by Maria Miaoulis

Created on: January 09, 2009

People forget that celebrities are human beings and that they experience the same things we do, the only difference being that the whole world knows when it is happening to them. We envy their palatial homes, exotic getaways, and closets full of designer clothes, and try to become like them in an effort to feel as glamorous as they do when we are lucky to catch a glimpse of them on the street or watch them on the red carpet at award shows. We look to celebrities as role models because of their picture perfect lives. However, as quick as we are to adore them, we are that much swifter in condemning and blaming them for ours and our children's bad behaviors such as DUI arrests, drug overdoses, eating disorders, promiscuousness, excessive partying, etc.

People don't understand that Hollywood is far from a realistic depiction of life. It's not the endless stream of parties, dances, exotic vacations and dinners with other A-listers that we quite imagine. We are given a very small window into superstars' lives, and this comes from less than credible tabloids who merely want to sell more magazines. And let's face it- what sells more? a headline speculating that a star couple is divorcing? or one that discusses how a celebrity mom goes grocery shopping? We should know better than to believe what the Enquirer and other gossip rags have to say.

For those who argue that young children are very negatively influenced by what they see on television and in these magazines, that because of what celebrities do as a DIRECT result our youth is dressing more provocatively, having sex at an earlier age, drinking, abusing drugs, what have you, I can tell you with certainty that they would do this even if pictures of Lindsey Lohan and others partying were not posted on the Internet. There would still be teenage pregnancies even if the likes of Jamie Lynn Spears had not had a baby at 16.

It's not the modeling industry's fault that young adults, both male and female develop eating disorders and body image issues. These celebrities feel the pressure more than the average person because a size 0 is what gets them that movie role and attracts those endorsements- in short, that's where how they make their money, and they do what they can to earn this standard of living. The size of the average American woman may be a 14, but there is immediate backlash when Tyra Banks and Jennifer Love Hewitt are photographed on beaches showing that they dared to gain weight.

The point is, it is not fair to hold the Hollywood elite accountable to a different standard that you would hold for yourself. Famous people never claim that they are perfect, and they do not encourage people to be like them. Just because we choose to emulate them doesn't mean that they have any obligation to us aside from living their life the best way they can, mistakes and all.

Thus, society should stop blaming Hollywood for whatever goes wrong in the world and instead urge people to take responsibility for their actions.

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