It’s no secret (or maybe it is…) that I’m a fan of celebrity gossip. It’s not that I care what’s going on or who’s married to whom, I’m just interested. I have no emotional investment in these people, and I’m not heartbroken when something doesn’t work out. That being said, I spend a lot of time reading celebrity gossip sites and (unfortunately) the comments that people make on the articles. It never ceases to amaze me how unbelievably negative and rude people can be. I read an article several months ago (maybe even last year) about Rod Stewart. He had a child when he was about sixteen or seventeen and he and the mother decided to put the child up for adoption. They recently reconnected and were getting to know each other; a fairly harmless (and not uncommon) story, with a potentially happy ending. I could not believe the comments saying that he should have “manned up” years ago and taken care of his child. Correct me if I’m wrong, but putting a child up for adoption that you can’t afford to take care of is manning up! They didn’t decide to have this child and try to raise it separately as teenagers, without having a relationship with each other. I have no doubt they weren’t ready for the commitment, so they gave the child to a family who was willing to love this child as their own. If they had tried to raise the child, there would have been comments about “babies having babies,” etc.
No matter what the circumstances, there is always negativity. If it’s a couple who’s married, there’s the usual “that’s too bad, they’ll be divorced soon anyway.” If it’s a couple who’s not married, it’s “great, another illegitimate child.” Celebrities (or anyone really) having children out of wedlock (is that term even still used?), up until recently, used to bother me. I couldn’t understand why, in this day in age, people still did this. I couldn’t understand why people just didn’t get married if they planned on having children. (Don’t get me wrong…I understand that things happen and birth control is not 100%...I’m talking about “repeat offenders .”) Keeping my personal opinion out of it, though, why do people care? Again, whenever there is a report that someone is pregnant and not married, there are always comments. Why do you care??? How is it affecting your life if these people decide to have a child without being married? It affects their life and no one else’s. Children are raised by single parents all the time, either through death or divorce, so what difference does it make if they’re married to begin with? With the divorce rate so high, it’s a wonder anyone tries at all!! I won’t say babies are “miracles,” because they’re not (although the whole process fascinates me a little bit…), but if this baby was created by two people that love and respect each other, regardless of their relationship to each other, that is a good thing! It doesn’t matter if they’re married, engaged, dating, living together, broken up, gay, straight or transgender. If they are mature enough to raise this child(ren), then good for everyone involved!!
Speaking of gay or transgender, why, oh why does anyone care if gay people are allowed to marry? I’m tired of the religious excuses that it’s “sinful” and that God would not approve. I can’t say for certain whether or not this is actually in the Bible (I promise I’ll get back to reading that eventually), but it shouldn’t matter. Those that follow the Bible need to remember what you’re supposed to be preaching…acceptance for all. That includes those that choose a lifestyle you don’t agree with. Marriage is about love; plain and simple. If two people love each other, as humans, they have a right to happiness. As two consenting adults, there is not a reason in the world that they should be denied said happiness. “Marriage is for procreating.” What about people that physically cannot have children? Should they just not bother getting married, because there’s no point? “If we let them marry, what’s next? Letting someone marry their dog?” See…no! Because these are two consenting humans, not a helpless animal who has no choice in the matter.
The comments I’ve seen about Chaz Bono have made me want to give up on humanity completely. I would not consider myself a fan and I could not tell you a single thing this person has done (accept be born to Cher & Sonny Bono), but I recently watched him on Dancing With the Stars. From what I saw, this is a very down-to-earth, loving, caring person. I understand the hesitation and feeling uncomfortable, but to be vicious is unnecessary! I’ve seen comments calling him a freak and people saying how disgusting he is and others who are refusing to let their child watch him on TV for fear their child will want to change their sex. Most people believe it’s a mental disorder, but that does not stop the vicious comments. If it is a mental disorder, then shame on you!!! Schizophrenia is also a mental disorder, as is bipolar disorder and depression and many, many others. Are all of those people freaks? Certainly not!! They have a real, true, medical condition that is hopefully being taken care of.
If it isn’t a mental disorder, then why do you care what this person does with their life? If Chaz is happier being a man, then let him be a man. He is not hurting anyone and his choices do not affect you. If your child sees him on television and knows that this person used to be a female, that that is your fault, because his appearance is 100% male! Maybe Chastity was born as a hermaphrodite (educate yourself, please, if you don’t know what that is) and Cher and Sonny chose the “wrong” sex to raise their child. The point is, we don’t know the answers and it shouldn’t matter. This is a person who was not comfortable in their own body and made a huge change to fix this. He feels better about himself and is more comfortable in his life. Who are we to judge what this person does?
This leads to my final point (there are more, but I must end this): The Kardashians. Again, I will keep my personal opinions about the family out of this (although, if you are friends with me on Facebook or in real life, you already know). It is no secret that she is getting a divorce after only two months of marriage. Many believe the entire relationship, including the wedding, marriage and the divorce were all for money. Let’s say this is true. If it is, good for them!!! While we are all sitting here being angry about something that does not affect us, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Geniuses!!! Let’s consider the fact that it wasn’t all for money, though. This is a person who got married to someone she loved and very quickly after felt the need to get a divorce, for reasons that only they know. For another human being to feel sorry for them is a good thing! To be criticized and attacked for feeling genuine regret for another human being is ridiculous and unfair! Kim Kardashian has gone on record saying that all of the money raised from the wedding was donated to charity, which seemed to be everyone’s biggest concern. I love the people that talk about celebrities donating to charity. How much have you donated? We all sit here and say that we are broke and we can’t afford to donate, etc. But, are you saying it while your DVR is recording your favorite show off of your 56-inch HD TV? If you’re reading this you obviously have the internet…how about a smart phone? And Xbox? Frankly, anything more than food, shelter and clothing is unnecessary! But, we all have it!!! To sit here and judge another person who has more than you for not donating their money to charity (which they did, but you didn’t take the time to research that), is hypocritical. To judge anyone who makes a different decision than you say you would in that situation is unfair. We can all talk about what we would do in any given situation, but the fact remains that we will never know unless the situation is presented to us.
So, while you sit there wondering what color you should dye your hair this time or when to schedule your next manicure; or while you sit there wondering how you’ll pay for your unnecessary cell phone bill, remember that there are people that don’t have the luxury of choice. There are people that feel like they were born with the wrong parts, or people that aren’t attracted to the “right” sex and people that regretfully married the wrong person. All of this happens while you sit there and judge, not realizing that you’re part of the problem. Stop worrying so much about what other people are doing with their lives and start paying more attention to your own. By the way: where are your children while you’re reading this? I hope they’re not dressing in drag and thinking about changing their gender.
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