Have you ever noticed how people are much harsher on women in the industry than men? For example, Ed Westwick is sexy when he sports disheveled hair and a slouch hair, but Leighton gets flack for not dressing up enough or wanting to be casual. Double standards and sexism annoy me. Especially when women think ANYTHING a guy does is sexy but then tear apart their own sex. Gross.
well i hope i don't come off that way because I would ever mean to think like that.
I mean Ed Westwick personally does get flack for sporting his signature disheveled look. I mean, there are blogs who dedicate themselves to making fun of him and calling him all kinds of name.
ofc the fandom of people who actually like Ed Westwick outweighs the criticism by leaps but it doesn't mean the criticism doesn't exist. They make fun of his tattoos, body hair, teeth, etc.. Same goes for Penn Badgley. There are a lot of people who make fun of him and i've personally witnessed it.
And likewise there are people who criticize Leighton for her fashion choices. (btw, i love Leighton's fashion identity even if don't agree with all her choices. I get it and some people don't) it's daring, it's expressive. She's not the conventional Hollywood starlet by any means. To me, she's always been classy but she's not prim. She does take risks and sometimes her choices are very cerebral. And there are other times when you can tell she has little thought process for her fashion choices. And there's nothing wrong with that either.
I think the real issue here is the demographic of the fandom who makes these comments. And judging by my experience in the fandom, the demographic is mainly women.
It's hard for me to be a judge here because the criticism Leighton gets is not necessarily hateful on all sides. Sometimes these girls look up to her and they want her to be like their fashion idol. I think a lot of them adore Leighton and just want to see her in something pretty so they can go to the mall in try to emulate her looks, because they want to the thier own version of Leighton Meester. I think it's mostly about their admiration for her. Leighton doesn't necessarily have that responsibility towards them but i don't blame the fangirls for wanting to see Leighton in something pretty. I want to see Leighton in something pretty sometimes.
Fashion is an art form that people should judge. Some people will like her look, some people won't. some people are just haters and that doesn't only apply to Lei. I think the worst criticisms from girls though are those relating to weight and beauty. And Leighton does get hate on that but it's not from the women in her fandom for the most part. Actually Blake has it 20x worse and i just feel disheartened to see it coming from other women. However, sometimes it's an issue of jealousy. Some women, unfortunately cannot be happy for other women's success or looks.
And i think, regarding the man vs woman argument. It's also about the personality matching the fashion style. Ed seems like a rugged type and so he fits the look and it's just an organic thing for him. Whereas Leighton, i know she has a hippie background, but she has matured in her fashion sense over the few seasons of gossip girl. Like she's on every magazine's fashion radar. And she relentlessly states in interviews how much she has grown, how much she loves fashion. She sets people up to expect a certain quality of look from her. She became a fashion girl on so many magazine covers. Ed was never known for that. So yes, i do understand why people particularly hold the boys vs the girls of gossip girl to different standards.
i don't think criticism has to be hateful.