On Friday Remote Lindy made the point that, for all the hype, mania, and You Tube frenzy surrounding her, "Britain's Got Talent" sensation Susan Boyle isn't all that spectacular as a singer. Also on Friday, Patrick Goldstein of the LA Times wrote about what this frenzy about her means about us:
What has made her sudden celebrity so fascinating -- and disturbing -- is that it seems thoroughly intertwined with the notion that, to be blunt about it, an ugly woman can have a beautiful voice. If a petite, pretty in pink 20-year-old had done a marvelous job of warbling the song, would anyone have made such a big fuss about it? Clearly not. Would the Web be so full of wonder if the singer were a chubby guy who hadn't had a date in a decade? In a word: No. So for all our delight in Boyle's triumph, isn't the fuss over her a compelling example of our society's rampant sexism?
And now, as if to prove this point, a porn company has made 47-year-old, never been kissed Susan Boyle a very lucrative and icky offer...
Kick-Ass Pictures, an LA-based porn company, is offering Susan Boyle $1 million to lose her virginity on-camera. Yup, this feel-good story just became a feel-gross story, didn't it?
The company has already set up a website, SusanBoyleXXX.com, where fans can vote for various possible movie titles. If Boyle were to accept the offer, the firm would fly her out to Los Angeles on -- natch -- Virgin Airlines. There's only one hitch -- the offer only lasts for a week. As company President Mark Kulkis so delicately put it: "We want to get this movie shot and out while Susan has the world's attention. Besides, after 47 years of virginity, I'm sure Susan is also anxious to get something cracking as soon as possible."
Oh, shut up, sleazeball. We're already reporting on you and your porn company - you got what you wanted. But we're reporting on this offer because it clearly means something - about all of us. Like the whole Susan Boyle phenomenon. As Tanya Gold of the Guardian UK asked:
Is Susan Boyle ugly? Or are we? On Saturday night she stood on the stage in Britain's Got Talent; small and rather chubby, with a squashed face, unruly teeth and unkempt hair. She wore a gold lace dress, which made her look like a piece of pork sitting on a doily. Interviewed by Ant and Dec beforehand, she told them that she is unemployed, single, lives with a cat called Pebbles and has never been kissed. Susan then walked out to chatter, giggling, and a long and unpleasant wolf whistle.
Why are we so shocked when "ugly" women can do things, rather than sitting at home weeping and wishing they were somebody else?
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