Jade Goody worried cancer will make her ‘look like a lesbian’
December 12th, 2008
Jade Goody - the demure and culturally sensitive Big Brother ‘celeb’ - is worried she’ll “look like a lesbian” if her hair falls out following her cancer treatment, reports the Mirror.
On her new TV show which documents her life with cervical cancer, Jade says “If you’ve got really short har, if you’re not an absolutely stunning bird, it’s really hard to pull it off, which is why I struggle.
“And you can take the risk of looking like a lesbian. Mum even told me that and she’s a lesbian.
“I don’t want to be wearing Timberlands, baggy jeans, and a big shirt with short hair or a bald head, cos people will be like… (pulls disgusted face)”
Out TV presenter Amy Lamé responded that Jade should have more important things to think about: “It’s so distasteful, does she really think that’s what all lesbians look like? It’s a completely old-fashioned, cliched view. Does she really think she can get away with being homophobic like that?
“Plus, she’s just managed to offend and insult not just lesbians but any woman with short hair including those who’ve lost their hair from disease, including cancer. You’d think she’d have more important things to think about than making a reality TV show and worrying about her hair. “
Jade Goody is a single parent and the reason she’s making a reality TV show is that she has two children to provide for. It’s her job, it’s what she does, how else is she going to make money? As I understand it she has a fifty per cent chance of not surviving her cancer. So she is understandably worried about providing for her children in the event of her death.
Her remarks were stupid, yes, but the woman’s got cancer and a fifty percent chance of dying, can’t she be given a break? They’re certainly no more offensive than stuff I’ve read elsewhere (the F word for instance where I got this link from has some choice pieces that say stuff just like this).
Amy Lame’s remarks are almost as bad as Jade Goody’s anyway. If Any Lame thinks women with short hair are insulted by being told they look like lesbians, that necessarily means she must think ‘looking like a lesbian’ is an insult. A strange thing for a lesbian to say IMO.
A lot of dykes do have the type of look Jade Goody describes, me for example, but apparently it’s bad because it’s “old fashioned” (oh no!).
And Jade Goody’s right. You do get shit if you look like that. And you get told you ‘look like a lesbian’. (It’s happened to me). So maybe she’s actually making an (admittedly inept) valid point about hostile responses to women who don’t have ‘feminine’ appearances, and the pressure to look conventionally feminine.
polly styrene ∼ December 12th, 2008 9:09 pmits sad that jades got cancer, but whats that got to do with her saying something offensive? should we let everyone who is ill say mean things just cos we feel sorry for them?
I think amy lame wasn’t being homophobic, I think she was trying to explain that jade was saying that looking like a lesbian = ugly, and that was offensive to straight people as well as lesbians.
Hella ∼ December 13th, 2008 5:35 pmyet again jade is in the s**t. But I have to say if she is guilty of anything it’s not thinking about every last person who might take offence at what she says. Her mum is gay, and from what i see she is also Jade’s bestfriend. My children often say ‘oh that’s so gay’ I always pull them, and they laugh because theo not mean any offence. I am their gay mum and they love me. I wish with all my heart that jade beats this cancer and has a long and happy life loving her sons.
hayley ∼ January 11th, 2009 12:29 am