When I was growing up - in the era before the Internet encouraged us all to share exactly what/who we were eating/doing at any given time - female celebrities were quite a different bunch. The young female role models I looked up to were quirky, cool and fiercely independent, and the most outrageous stunt you could pull was to pop a couple of sleeping pills and rip off your local Marc Jacobs store (Free Winona!).
When I was growing up - in the era before the Internet encouraged us all to share exactly what/who we were eating/doing at any given time - female celebrities were quite a different bunch. The young female role models I looked up to were quirky, cool and fiercely independent, and the most outrageous stunt you could pull was to pop a couple of sleeping pills and rip off your local Marc Jacobs store (Free Winona!).
Young women these days know so much more about their idols than they probably should, including their weaknesses, their foibles and the contents of their underwear on the exiting of any given car. As columnist Kira Cochrane put so succinctly in The Guardian a few years ago now, “Young women desperately need role models – and what the media gives them is heiresses, sex objects, surgery addicts and emotional wrecks. There must be better suggestions…” Sure this type of attitude can be leaning a bit more towards concern trolling and slut shaming than I would like, but Cochrane’s heart is in the right place and I for one love it when a young woman hits the headlines for her sass and general chutzpah as opposed to how much boob she flashed before, during and after an awards ceremony.
Ask a young girl about the females she looks up to, and chances are that - after family members - her list will be crowded with celebrities. Young girls at the most emotionally malleable time in their lives will naturally turn to celebrities for cues on everything from love to music to dress to sexuality. And in tabloid media hell you’ll find young females represented by a collection ranging from sad to damn scary - and many whose claim to celebrity is being a living, breathing sideshow.
But hey, remember to give young women some credit. The average great girl isn’t going to pattern her behaviour on women who exit bars without paying or Hummers without underwear. Strong, confident, accomplished women are out there in their thousands, but they more likely than not they are going about their lives beyond the peripheral vision of TMZ.com. Fortunately there are some young female stars that are getting on with just getting on, and we’d like to celebrate a few of them here.
We honestly can’t say enough about Jennifer Lawrence, and she’s a star much beloved and admired by older women too. As well as being acknowledged as a serious acting talent, Lawrence fulfils her paparazzi friendly duties at functions as a celebrity but also manages to stay true to who she is as a person - or at least who she appears to be as a person. Either way, girlfriend is pretty damn cool - and if you need more convincing, just take a look at her interview in the pressroom at the 2013 Oscars after winning Best Actress.
Another star we love is Emma Stone, who when asked in 2011 to divulge her biggest vices replied: “they’re nothing too crazy - just sugar, wine, and black-tar heroin.” The quick comeback not only revealed a talent for comic timing, but in its absurdity showed that in the case of Ms. Stone, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. From the start, she has seemed years wiser than her contemporaries, with her husky voice and Old Hollywood-style glamour that harks back to the likes of Hepburn and Stanwyck - and we love her for it.
In terms of seriousness and likeability, newcomer Shailene Woodley is indeed a revelation. She holds back on the sass but still puts her point across, and her earnestness has earned her legions of fans. Tabloids and gossip sites have been busy churning out rumour after rumour regarding ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ actress’ love life too, as she prides herself on giving little away. There were reports that she was dating her ‘Divergent’ co-star Theo James, then others romantically linking her to ‘Juno’ star Ellen Page, another of our fave female role models and a lesbian who came out on Valentine’s Day this year. The cute and clever Page traversed the proverbial closet door as gracefully as if it never had been there at all. It was seriously amazing for a celebrity at Page's level - still under 30, Oscar-nominated yet still making her way in the industry - to come out of the closet at all, and we can’t wait to see what future moves she pulls in Hollywood as the years roll on.
Lastly, we’d love to give some props to Saoirse Ronan, the sassy, smart Irish stunner who also stars in ‘How I Live Now’, showing this Sunday at 8:30pm on Rialto. She’s been in films since the age of ten and is managed by her dad, but has side stepped any of the clichés normally associated with the two. Currently flatting with mates in London she is refreshingly unaffected by fame, despite the fact that her latest roles include a stint in Ryan Goslings directorial debut and she’s dressed by Miu Miu. Nice work.
Having said all of this, famous people don't have a responsibility to be role models and the fact that Miley Cyrus was recently voted the ‘worst role model for young women’ by parents is just plain ridiculous. Live and let live we say - just try and keep your rude bits under wraps.