Joan Collins on Fat People, Asians, Reagan love, and Warren Beatty, etc

[SFK]

Yeah, she showed her vulnerability there for sure, it was as if she brought her Alexis out for protection.

[Max]

Sorry for causing trouble, but seriously, if Joan had made the same type of "outdated" comments regarding gay people, I doubt that some would be so dismissive of the things she said. There does seem to be a double standard here.

Being a conservative, I obviously loathe our culture's need to be overly politically correct. However, there is a difference between being politically correct at all costs (i.e., refraining from saying anything that many be perceived as remotely "insensitive" by a minority group) versus saying things that are just downright insulting towards minorities (which is what Joan did in reference to fat people).

[Mr. Vixen]

Her comments on overweight people are disgusting and narrow-minded.

Obviously, I feel horrible about her date rape. No one deserves that.

[DRW50]

Many celebrities have made comments about gay people and there has been little backlash. They even become martyrs and heroes.

It would depend on what she said.

[Max]

Carl, I wasn't referring to the backlash that Joan would get from the American public at large, but rather the backlash Joan would be getting from those who are gay. Somehow, I just don't think Qfan and some others would feel it's alright (at Joan's old age) for her to call gay people "homos" and "queers" because those are "outdated" comments. (Whereas Qfan used this very rationale to explain why it was acceptable for Joan to refer to Asians as "Chinamen.") And how would any gay person feel if Joan said that she felt sorry for homosexuals, because (as she explained was the case for the obese) they will have trouble fitting into "mainstream" society?

[DRW50]

It would depend on the context and the history of the person. A lot of people who may support gay rights do end up saying some tacky or inappropriate comments. If gay people got upset every time this happened they'd never stop being upset. If anything there's often as much criticism of gays who don't like these comments as there is about the people who make them.

[dragonflies]

+1 million

She thinks she's god's gift, that was one gift that was sent back many decades ago

[alphanguy74]

I think Daytime fan is absolutely correct about the Reagan/Thatcher thing... she's too busy being fabulous to be really intrentched in political BS. And I certainly do not equate "chinamen" with "queer"... one is a slur, the other is an outdated descriptive term. I don't see "chinamen" being any different than "russian", Mexican", or whatever... granted, in the US, we would say "chinese", but I just chalk that up to the british way of speaking.

[Max]

Being neither gay nor Asian, all this is mere speculation on my part. That being said, I think a reasonable person could conclude that some Asians might find the term "chinaman" just as offensive as some gay people would view the term "queer." This especially holds true if the particular Asian being called "chinaman" is actually Korean, Japanese, etc. (And apparently, Collins uses the "chinaman" term when referrring to any Asian.)

[DaytimeFan]

Fat people are a minority? Since when? Over 50% of the American and UK population is overweight, nearing obese.

[ReddFoxx]

Reagan and Thatcher were personalities, people got really caught up in what they were, rather than what they did and what they did economically did a lot of damage years after they were out of office.

[Max]

While over 50% of Americans weigh more than what is considered healthy, only a relative minority of people appear morbidly obese.

Furthermore, my college sociology textbook states that not all minority groups are statistical minorities. Rather, a minority group can be any group of people who are discriminated against in mainstream society. (For instance, blacks in South Africa--despite representating over 80% of that country's population--are considered a minority group because they have historically been treated as second class citizens.)

[DaytimeFan]

Obesity in the majority of American states is between 22-30%. That is a deadly number and Joan is correct that they are digging their own graves with their teeth. As a physician I am never going to accept that fat is something to be accepted. Fat is dangerous and unhealthy. Joan's rude about weight, that's her issue, her point, however, remains valid.

[quartermainefan]

I think the difference is even in Joan Collin's day, calling people "homos" was deemed an insult so that is something she would know better about. Its not like that word suddenly fell out of vogue last year or even twenty years ago. With that in mind, I don't think there is even a chinaman's chance she would ever use that phrase. But I could see her saying "oriental" and not "asian".

I remember this poster well

[Mr. Vixen]

That honestly wouldn't offend any of you? I'm offended just thinking about it, and I'm straight...