Pursuant to his recent comments criticizing gay parents, it seems British actor Rupert Everett is more than feeling the backlash. According to an article in Huffington Post, Everett is receiving reams of hate mail, even death threats.
"All the queens out there now have it in for me. I'm loathed by them. I'm having to take evasive action," the 53-year-old actor, himself homosexual, told the Telegraph.
Everett, who recently claimed he couldn't imagine "anything worse than being raised by two dads," denounced gay parenting as "vain" and "egocentric."
In an interview dating back to 2010, he was also quoted as saying, "I could never do that to a child. Can you imagine what it would be like having your two dads coming to school speech days? And hearing those awful queeny rows while you are trying to get to sleep?"
Gay rights organization GLAAD called Everett's views "archaic":
"Since Everett shared his outdated opinion, gay parents, as well as their friends and families, have voiced overwhelming disappointment. Children aren't hurt when raised by caring gay parents, but they are when uniformed people in the public eye insult their families."
Is Everett entitled to his opinion, or is the hate mail warranted?
Everyone is talking about Jennifer Livingston right now, the news anchor from Wisconsin who took the bully by the horns after a viewer criticized her weight in the following letter, taken from an article in Slate:
Subject: Community Responsibility
Hi Jennifer,
It's unusual that I see your morning show, but I did so for a very short time today. I was surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition hasn't improved for many years.
Surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular. Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain. I leave you this note hoping that you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle.
As she rightly points out, anyone in the public eye needs ultra thick skin to deal with criticism. It's not always easy (as the bloggers on this site can attest), especially when words turn personal and hurtful.
Rather than dealing with the attack privately, Livingston took to the airways, to confront the bully directly. More important, even, than reminding the viewer that they do not know her and therefore do not have the right to criticize or comment on her appearance, Livingston ostensibly turns a negative into a positive by reminding children not to "let your self worth be defined by bullies," and reminding adults that they need to teach by example.
Talk about community responsibility! Talk about kicking off Bullying Prevention Awareness Month with a bang!
Is obesity a "choice" as the viewer suggests? What do you think of Livingston's rant?
If you thought the key to marital bliss was splitting domestic chores down the middle, think again.
According to an article in the Globe and Mail, which draws on a Norwegian study, divorce rates are actually higher—as much as 50 per cent higher—among those who share the workload.
The reason? Co-author of the study, Thomas Hansen, claims that women in such relationships tend to have "a high level of education and a well-paid job, which makes them less dependent on their spouse financially." And women who are more independent are less likely to stick around if the marriage isn't working out.
University of Canterbury sociology professor Frank Furedi had another theory: “The more you organize your relationship, the more you work out diaries and schedules, the more it becomes a business relationship than an intimate, loving spontaneous one,” he told the Telegraph.
Getting it right is certainly a delicate balance. While dividing household chores guards against resentment, a degree of give and take and flexibility is also required to make things run smoothly. A marriage definitely isn't a business, and treating it as such quickly strips the love and the fun from a relationship.
Are you successful at balancing chores, or is your domestic delegation far from blissful?
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