There are some people (cough Eminem cough) that say homophobic things because they know it’s going to stir something up. Whether it’s for controversy’s sake, or just to be noticed, I don’t think that Blake Lively felt she could benefit either way from telling Allure that sometimes she feels “like a tranny.”
In an interview with the magazine that comes out April 21, Lively complained about her height, saying she is often made to wear heels and is still much taller than most of the males she works with on Gossip Girl.
“I don’t know, I’m … large?” Lively told Allure. “I’ve got this long hair and lots of clothes and makeup on. I just feel really big a lot of the time, and I’m surrounded by a lot of tiny people. I feel like a man sometimes.”
I understand what Lively was saying — she feels very awkward, despite those that hail her as beautiful and statuesque (Allure photographers included, as the behind-the-scenes story notes she was getting embarrassed by their fawning over her.) Her choice of the word “tranny” is likely something she regrets, now that it’s turned into headline news prefacing her cover model duties for the month of May.
I’m not suggesting we give everyone who uses a negative-LGBT term a “free pass” on using whatever term they’d like, even if it’s in a joking manner; I’m simply saying that Blake Lively is 21-year-old young woman in the spotlight, who is still dealing with the same body image issues that every other woman her age is. And if someone is telling you how stunning you are on a daily basis, and putting your response in print, you might feel as if you have the choice of sounding humbled, conceited or simply a little awkward and shy.
I’d just like to say, Ms. Lively, that I find you very attractive, just the way you are. Wait, let’s survey one more time:
Yep — she looks great, no matter how tall she is, or what size shoe she wears.
