a lot of male white-collar criminals going to jail all over the country, everyday, but they aren’t reported on. The reason for that?
Will Enron CEO Kenneth Lay go to jail? If he doesn’t, then there would be a pretty strong argument for the Cho’s position, at least in this one instance.
Comment by Joe — July 23, 2004 @ 11:48 am
I don’t see that Courtney Love gets more press for doing the same things that other people do. When Robert Downey, Jr. is in trouble, it’s always reported on in great detail. When Scott Weiland was in rehab, it was reported on in great detail.
The main difference isn’t that Courtney Love is a female, it’s that she’s a famewhore who always wants to be in front of a camera. She is constantly on the verge of a completely breakdown, which makes her fodder for entertainment cameras.
She very clearly needs help, either way. I don’t have an opinion one way or another about her band because I don’t think I know any of their songs.
I think the reason Martha was prosecuted with such vigor is because she is so famous, not because she’s a woman.
Comment by maurinsky — July 23, 2004 @ 11:51 am
On the Lay vs. Martha thing: Lay isn’t in jail yet and Martha is on her way not because of misogyny inherent in the system, but because KEN LAY IS BOSOM CHUMS WITH THE FUCKING PRESIDENT.
Sorry, but the argument that Ken Lay proves that Martha’s incarceration is based on sexism is extremely faulty and annoying.
Comment by The Ghost Of Bill Hicks — July 23, 2004 @ 12:34 pm
Just for the record, El Duce’s interview in “Kurt and Courtney,” in which he claims Courtney tried to hire him to kill Kurt, was entirely faked. His buddies from Mondo Video here in L.A. said he told stories like that all the time to get money from tabloids. They also told me that friends of theirs were with him when he died, drunk on a railroad track, and it was not due to a conspiracy to silence witnesses, but rather to the fact that he was drunk and wandering around on a railroad track.
By the way, don’t tell any AA buddies of mine this, but Margaret Cho was much funnier when she was drunk and on drugs. She used to be hysterical, especially at a small live venue. Sobering up has really harshed her vibe.
Comment by dAnimal — July 23, 2004 @ 5:55 pm
I love the way Cho writes, it is quite lyrical. I do notice that a lot of the celebrities we sort of roll our eyes at are personal friends of hers and she is a very loyal person; so I take a lot of her articles in that spirit. I think Courtney Love is just another example of this. Cho’s best articles are about issues; the ones about people seem to follow a pattern (don’t diss my friend so and so because I love that person).
Comment by Anna in Cairo — July 25, 2004 @ 2:26 am
what i find annoying is the assertion that courtney is persecuted because of society’s fear of strong women. courtney is not strong. someone who publicly exhibits self destructive behavior habitually is WEAK.
ani difranco, amy goodman, molly ivans… these are strong women who i do not fear, who i wish had larger audiences and more power.
at an anti-war demo once i had a feminist accuse me of sexism because i was trashing hillary clinton for voting for the war (keep in mind we were at an anti-war demo) and she told me the same line-that i was afraid of strong women. i told her i admired women who were so much stronger than hill it was like night and day. she asked me if i would ever vote for hill, and i said no, so she said that proved it, i would never vote for a woman. i said, no, that just proved i would never vote for a woman hell-bent on acting like a corporate war hawk MAN.
see, that’s the thing, if you just so happen to have an issue with a woman, any woman, there will always be someone there to play the gender card.
Comment by josh — July 26, 2004 @ 8:24 am