Finding the "Man" in Manipulation

As we briefly mentioned in class there are particular characters in the media that many teen girls seem to swarm to.  One of them being Edward Cullen.  I’m choosing Edward Cullen because I too had the obsession with him along with many of my friends.  Whether it was hanging pictures of him on my wall, reading the books two times through, or watching the movie too many times than I’d like to repeat, I know what it feels like to have a celebrity crush.

 Rachel Karinol’s reading focuses on the idea that these celebrity crushes provide a safe outlet for young girls to explore their sexuality. I agree that these crushes are harmless (even though I’m pretty sure I still have mine), however I think that the media is manipulating us to have the crushes more than they develop naturally.  Karinol believes that these types of crushes allow for girls to connect with their friends over a common crush, and a way to express feelings of love and sex but she never discusses how these particular crushes are chosen, and I personally believe that they are not chosen but handed to these girls for consumer gain.  For example here were 3 out of plenty of magazines covers in the year that Twilight was first in theatres. 

Even if you had never read the book you were thinking about these characters.  You wanted to see Twilight to see what all the hype was about.  The media made you want to know more about Edward Cullen.  Once you bought these magazines, what was in them allowed girls to admire this new found love.  Endless pictures and quizzes that allowed girls to share with their friends and admire throughout their teen years.  Here is a real life example of a friends bedroom growing up. 

While I definitely support Karinol’s beliefs about celebrity crushes and them being a safe outlet for teen girls, I have to disagree that this only has an effect on teen girls.  Many people have said that 50 Shades of Grey is the Twilight for young adults, however there are many similar behaviors however just in a more adult manner.  Whether that be reading the books multiple times, waiting in line to be the first at the movie, or stalking all of their social media accounts.  I think that celebrity crushes would not be as prevalent without the media manipulating our curiosity and gaining from it as well. 

references

Karniol, R. (2001). Adolescent females’ idolization of male media stars as transition into sexuality. Sex Roles, 44(1/2), 61-77.