Tuesday, July 28, 2009

YUPB Icon- Katharine Hepburn

" Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself."

Do you ever yearn for a time when celebrities were mysterious beings whose personal lives were beside the point. A time when Twats like Heidi and Spencer would be screened by directors and casting agents who would inevitably toss them aside once they recognized their obvious lack of substance?

I do *sigh*.

I wish there were more women in the entertainment industry as fascinating as Katharine Hepburn was, what with her raspy voice, strange mannerisms and crusty defiance. Now here was a woman worthy of not only the time it took to see one of her movies, but also the hard-earned money you plunked down for that privilege.

She went from being labeled "Box office poison" to becoming the first actress to win four Academy Awards and she did it while shunning the stifling moral code imposed on actresses working in 1940's Hollywood. She wore pants before it was acceptable to do so, refused roles that could lead to bimbo typecasting and publicly stated that she thought herself too selfish for children in an era where such behaviour could get you burned at the proverbial stake. Brave.

As the daughter of the co-founder of Planned Parenthood and early pro-choice advocate, Katharine came by her individualism and liberal ideals honestly. She was so intrinsically independent that, when she married, she insisted that her husband rearrange his name so that she wouldn't have to go by the boring moniker Kate Smith; she also insisted on continuing to work in theatre. Later, when she decided that marriage was limiting her potential, she went to Mexico on her own to obtain a divorce because she knew that she would get jerked around by a U.S. system that punished women who tried to abandon their prescribed role in life. Then, she went about f*cking whomever she pleased while landing the best roles in the business and enjoying a career that spanned six decades. High Five, Katharine!

She was a true firebrand, a feminist before it was fashionable to proclaim yourself as such and a no-nonsense woman who oozed self-respect; a sharp contrast to the "stars" we are subjected to today who have the style and appeal of a set of french manicured acrylic fingernails.(Scoff).

If you don't love her already, you should start today. They don't make them like this anymore.

By the way, On Golden Pond (for which she won an Oscar):
Best. Period. Movie. Ever.
Trust.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I didn't know that calling yourself a feminist was ever fashionable.

Shabs said...

I always hear stupid girls saying, I'm a feminist, but (insert 100% anti-feminist sentiment here). I think it's one of feminism's main problems; people no longer understand what it means.

Anonymous said...

Am I the only girl in the world who would love to stay home and cook pie all day?

Shabs said...

Of course not. What kind of pie...?

Unknown said...

She did what any man would have done to get ahead.

All women who value indepenence should never forget this woman.

Anonymous said...

blech.

Shabs said...

Don't be jealous, Anonymous.

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