Don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to make fun of prostitutes. I, like many others, understand that a women’s decision to sell sex favors for money often comes from neglect, victimization and a misguided feeling that there is no other way for her to survive. Maybe it’s not completely misguided. Sometimes there is no other way for some of the women on the street to survive. However, I can’t help but feel that the criticism directed at Joan Rivers by a women’s advocacy group called GEMS, for her segment, “Starlet or Streetwalker” is completely missing the point.
On the comedians show “Fashion Police” on the E Network, Rivers ends her half our with the segment that shows a picture of an anonymous women in scantily clad clothing and asks the question, “Is this a starlet or a streetwalker?” We, the audience, get to guess which it is and if the general viewing public is anything like me, we are often wrong.
Sure, I sometimes wince when I realize it’s a non-celebrity working the streets but often the picture she shows ends up being some well-known actress attending a public function dressed in clothing that one would mistake for prostitute attire. That is the point. Sure, Rivers can be rude, crude and often distasteful but again that is the point. More and more the line of decency and indecency is blurring. All the world’s a stage these days and these high profile, wealthy women are wearing their costumes everywhere.
The picture above was used in the segment. It is not a streetwalker. This is an American actress, Taylor Momsen, who portrays the character of Jenny Humphrey on the CW television series Gossip Girl. She is 18 years old and she is pictured in the outfit she wore to attend The Justin Beiber Movie premiere. At the time Justin Beiber was 17.
You may disagree GEMS but personally, as an advocacy group for women I think you should be concerned with the real point of the segment.
October 6, 2011 at 1:03 am
I couldn’t agree more. A few decades ago (or even a decade…I don’t know, but I tend to trace the underwear-as-outerwear thing to Madonna) there wouldn’t even be enough material to have this segment on Fashion Police. Personally, I don’t get the whole sleazoid trend in young Hollywood (remember a few years ago when the no panties thing was such a big deal..I’m sorry, but in rented limos & whatnot, it’s not even sanitary!). These girls are at the peak of their beauty(as in “Hollywood”beauty), which could easily be shown in almost any kind of fitted gown. I, too, have immense sympathy (I’m not sure that’s the word I’m looking for) for women who are forced to choose prostitution for a living (tho I do go along w/ the school of thought that there are ways that we women all “sell” ourselves via our sexuality), but for it to become the new “chic”? Especially for fans of a show like Gossip Girl, that skews to a younger demographic. And not to get started on how we dress little girls in belly shirts and daisy dukes, but the pressure to be a sex object seems to get younger and younger. I’m not a prude, but this has to stop somewhere! Who are these protesters trying to protect? The prostitutes (whose faces are not shown) — women who VERY publicly sell their wares or Hollywood starlets, who have the option to wear, literally, whatever they want (on loan or to publicize the brand). Personally, I think it is a very funny, bawdy comedy bit (if one hates Joan Rivers, turn it off) that airs at 11:30 at night here!