The title of my stand up show (and of course this blog) 'James Mullinger Is The Bad Boy Of Feminism' was a satirical reference to the appalling way in which the press frequently refer to homicidal men that inflict vicious assaults on women as "bad boys". Axl Rose is the example I use in the show as he is frequently branded "the bad boy of rock 'n' roll" despite the fact that the shocking behaviour he is most famous for is violence towards women. In my research for the show I studied the many salubrious biographies of this most heinous man and discovered that he has actually assaulted more women in his lifetime than I have kissed. Despite the incredible array of bruised faces, broken limbs, entire bodies being flung down flights of stairs, the music press still brand him a charming, if rather eccentric, bad boy. He is not a bad boy, he is a homicidal lunatic who should have been jailed over a decade ago.
Unfortunately though, the trend for glamourising men who commit acts of violence towards women continues. On the 27th December, The Observer newspaper reported that Charlie Sheen had assaulted his wife on Christmas Day and was promptly jailed. Imagine how bad the beating must have been for the Hollywood police to take notice. After all, this is a town where a man can do as he pleases and be left alone, whereas if a woman does the same she is hounded out of her home. (Case in point: Owen Wilson tries to kill himself after a drugs binge and he is subsequently rightly left alone by the press and the paps to recuperate. But, if a woman such as Sienna Miller consensually screws a man, she is chased and assaulted by male photographers daily and we all shrug and say she was asking for it. Equally, if a poor young woman dies from a drug overdose, her friends and families are hounded by the paps. See last week. And the week before).
And the violence Sheen inflicted was no mere argument. He pushed his wife over and tried to strangle her. Despite this, The Observer saw fit in their headline to brand him a "bad boy". Bad boys smoke a spliff or two. Bad boys shoplift a bag of candy. Bad boys do not commit vicious assaults on women. Before long, The Observer will be referring to Josef Fritz as a naughty boy.
And it's not just supposedly liberal newspapers apologising for these vicious cowards. Glamour magazine features the hugely talented, accomplished musician Rihanna on their cover this month (January 2010). Unsurprisingly they have chosen to ignore all her career accomplishments on their cover and chosen to sell their magazine on the appalling assault she suffered last year at the hands of Chris Brown. The coverline? "Why she still prefers bad boys". Christ almighty, is this not the most insensitive coverline in history? What's worse is that the word "still" is underlined. Even after being beaten senseless in a moving vehicle, this girl just can't get enough of those violent men! This is presumably so that if she ever gets tragically beaten within an inch of her life again, we can all say, "Ahh, well - she did tell Glamour that she loves those violent psychopaths." To read a sensitive, well written and insightful interview with Rihanna, check out the interview with her by the consistently excellent Kira Cochrane in The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/21/rihanna-interview
That, Glamour, is how you profile a superstar.
So listen up all you domestic violence apologists: Charlie Sheen and Chris Brown were not and are not "bad boys"; they are violent psychopaths who should be in jail. And the same goes for every man out there who raises his fists to a women - whether it be his wife or a stranger. Do not listen to Glamour or The Observer, these men are never "bad boys". They are always, always vicious lunatics who must be locked up.
