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God blessed us the day she opened her mouth!
God blessed us the day she opened her mouth!Ugly Duckling Syndrome: Susan Boyle
It?s patronising to say that Susan Boyle didn?t make an effort with her appearance when she went to her audition on ?Britain?s Got Talent? She had a gold brocade dress on and make-up. She had clearly taken trouble with her outfit and presented herself as someone who wanted to be taken seriously. When people say that Susan Boyle didn?t take trouble with her appearance, what they are really saying is that she doesn?t fit a certain idea of what a pop star is or of what femininity is. One of the things that was played up on the part of the show immediately prior to her performance was that she was a little bit odd, a little bit aggressive and there was an overriding tone of ?who the hell does she think she is?? This horribly sneering tone came from all three ?judges?, but particularly from Cowell. Maybe Cowell?s character or persona is responsible for the American reaction to his reaction to Susan Boyle. There was something horrible about the way that it was underlined by Ant and Dec that we were about to have our expectations confounded. As Cowell had his confounded. It almost defies belief that anyone could look as Susan did and yet have a singing voice like hers.
This is a dangerous perception. It implies that physical characteristics come in bundles ? good looks go with talent and a lack of one implies a lack of the other. It also feeds into ideas of the of age and gender stereotypes ? as an unmarried 47 year old woman Susan is not expected to have any kind of mass appeal. At the beginning of her introductory segment Susan said that she?d ?never been married, never been kissed? betraying a curious mixture of morality and melancholy. she hastily added ?that?s not an advert?. Ant and Dec responded to her discussion of her sexuality by making a joke of it, as though an unmarried older woman could not be treated seriously as a sexual person.
This juvenile approach was present throughout the show ? with one of the guests doing a kind of clumsy and ineffective striptease and being told that ?for curvy women everywhere? she could ?bring those to the next round?. the incessant harping on the size of the woman?s breasts in the face of her clearly substandard dancing was almost the opposite of Susan Boyle ? she was chosen because her body was available to be ogled regardless of talent. Here this women allowed stereotypes to be perpetuated by the judges, stereotypes to do with the way that men become blind to reason in the face of enormous breasts and that women have to cling to notions of ?empowerment? to counteract this. Susan Boyle on the other hand did not show her breasts off, did not attempt to cover up her grey hair and said exactly what she liked without fear of giving the wrong answer. there was nothing pathetic, desperate or submissive about her even in the face of so many preconceived notions.
I was talking to my friend about this earluer and I thought we were arguing, but really we were saying the same thing. I said I didn?t like the way she?s become a phenomenon, the way that Amanda Holden dropped her eye-rolling forced a stading ovation on hearing a few notes from Susan. I don?t like the stupid hyperbole and the patronising way that they can?t believe a woman who looks as Susan does sings so well. The sheer excess of the praise is an indictment. But he said no, it?s an amazing thing that a woman can say she?s unemployed, she?s unmarried, can dress as she does and retain her dignity in the face of a hostile crowd who would like nothing better than to ridicule and exploit her. And I agree completely, I just don?t know how much of the press she recieves will highlight her dignity and how much the sideshow phenomenon.
hog....you and me both.
TJ, TJCoro, and that's what you get when you take a poll. 
My ball itch.
don TJ and the 
Coros
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