Katy Perry, Trevor Project, feminism, etc.

[PeachPunk]

So I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss. Katy Perry is a "gay icon", if you will, but has, despite that fact, come under a lot of scrutiny for saying a few rude things about the LGBT community. When she accepted an award from the Trevor Project for being an Ally, she said, "Why wouldn't I support gays? They're so much fun to take shopping and talk about boys with!" My thoughts on the issue, as well as a few others.
She's also gotten a lot of s**t for saying "I'm not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women" when accepting her Billboard Woman of the Year award. Here's what I have to say about that: she, like many other people nowadays, is warped into this idea that being a feminist means you loathe men and think you are superior to them. That's only on the very extreme end of feminism, and I think she was just trying to differentiate herself from that. She didn't say feminism is a bad thing or whatever. And honestly, I think people are only making a big deal about this because she's such a star. I've heard friends of mine make similar statements and they were let off without a scratch. It's just become popular belief that feminism means hating and torturing and oppressing men, which it isn't. It's really just a fight for equality for women. Katy Perry didn't know that, and it doesn't seem a lot of America does, either. She's only getting scorn because she's a public figure, it may seem.
Maybe i'm biased as a fan of Katy Perry's music, I dunno. Thoughts?  

[Taeryyn]

I've never thought of her as a gay icon, but I'm not really in the loop when it comes to that stuff. I like a couple of her songs, and she seems a lot more likeable than most of the other pop tarts, but I wouldn't exactly call myself a Katy Perry fan. I certainly don't dislike her, though.

I still remember all the rage directed at "I Kissed A Girl" (although "Ur So Gay" didn't seem to get nearly as much attention, which kind of surprised me), so I suppose it's par for the course that she'd get lambasted for some poorly-worded (yet well-intentioned) sound bites, too. razz

Both statements were pretty dumb, I guess, but c'mon... She's a pop star, not a political activist. She's famous for her cutesy, catchy songs (and two or three other, uh...attributes), not for her profound intellect.  

[Saint Sims]

I think people need to lighten up and quit taking everything so personally.

A celebrity can't say a single damn thing without someone somewhere getting butt-hurt over it.

We all say stupid things, they just happen to have their less-than-perfect moments recorded.

I don't think her comment when accepting the Ally award was rude or meant to be. I think it was posed in good humor and making light of a known LGBT stereotype.