Jezebel 
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New York, 8:02 PM
Sun Nov 22
20 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/13/09
I agree with the letter writer. I've been on both ends of the situation among women friends, and I think it's good she brought up this discussion, since a lot of people seem to be flat out denying that this exists among women. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
I don't think that's why Megan Fox annoys me, I just find her annoying. And I think that she takes it to the extreme "Blah blah - I have no girlfriends, they ALL hate me"
No. You could still find yourself some girl friends if you were nice. Case in point - judgingamy is friends with a girl who's extremely beautiful, even if sometimes she does get a little jealous. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
Competitiveness exists. Jealousy and pettiness exists. It is important that we have this discussion because denying it, or confining it to high schoolers ala Mean Girls really deepens the problem i think. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
11/13/09
furthermore, what bothers me about Fox, is not that she has had numerous plastic surgeries to embody this ideal magazine beauty (after all I dont have a problem with, and infact LOVE Rose McGowan, CHER, and Rachel Weisz-- two women whose beauties have been exremely altered), but that she has no sense of humor or humility about it.
Again, what makes my blood boil at the sight of her, is not that she is an attractive girl who lacks any acting talent, but seems to get by on her looks-- at least when it comes to movies (After all I LOVE kate Bekinsdale, and Kiera Knightly, and to a lesser extent Scarlet Johanson), but that she seems to think she doesnt get roles because she is beautiful, and because all of us ladies are intimidated by her extreme Maxim-ized beauty.
not true-- while I admit, at 27 years old, I sometimes look at young girls, and get stabby feelings about my fleeted youth, I dont HATE them, or treat them badly or wish that they fail.
I think women (and many MEN) dislike Megan Fox because she is a not-so well manufactured sex bomb- who at first aspired to be the new Jolie, and when that didnt work out she decided to blame it on us being jelous--
at best shes a low rate Alba--
and thats my rant- thank you #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
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11/13/09
Her "guy" appeal is obvious (no one had to ask if the lesbian content of "Jennifer's Body" added a deeper meaning to the plot). But more than just being attractive to the male half of our population she represents something that is more than impossible to achieve. She is the Lolita-esque young girl both playing with the power she has over men and often ignorant of same said power. She represents something that none of us can be. She has essentially become the standard of that quality (and also of course physically stunning).
I do not hate Megan Fox. We all know deep down she wakes up with bed-head and morning breath and goes about her day like a regular girl (or at least a regular movie star). But when she gets on screen her characters do not reflect that. They do not have insecurities. They do not have flaws. They do not reflect US. Why would we want to go see her in a movie? Moreover why would anyone EXPECT us to go see her in a movie?
Rejecting an impossible stereotype is not the same as being jealous of it. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
There is girl-on-girl and even woman-on-woman crimes that go against the grain of feminist ideals. There are women/girls who will hate on another woman/girl simply because of her looks. Women/girls will make assumptions about other women and put them in a tight box for the way they look. Think of fuller women and the hell that they pay because of how they look. Same applies to "beautiful" women but no one listens when they speak up about their experience because they are "beautiful". If your pretty you can't complain. If you complain because your pretty then its your own fault or its all in your head, either way pretty girls should shut it and keep being pretty. Sorry I wrote forever but I really believe the above average women have their own cross to bear (also I can't find the post but we did discuss this here once). As for Ms. Fox, leave the child alone. She has her own experiences that colour her actions and veiw of the world. Better to be supportive and understanding than damning and judgemental. Your not her so you don't know her life experience. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
Jeez, is that the point? Because that kind of makes it seem like letter writer AND MF have a point about jealousy.
I think this is the usual patriarchal crap... women have to be twice as good as men just to not be told they're a waste of space. Okay, Megan Fox isn't philosopher of the year. I'm not, and I definitely wasn't when I was 23. Give people some room to be a little obnoxious, many, many people grow out of it. #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
Women can be mean and awful to each other, and I suspect Megan Fox got Mean Girled HARD when she was in high school (her Wiki entry mentions she was bullied, was a late bloomer, and she left early) and never quite bounced back -- I don't think she's had the chance, going from cutthroat high school straight to false, superficial Hollywood. That and I think she's now slightly afraid of women, based on that experience, and so hasn't had the chance to alter her thinking with good female friendships.
I also kind of wonder if adult female reaction to her has something of the false FOX "fair and balanced" dichotomy, where you level the field by acknowledging a positive but then also present a negative. "Megan Fox is gorgeous, but I hear she's a nightmare to work with" or "She's stunning, but stupid" or the backhanded "she looks like a pornstar" comment.
When it comes down to it, though, pretty girls sometimes have it rough -- and often, it's so subtle that it can be overlooked by others. The sisterhood does eat its own sometimes. #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
"they're just jealous, honey."
As someone who finds Megan Fox to be someone whom I will never meet and whose public image means nothing to my personal life, the idea that people have heated emotions about her in either direction is mind numbing.
Sure, if you're a fan, be a fan. I am not a fan of Kathy Griffin, so I simply don't pay any attention to her. In the end, attention, negative or positive, is fueling her public appearance and keeping her career at a boom, regardless of her obvious lack of real, raw talent as an actress.
Maybe I've missed something, but I'm pretty sure we still have free will. Be a conscientious objector instead of a hate monger. I'm really not sure why this became an issue. #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
11/12/09
I don't doubt that SOME women hate other women because of their beauty, but I really don't think it is that widespread. In my experience, hating someone because you are jealous of them is pretty rare. We all feel jealous sometimes and a little snark might slip through but human interactions are not as simple as "You have what I want, so I hate you."
I've found that when people who think other people dislike them because they are jealous are usually skipping over some major flaws in their own behavior.
Other than her vagina, there is no earthy reason to think Megan Fox should appeal to female moviegoers. She is best known for male-centered movies where she plays the eye candy. She has been advertised as a male fantasy, not as a girl who is funny or would be fun to have a beer with. Questioning her lack of female fans assumes women should like what straight men like. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
When people have treated me badly, or been cruel, I don't think I've ever thought "Oh, they're just ENVIOUS." That seems to me an odd reaction and a slightly immature way of deflecting any responsibility for examining the situation with more nuance. #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
The best example I can think of is when she hosted SNL. No matter what skit they were doing, she was always being Megan Fox. She never dropped that character. She seemed uncomfortable and out of place through the whole show, as if she couldn't permit herself to relax and be vulnerable. Because she, as a persona and an archetype, is something very limited and controlled that is only acceptable, and only makes sense, in a very specific context (magazines and underdeveloped hot chick roles). She is pure, unthreatening, accomodating sexuality; not a human being who happens to be sexy, but the embodiment of sexuality itself. Her ability to control and limit herself is the reason for her success, and she knows it. But she is also a real person, and whenever I watch her or read interviews with her, it's obvious to me that she is holding back, and is extremely uncomfortable because of it. But at the same time, she has done this to herself, and is inspiring other women to do it to themselves too, because it worked for her.
Her "weirdness" seems like, while it may be very real for her, something that is used as a way for men to objectify her the same way they'd objectify Jessica Alba, without feeling as guilty about it. We're not holding her up to impossibly high standards - she has tattoos! She uses profanity! She's just like all of those dangerous, independent, sexy feminist chicks without any of the obnoxious intolerance of misogyny or insistence on being respected. #meganfoxhate
11/13/09
11/12/09
Then I saw the "Transformers" movies, and found out that I don't think she's legitimately talented.
Then I read some of her interviews in which she defines herself by her beauty and how everyone (including herself!) feels about it, rather than her intellect, passions, works, etcetera. I saw her as someone who was working very hard to play both sides, as it were -- saying outrageous things just for the sake of being outrageous or trying to prove that she doesn't give a damn about what anybody thinks, then shrinking into herself via self-deprication and exaggerated body language meant to convey how much she supposedly hates herself and what she's gotten into. There seem to be two Megan Foxs here, and I can't discern which of her faces is real and which one isn't, or if either of them are -- and that really bothered me when I read about her, so I eventually stopped paying much attention to her at all (when I could help it, of course, since goodness knows she's all over magazine covers in the grocery store checkout aisle).
It's not as if I can't relate to what she's talking about when she says that women are often petty and rude towards other women whom they perceive to be threatening. I am regarded by most everybody I meet as a very attractive woman (and that's from their mouths, not mine). I developed an hourglass figure very early in life, had weird sexual trauma as a young teenager, and had to spend a lot of time sorting out how my physical beauty and sexuality related to the rest of my life -- making all kinds of mistakes along the way, simply because I didn't know another way to be. When I was a teenager, I WAS Megan Fox in a lot of ways -- and I noticed that because I myself approached the world purely in terms of beauty and sexuality, that was how the world approached me. These days, as a twenty-year-old, I like to think that I've largely let go of that; however, women who are naturally petty and rude, anyway, will sometimes still treat me badly. (Unfortunately, I, too, am guilty of having been overly suspicious of women whom I perceived to be a threat -- but that ended up being MY insecurities that I needed to work through, which in reality had nothing to do with the other women.)
In short, she has yet to show me that she has the kind of confidence it takes to be more than her physicality. "Confidence" that relies solely on how one projects only one or two aspects of oneself only shows me that all the other aspects about that person aren't up to my standards when it comes to whom I'm interested in.
11/12/09
Now, if I hate/dislike a woman for other reasons, and she's very beautiful, I'm certain it factors into it and enhances that reaction- I'm not so naive as to say looks don't matter.
But it definitely isn't as easy as saying "Oh, you just hate her because she's beautiful and you're jealous.". That's pretty dismissive. #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
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11/12/09
If women "hate" Megan because she's pretty and their boyfriends want her, it's not because there is an imminent possibility of her actually having sex with them or stealing them away. Women who DO dislike women for being prettier than them do so out of a general, deepseated dislike or jealousy of the sexual power they hold, not a belief that they will actually and definitely steal their man away if he gets in their vicinity. Those women do exist, just as violently jealous and possessive men exist, but they do not represent women as a whole.
Virgins or not, Victoria Secret models have quite a bit of sexual power. So if women always always resent that, why do I see so many girls on campus walking around with purses imprinted with their images and fanning them (not just Lima) on Facebook?
I mean, I guess you could say that women feel Megan is the sort of woman who would steal your man if given the chance, but she actually seems like the type more likely to loudly announce what a loser he is.
11/12/09
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11/12/09
2. Aren't there studies that show that if a person is beautiful, they have more friends and are more successful, and more "popular" in regular life? So actually the more beautiful you are, the more friends you have, scientifically/sociologically speaking? According to a couple studies I've read, anyway. So, the letter writer would appear to be pretty much wrong.
Not that I don't think that examining jealousy is an interesting topic; I just tend to think that after 12th grade it isn't jealousy as much as "jealousy," because I think that the culture likes to imagine and represent women as jealous of one another more than women are actually jealous. Most of the women I know who will bodysnark or say mean things that could be interpreted as "jealous" (by which I mean my mom and my aunts) only ever talk shit about a person if they don't like them. It's like, a beautiful woman does something mean or shady, my mom talks shit about how she thinks she's such hot shit, etc--the stuff Fox thinks means people don't like her for. But mostly it's just that the best way to express dislike of a woman is to insult her looks/sexual status, so instead of "that lady kicked me in the shins!" its "that woman is such a bitch/slut/ugly/fat/other gendered insult." #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
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11/12/09
But I also know that's not the world I live in, and many women (myself included) sometimes give in to the pressure to try to conform to what society tells us we should look like to avoid the negative consequences of being "ugly," or "old," or "fat."
This knowledge - that things are fucked up when it comes to how we value women in this society - is what makes me dislike Megan Fox. She's gone to incredible lengths to transform herself into the very embodiment of what's most pleasing to the male gaze, and that is why she's successful. The roles she takes, her interviews, her magazine spreads, everything about her is designed to meet and, in turn, reinforces every damaging expectation our current beauty culture pushes on women, and reinforces the notion that looks trump all other merits (including in her case, acting skills). And she seems wholly ambivalent, or at least obtuse about this. Rather than show some humility or awareness about her image (I realize that Ms. Fox is also under pressure to conform), she defaults to the tired retort that women hate her because they're jealous of her beauty. Not really. I don't want to be Megan Fox; I want to change the value system that says that women are only as good as they look.
And now I also dislike Megan Fox for making me think so damn much about Megan Fox. #meganfoxhate
11/12/09
As with so many other discussions about gender and beauty, the truth never resides in one of two extremes, but rather, somewhere comfortably in the middle. All women, myself included, can be prone to jealousy. Sometimes that envy is directed toward other women and other times it is not. We become jealous because we are human and humans are not perfect creatures. With women, jealousy over looks is a result of being told from the time that we are knee-high to crickets that our value in society is directly proportional to our physical beauty. However, to suggest that the sole reason that we as women may dislike Megan Fox is because she is pretty, is base, degrading and frankly, sexist. #meganfoxhate