Why Is Justin Bieber The Most Bullied Teen In The World?

I'm not going to even pretend that I am a Bielieber. I don't have Bieber Fever, but I do respect that he does know how to play drums and other instruments. His songs are catchy, and his voice is a little high pitched but so was Micheal Jackson's as his age.

I am as guilty as the next guy at poking fun at the pint sized pop star. But I started noticing a disturbing trend on my Facebook feed. There is a meme of starting pages to "like" on the social network with names like: "God, take Justin Bieber and give us back _____" The blank can filled with any number of dead rock stars, from MJ to Elvis to Kurt Cobain to Dimebag Darrell to 2Pac to Biggie to The Rev. While I'm sure fans of these people would love to have them back, to see them performing and recording again, I don't see this as a tribute to a beloved icon as much as an attack on a teenage boy.

Yes, Justin is cocky sometimes and his music is as overplayed as any other hit on the radio. But why do so many people, even in jest, wish him dead?

And the hate is everywhere. After a concert goer threw a water bottle at him, a video of the event went viral - getting reposted and remixed over and over. Tee shirts with hateful slogans are available all over the Internet. His sexuality is frequently questioned. After Justin appeared on tv show CSI for the second time, the video of him being shot by cops also went viral, being viewed 17 million times.

Do people genuinely hate Justin Bieber, or this just the normal backlash against a popular musician?

It comes down, in part at least, to misogyny, male posturing and hetero-sexism. Girls like him and have basically created his fame, so therefore he is threat to the male-dominated music industry. He looks girly sometimes, wearing purple and a unisex hairstyle, so he must be gay and therefore bad. He doesn't follow "male" norms - treating girls badly and just looking for poon. He must be gay and therefore bad. And if girls like him, he can't be any good? Noticed no one is making "God, you can take Justin Bieber, just give us back Janis Joplin [or Left-Eye Lopes]"

Justin seems to take it all in stride: after the jokes about his "lesbian" haircut led to website dedicated to lesbians that look like him, he told Chelsea Handler that he thought it was funny. He appeared on the cover of Love magazine's Androgyny issue with the title "Justin Bieber - The Beautiful One" under his striking eyes and full lips - clearly the boy is not ashamed of being androgynous.

Which is partially why preteen girls love him. He doesn't seem threatening or fully sexualized, he's just sweet and cute and not so different from her girl friends, only a boy.

I don't have the answers, but I do know that in a world where bullying is increasing and hate is too easy to find we really shouldn't be dissing someone that just makes girls smile. Viva la Bieber!