Saturday, June 2, 2007

Liberal Versus Conservative Parenting: Hollywood Smackdown

In the left corner: Kathy Hilton and Dina Lohan. Both mothers pursued careers in entertainment before their daughters were successful. Both lap up the attention bestowed upon them as parents at every opportunity. And both have been accused of failing to set limits on the behavior of their daughters.

In the right corner: Lynne Spears. Lynne appears to have applied a heavy hand when she observed Britney Spears doing recreational drugs in the wake of her marital separation. By most accounts, she colluded with Kevin Federline to strip Britney of custody of her children if Britney didn't complete rehab - a pretty coercive move and an extreme act of limit-setting. So I'm fairly confident that the label "conservative parent" fits Lynne.

And??? Who wins the smackdown? The jury is still out. Give it a year and see how the daughters fare. But if we were to judge them for their performances in 2007, I'd say they're all losers.

A few theories:



  1. Nature versus nurture. Certain individuals are going to self-destruct regardless of their support system. I don't discount the possibility that Linday would be out of control regardless of her dysfunctional support.

  2. Dina and Kathy are enablers. "Lindsay is so misunderstood," Dina says in the wake of a drug scandal in which Lindsay was photographed getting coked up. She's excusing her daughters behavior, clearly more concerned with PR repair than her daughter's well being. Kathy, by contrast, seemed more concerned about Paris' legal bills than the fact that her daughter flagrantly disobeyed the law.

  3. The imposition of Lynne's repressive values caused Britney's rebellion. Britney probably grew up in a chorus of "don't drink", "don't smoke", "don't sleep with boys" and "be a good girl." We all know girlfriend held onto her virginity just as long as she could! Then Britney endures two years of what one imagines was an oppressive marriage. (To what may be the world's biggest loser, no less.) So she went out and partied a little when she got her first taste of freedom. Who can blame her? She was emancipated! Maybe if Lynne were a little more understanding and tolerant, Britney might not have gone over the edge.

  4. My Mom is cool. The liberal mothers have the edge when it comes to being friends with their daughters. (I know, their job is "mother", not "friend.") Kathy and Dina are still close to their daughters, in the wake of their scandals. Britney, meanwhile, has cut her mother out of her life. Being the bad guy doesn't make one popular. But Lynne Spears may well not be in this for popularity. I think she's in this for her daughter's well-being. Too bad that, out of the three of them, Lynne is the one who suffers the most. But life isn't fair.

Update: Perez Hilton is reporting that Lynne Spears will be on the view on Wednesday. Wonder is she'll comment on Dina and Kathy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the Lynne Spears comments need to consider that when Brit made her now infamous and UNDER AGE photos for the cover of Rolling Stone in her bra and panties on a satin sheet - it was Lynne who suggested the satin sheet and found the sheet for the photographers to use. Also, Brit. was known for being overly sexual when she was still a young girl -- were her mom's "conservative" values then?

Too Cool for School said...

Oh, that's not because her upbringing wasn't conservative; it's because conservatives are hypocritical.

Anonymous said...

Wow, conservatives are hypocritical. What a stereotype. I'm sure you wouldn't be so quick to stereotype all the politically correct groups would you.