I’ve been having an interesting debate with @Bang2Write on Twitter about how women and men are treated in the media. It comes in the face of Katie Price walking away from I’m A Celebrity after being consistently voted for a string of disgusting tasks. The conversation started with this comment:

I’m ashamed of the public’s bullying of Katie Price. I wonder if she wld be so hated if she was a man?

To be honest, it got me thinking – how many male celebs get the same level of stick for shameful antics in the public eye? You’ve got Liam Gallagher and Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) hassling photographers, Pete Doherty generally being quite a high-profile junkie. Bang2Write goes on to cite Eddie Murphy and Steve Bing for denying paternity of their respective children, Anton Du Beke for getting off rather lightly for his racial slur.

I found myself thinking she had a point, but I think there’s an important distinction here: the most vilified females in pop culture are the ones who (arguably) have no talent to trade on. It’s the unholy trinity of Katie Price, Kerry Katona and the late, great Jade Goody.

The careers of those three in particular either live or die on the back of their tabloid coverage. Look at Katie Price, who actually went on a nationally broadcast reality TV show saying she needed a break from publicity. The same woman who, when public opinion was turning against her started a story about a miscarriage and then dropped a bombshell about a rape in her past. The relevance? Looking for a sympathy vote. You can ask whether men get off lightly, but would a man ever pull off that kind of sick stunt?

Talent versus Celebrity?

That, I think, is a great contrast with the men Bang2Write mentions above – all of the above guys are generally recognised for their creative output: writing, dancing, acting, presenting. The odd incident shouldn’t be a career destroying thing, although even Du Beke feared that his outburst would cost him TV presenting work in the future. The thing with Price, Katona and Goody in particular is that they capitalise on their private lives and then sell stuff – perfumes, calendars, personal appearances, adverts – based on their celeb status.

Positive female role models

Another comment about Peter Andre (and male celebs in general):

I’m unconvinced, he’s got the same steely look in his eye as Katie, IMHO difference is women are called out for ambition

Women are called out for their ambition? Beyonce Knowles might be one of the most powerful females in music right now, and I rarely see negative press for her. In fact, her conduct toward Taylor Swift recently has a lot of people believing she’s the next Mother Teresa. And look for a moment at Rihanna – the victim of a serious domestic violence incident, a story which she couldn’t deny or hide from. Instead of selling her story and capitalising on it, she kept a stoic silence, kept a low profile and then returned to her music career. It was all tastefully handled.

There are a ton of positive female role models out there: in music, movies and TV. They’re ambitious, successful and entertaining. Whether it’s Angelina Jolie or more close to home, Holly Willoughby, there are women who are totally admirable.

My point?

I don’t agree that women have a harder time than men in pop culture. I think a certain type of female celeb has – the type that sells their private life to stay famous. The personal dramas of Katie Price and Kerry Katona have kept them minted for years, but at the expense of their dignity. And people are tired of it – they realise now that Price manufactures most of her own drama, and they’ve turned against her.

It’s a bit like when we found out Britney Spears was tipping the papparazzi off whenever she went out and about.

Anyway, over to you lot – do you think female celebrities are more likely to get a hard time with the press and the public than males are?

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the words of pop darling Cheryl Cole, “If anything is worth having, it’s sure enough worth fighting for…”

To find out what we’re talking about, click the image or visit our sister site, Unreality Shout!

The celebrity housemates received their first task today!

It’s called ‘Ego’ and it involves – for the first time ever, and for one show only – the CBB housemates appearing in the closing credits of an episode of Celebrity Big Brother.

So the famous housemates had to decide between themselves who should receive which credit and therefore, where they’d be placed.

One housemate will receive a ‘starring’ credit, two will receive a ‘co-starring’ credit, two will receive a ‘featuring’ credit, three housemates will receive an ‘extras’ credit and three poor housemates will receive no credit at all!

“I wanna be an extra” said scouser Tina. “Me, Mutya and Michelle will be extras” she continued.

“I’ll be nothing” said Ulrika. No change there then eh?

“Me too, said Tommy.”

But BB wasn’t going to let it be that easy…

What the housemates don’t know is that Head of House Terry is secretly watching their behaviour throughout the Task. Based on what he sees, he’ll have to decide which housemate has the most inflated ego and the housemate he selects will be secretly nominated for eviction.

In other news, BB was nice to the housemates earlier when he let them have two tokens but one was promptly taken back because La Toya broke the rules when she snuck into Terry’s private bedroom. Oh you bad Jackson you!

So will there be famous fur flying and burst egos everywhere? Call back soon and we’ll keep you posted!

Celebrity Big Brother contestant Verne Troyer has told his housemates that despite being small in stature, “I’ve got plenty of inches where it matters.”

The diminuitive 2ft 8in Austin Powers star seems quite keen to impress Michelle Heaton and Lucy Pinder, and according to The Sun, he’s promised “they would not be disappointed.”

Verne, 40, told the girls, “I may be short, but don’t think I don’t know how to please a woman.

“I make up for it in other areas. Any models in the house? I love beautiful women.”

Verne has made a name for himself in Hollywood as a “womanizer” and isn’t afraid to show off his bedroom prowess, so much so that he’s starred in his own homemade porn movie.

Verne’s ex-wife, Genevieve Gallen – who’s 6ft tall – is quoted in the paper as saying: “Let’s just say, ‘Make no assumptions.’ I’m very satisfied.

Verne is currently the bookmaker’s favourite to win the show.

How weird would that be, Paris Hilton doing a guest appearance on her impersonators reality TV show!

Apparently it’s on the cards though, as Chantelle said this week “I think it could happen and it would be so exciting to meet her,â€? Houghton told the UK paper The Star. “Basically it’s a case of ‘my people’ are talking to ‘her people’ and we’ll see what happens.â€?

I hope that Paris demands that Chantelle gives back all the freebies and treats she collected throughout the years on the many occasions that she actually pretended to be the Hilton heiress.

Should be interesting!

NME reported today that

“Preston has been lined-up to guest present BBC South’s Politics Show on March 12.

The show will focus on Brighton’s homeless problem, a cause Preston supported during his reality TV stint after he donated his prize money to local shelter the St Patrick’s Trust.

“It would have closed down,” Preston recently told NME.COM of the night shelter. “It lost it’s government funding, so now I’m a proper hero in my road.”

The programme which is broadcast in the BBC South region – though accessible nationwide through digital receivers – will come live from the shelter at 11.55am.

Additionally, one fan can win the chance to meet Preston on the show. Entrants – who must be from the BBC South region – should email politicsshow@bbc.co.uk with an idea for a future programme.”

In a bid to claim back some of the viewers from ITV’s Celebrity X Factor and Celebrity Love Island, Big Brother producers are planning a series of surprises and twists for this years show, designed to keep us on the edge of our seats!

One such ploy is rumoured to be the introduction of Chantelle and Preston into the house to spice things up a bit, and also the shows bosses will be allowing one lucky housemate to attend an England world cup game.

An insider gushed: “Everyone’s excited about this one. They wanted to do something to take in the World Cup because the contestants will be in the house throughout the tournament. But this is a very ambitious project with potential pitfalls, including how to stop the housemate being recognised and mobbed by other England fans.�

The only problem is what if the housemate in question isn’t English? I can’t imagine a Scot wanting to attend an English world cup game!

Celebrity Big Brother host Davina McCall has admitted to hating Traci Bingham when she first entered the Big Brother house this year.

She said: “When Traci walked into the house, I was like-’OMIGOD, look at her!’ And there was a part of me that hated her because she’s beautiful and she’s got such a bodacious body and enormous boobs.”

Former Baywatch actress Traci Binghma did grow on her though and by the end of her time on the house Davina thought she was “just a really kind person who wanted to be feel loved.”

She added to Britain’s Times magazine: “With celebrities there’s an element of people-pleasing and Traci is definitely one of these people and that’s what makes watching her so painful because all she wants is to be loved and hugged and appreciated and told she’s beautiful.”

Has anybody seen Paperdoll Heaven yet?

It’s a massive flash website that lets you play dress-up with your favourite celebrities. They’ve got everybody on there, including some reality TV heavyweights like Sharon Osbourne, Paula Abdul, Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie from The Simple Life and Girls Aloud.

Stardoll seem to regularly add new celebs for you to play with, and each celeb has a massive wardrobe (of course) for you to mix and match and accessorise!

So there you go folks, something to waste a little bit of time on today, courtesy of your friends at Unreality TV! Have fun! Oh, and let us know if you come across anything similar on your travels….