The illusion of the celebrity lifestyle

ILLUSTRATION BY JACOB GUTIERREZ

Celebrities should not be idolized

Many people, young and old, across the world, see the rich and famous as stars to be looked up to. Such an idea, however, is harmful, as fans do not know of everything that goes into a public appearance of fame and wealth. Setting goals and aspiring toward being a superstar sets a person on a course that will, in all likelihood, lead to failure and disappointment alongside unrealistic expectations for their own life and future.

One problem with idolizing the celebrity lifestyle is that, oftentimes, those lifestyles are supported by large, unethical industries. Frequently, celebrity businesses are run using cheap overseas labor, which often involves slavery in Africa or Asia. Much of the wealth collected by the rich is built off of the abuse of impoverished citizens in third world nations.

Many celebrities are directly involved in unethical or harmful practices. The use of private transportation is exponentially worse for the environment than public transport, yet it is extremely popular among celebrities. Much of the upper class engages in activities that hurt the planet.

Fan worship also leads to unhealthy parasocial relationships. A parasocial relationship is a one-way relationship where the idolized figure, known as the persona, does not know that the other member of the relationship even exists. The fan develops an often obsessive view with the celebrity, sometimes changing into love or personal friendship, even as the persona continues to lack knowledge of the fan’s

Cherishing family

VIVIAN NGUYEN FOCUS EDITOR

One of the hardest things growing up was being away from my mom. When I was in third grade, she was accepted to work as a histotechnologist in Northern California and moved away from my father, brother, and me. Seeing her pack her bags while my father helped load the car was the worst day of my life.

JEREMY GUTIERREZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In recent years, controversy has arisen surrounding the topic of bathroom use by transgender people. While opinions may differ largely based on the demographics of an area — with republican areas tending to be less accepting of transgender individuals — even those that consider themselves progressive or “protrans” may often be against the concept. Many people state that it would be dangerous to allow a “male-bodied person” (in the case of transfems) to enter restrooms with cisgender women, especially children. However, evidence largely shows that transgender people pose no greater threat to others than their cisgender counterparts. In fact, allowing transgender people to use the correct restroom has more positives; violence against transgender people reduces, while the general acceptance toward transgender people increases. There is currently no evidence to support the idea that transgender people pose any risk to cisgender people in public restrooms. This idea is actually negated by several studies published within the past decade. A 2018 study from Massachusetts concluded that any instances of privacy or safety violations were exceedingly rare. existence.

In fact, restrictive policies and belief systems often result in trans people being hurt instead. A study published by the National Center for Transgender Equality in 2016 found that about 12% of transgender people were verbally harassed in public restrooms within the previous year, while 1% were physically attacked, and 1% were sexually assaulted. Regardless of a person’s gender, gender non-conforming people are more likely to experience violence in public restrooms. Requiring transgender people to use the restroom of their “biological sex” would result in some being harassed or attacked. Many men are threatened by the idea of feminine or gay men — often stemming from insecurity, or viewing them as sexual predators — in addition to transgender women, and forcing trans women to use the men’s restroom can only result in violence.

Within school environments, restrictive policies can lead to even worse outcomes.

Although some may argue that the presence of a figure to idolize and strive to match is helpful, it ultimately can hurt more than it assists. Trying to reach the same standards that a celebrity sets will, more often than not, result in failure and disappointment. Celebrity idolization is also harmful by potentially resulting in unhealthy obsessions, and many people that defend celebrity fans do not consider the harm of parasocial bonds.

Ultimately, aiming to match the rich and famous can harm goals and mentalities. Both the direct unethicality that people commit for money and fame and the danger that a one-sided idolization brings can worsen a fan’s mental state far more than the benefits could bring.