I’ve avoided paying attention to the Kristen Stewart “cheating” scandal because I think celebrity gossip is beyond a waste of time, but also—probably more than I’d like to admit—because I just don’t care about Twilight or any of its stars. But this post from Halee Gray Scott stood out by offering a relatively balanced and feminist view of the situation from a Christian magazine (Her.meneutics is the “women’s blog” of Christianity Today).
While we wouldn’t explicitly say that Rupert Sanders or Brad Pitt (in his cheating on Jennifer Aniston with Jolie) were blameless in their sexual indiscretions, we imply this when we talk about “the other women” and call Jolie, Stewart, and other women “homewreckers.” Didn’t these men play an equal part in wrecking their own homes?
Also, earlier in the post:
Blaming women for sexual transgressions is nothing new. Studies show that both men and women often blame women for rape. Though most perpetrators of sexual crimes against children are men, mothers are often held responsible. Many believe that immodestly dressed women cause Christian men to commit sexual sin.
Scott derails late in the post by backtracking on the modesty issue and repeating smug Christian clichés about sexuality, but I’m inclined to forgive her because she frames the issue by referencing Gone With the Wind.