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Why do men hate Sarah Jessica Parker?

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Sarah Jessica Parker

Heather Kennedy
WVoN co-editor 

Trends change, government rise and fall, but being rude to American actress Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) never seems to go out of fashion.

Voted the Ugliest Woman Alive by readers of Maxim in 2007, she was called a  “dog” by Fox News anchor Oliver Tull this week.

The remark came after Tull showed viewers the now infamous clip of Fox presenter Gretchen Carlson abandoning co-host Brian Kilmeade live on air after he made a sexist comment.

Viewers have frequently complained about Kilmeade, who on the show ‘Fox and Friends’ said to Carlson: “Women are everywhere. We’re letting them play golf and tennis now. It’s out of control.”

Carlson walked off, telling Kilmeade: “Go on, you read the news if men are so great. Go ahead. Take them away.”

Alone on set, Kilmeade told a stunned audience and camera crew: “She’s gone. She needed a shower”.

Fast forward a few days and Tull decided to reinforce Fox’s allegiance to the good ship sexism. He played the clip of Carlson and Kilmeade before introducing the next segment, about pro-Obama dog clothing with the words: “Is a dog campaigning for Obama? No, not Sarah Jessica Parker.”

This comment has attracted considerably less publicity, presumably because SJP’s unattractiveness is a fact on which all sane men can agree?

Everyone is entitled to their subjective opinion but why does she attract such widespread loathing?

Is it because these men think all women in print or on screen exist purely for their arousal?

As the star of the long-running TV series, Sex and the City, SJP is still closely associated with an explicit and confrontational form of female sexuality. I’m not saying the show was a feminist trailblazer, but it was a rare slice of pop culture in which male sexuality didn’t call the shots.

Sex on our screens means one thing for too many men: erotically compliant 20-somethings, arranged for their pleasure. Anything else and they get confused, irritated and critical.

So although SJP is clearly an attractive woman, whose success isn’t built on pandering to male desire, she is seen as fair game for the most vitriolic kind of abuse.

I’ll leave you with a few comments from some outraged onlookers, shocked at the audacity of a sex icon who doesn’t have them reaching for the Kleenex:

“Sarah Jessica Parker – the fashion icon whose message is “ugly girls can be pretty, too.”

“How the hell did this Barbaro-faced broad manage to be the least sexy woman in a group of very unsexy women and still star on a show with ’sex’ in the title?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Sarah Jessica Parker that couldn’t be cured by wart-removal surgery.”

Now, that’s what I call ugly.

  1. Jane Osmond says:

    Yes indeed it is ugly. I often despair of the UK media, but the US? Unbelievable the things that male commentators say and get away with. The US people must cringe when the blatantly sexist remarks by ‘news’ pundits like this guy are broadcast around the world. Good piece Heather.

  2. Thanks for the article, although I disagree that SJP and SATC success “isn’t built on pandering to male desire”. Her character in the show is constantly revolving her life around keeping boyfriends. Just because the women have high paid jobs and libidos doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still reek of patriarchy.

  3. Melissa, you couldn’t be more correct. Her sexuality on the show is gross. As her chracter is portrayed on SATC, her vagina must be worn out and a breeding ground for what ever type of infections exist out there. YUK! With that said, even if she was technically pretty, her portrayal and demeanor would camouflage that, but the fact that she looks the way she does only adds to the disgust. She should also dress a little more age appropriate. I’m not say like an old lady, but with more class. If men hate her, well, in this case, I think her own fault.

  4. Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do, you’re half crazy to think what you say is true.

    I can’t believe you managed,

    to agree with her being disparaged.

    Are you a troll?
    a sexist mole?

    your comment was an own-goal.

  5. Daisy, wow, thanks for showcasing some of the most repugnant misogyny out there.

    Melissa, I agree SATC reeks of patriarchy. But unlike a lot of prime time shows, the actors/actresses aren’t chosen strictly according to hetrosexual male desire. This isn’t because SATC has heroically overcome sexist norms, it’s just because no heterosexual males watch the programme.

  6. SJP’s unconventional beauty makes her an easy target for people too stupid to articulate what they don’t like about her. I personally am not a fan of the characters she plays (I find them gratingly self-involved and far too girly to identify with). However I’ve heard she’s a really sweet person in real life, and her artistry and creativity when it comes to fashion speaks for itself. Looks are a terrible way to judge someone but even if it was an acceptable practice, the fact is that SJP *is* in fact a very beautiful woman.

    And for the record — Faux News is not representative of us Americans in general. They’re the propaganda arm of the American Tealiban — you might as well quote the KKK. No, really.

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