For those of you who missed it, Shape Magazine editor, Valerie Latona, sent an email to readers apologizing for putting LeAnne Rimes on the cover. Was it because they photoshopped her to oblivion or because Ms Rimes was involved with a dog fighting or child abuse ring? No. Ms Latona apologized - saying that "Shape has made a terrible mistake in putting LeAnn Rimes on the cover" - because readers were aghast that they had to lay eyes on an adultress.
That's right, it turns out that making a mistake in something as personal as marriage does score up there in the disgusting category, along with dog fighting and child abuse. Or, that's what Shape readers think, anyway. It is most ironic that she isn't blasted for cheating on her husband as much as she's blasted for being "a husband stealer."
Sure, affairs are bad. They cause heartache and pain, they're an ultimate betrayal, selfish, crappy, and I doubt that many out there think otherwise. They hurt friends who end up being involved in the ensuing drama, too. However, how many Shape readers are friends with Ms Rimes or her ex-husband? How many weren't sure whose side to take because they knew all the facts and were torn between friends? My guess is that none of these women knew her, her ex, or their situation.
It is sad that people can spew such hatred toward a woman who made a mistake, but they don't seem to mind that the NFL hasn't kicked Brett Favre out for being a married-with-kids sexist pig, or that Tiger Woods is still celebrated for his golf game even after he cheated on his wife with any woman who'd do him. Brad Pitt is still lusted after by millions even after he hooked up with Angelina Jolie while still married. Who doesn't love Lenny Kravitz, even though we know he cheated on Lisa Bonet?
Can a woman not be celebrated for her talent and for the parts of her that didn't make a mistake? Are Shape readers so pure-of-heart that their eyes will bleed if they even have to look at a non-perfect, mistake-making woman? LeAnn Rimes does not deserve to have her life and work beat into irrelevant submission because the moralists out there are afraid that she's out to steal their husbands. What year is it anyway, 1953?
It is offensive that a small group of judgmental are proud to have a no-tolerance policy with women, but not to men. It's more offensive that an editor would send an apology to these backwards women, further shoving Ms Rimes into the "whore" box instead of defending the mag's choice. It's one thing to listen to your readers, but it's another to join in on the hen-pecking girl gang activity, stepping in to agree that these readers are right in passing out scarlet letters as they see fit.
What we dislike and critize most about others, we often see within ourlelves. One has to be willing to look really deep for self awareness, and this can be difficult to do. These women who who have become so judgemental may want to spend some time searching within.