2011: The Year the Superficial Reigned

Americans are codified from a young age to acknowledge the fleeting, the anti-intellectual, the sensational and the superficial. We learn early about the nature of celebrity worship and the monopoly they have on our culture without questioning why or how they have achieved such status. Sadly, this has become a blindly accepted norm.

Let us consider Kate Middleton and Kim Kardashian: two women, neither with any discernible skills, who were celebrated to no end in 2011. The former around the world, the latter by a large dim subculture of the United States. Historian Daniel J. Boorstin argues that a celebrity is a person known for his or her "well-knownness." This is true of both Middleton and Kardashian – they are known simply for being known. Their statures are inflated undeservingly by the media to serve as profitable conduits.

"Kate's First Royal Christmas" one magazine reads. Another declares that Kim Kardashian is "chasing Kobe Bryant." Their lives no longer belong to them. Their stories are shaped and told by fashion magazines and television entertainment shows, yet the world is mesmerized by their every move.

Contrast these two princesses – one official, the other in her own head — with three actual heroines who were celebrated justly in Oslo this past December. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leyman Gbowee and pro-democracy campaigner Tawakkol Karman of Yemen were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At 32, Karman was the youngest ever recipient of the award. These are strong, intelligent and able women whose stories hardly made a dent in the American mainstream media.

Boorstin says, "a celebrity is a creature of public opinion, of magazines, newspapers, and the ephemeral images of movie and television screens." A celebrity needs the attention and adulation of others to subsist. A hero needs none of these things. Their actions and words speak for themselves; they deserve, but do not need, recognition or confirmation from the outside world. In an essay published in the LA&S student research journal "Creating Knowledge," Megan Ashley says "a hero represents a larger symbol, standing taller than mere mortals, the celebrity is an average person who lives on through gossip and scandal, never serving a larger purpose."

Never serving a larger purpose. Western women should take heed of the examples set by Sirleaf, Gbowee and Karman, women actually deserving of "celebrity" status. Unlike Middleton and Kardashian, their work and efforts aim to promote positive social change throughout the world, not just fill a tabloid with snapshots and headlines.

Gbowee wrote that her purpose in Liberia was to create "peaceful, feminine havoc… Women brought sanity to Liberia." Peaceful, feminine havoc should be wrought on all industries that debase and sexually objectify women. Until the standards change and heroines like the Nobel Prize trio are celebrated, we will hear little from the Gbowees of the world.

Until then, we are stuck hearing about Kim's 72-day marriage and whether Kate is pregnant or not. The health of any culture can be measured by what it celebrates, and 2011 proved that America is ailing. Perhaps our New Years resolution ought to be to rightfully assign "celebrity" status to women who matter.