'Media demonises female celebrities'

LONDON: Women celebrities like Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and Heather Mills are portrayed in negative light by the media because of their gender, says an academic.

Kirsty Fairclough of the University of Salford said the image of women has been devalued through tabloid journalism and paparazzi photography.

She listed Winehouse and Spears as celebrities who are "routinely condemned for their perceived excessive lifestyles and their disregard for the apparent rules of femininity through extreme diets or weight gain, drug abuse, supposed lack of fashion sense, and an 'unfeminine' need for fame and attention", reports contactmusic.com.

Fairclough believes there is a "paradox" in the way society views famous women.

She said: "On one hand female celebrities crave freedom, but on the other hand they still pander to conservative ideas of sexuality through what's been called 'raunch culture'.