Kristen Stewart's Mood Blamed for Split With Robert Pattinson, Everything Else


Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's break-up isn't exactly a shocker. 

There are probably a lot of reasons it didn't work—infidelity, time apart, quarter-life crises— but according to tabloids, it's all Kristen Stewart's moody, moody fault. For example, Us Weekly cites her "moody behavior", courtesy of an "inside source" who claimed Pattinson was upset "about how moody she always is" and other reports say he just grew "tired of her mood swings." 

For some time now, the word "moody" has accompanied Stewart's name like bathroom tissue paper. It was the explanation for her recent ranking as "least sexy celebrity" and was also the word that described she's dealing with her split—in a moody way. If you follow the tabloids, her mood isn't so much swinging as it is hovering like a dark cloud over red carpets.  It has something to do with the way her upper and lower lip seem to disagree on whether they should smile or frown. And of course her cheating scandal. And most damning—the fact that she's a young woman. 

Little girls are chastised for being moody and sullen when they're not receptive socially, and women spend their menstruating lives apologizing for their moods. The stigma has left us second-guessing our feelings depending on the time of the month, and worrying that we're responsible for relationship failures without even knowing it.

Fact: Everyone hates a moody bitch, whatever that means.

It's a term from an era before psychological diagnoses, it's the kind of phrase a bad standup comic would use to describe his wife, it's the scapegoat of millions of fights between men and women, and a perpetual explanation for why we're wrong.

I'm not defending Stewart. She cheated, she doesn't smile a lot, she seems to require a lot of personal space for a celebrity. But the same could be said for Russell Crowe—he broke up a marriage, scowled his way through numerous red carpets and oh, remember when he threw a phone? We call him "hot-tempered"— a term that suggests artistic tendencies and sexual passion. Moodiness, on the other hand, describes a passive aggressive person who just might "hold out." This is a misperception, of course, but one legitimized in Hollywood.  

If brooding works for male stars, it's a death knell for female celebs. They're supposed to be thankful for their career like Emma Stone, relatable like Jennifer Lawrence, and grateful for male attention like Jessica Alba. But not too grateful like Anne Hathaway and just a little crazy like Megan Fox. Basically, a woman with a whole catalog of moods, just not moody.