Can I just say what a promising, inspirational time it is to be a woman! Gone are the days of oppressive societal roles, cultural expectations, and crude critiques based solely on physical appearance and compliance with damaging constructions of feminine norms! No longer do women exist only to be perceived as objects to be gazed upon, stifled, and forced into rigid, unfulfilling molds! Oh no, wait a minute. That totally still happens.
I've avoided doing a "screw you, Media, for prioritizing the size of a woman's jeans over her accomplishments" post because, well, it's been done. To death. What hasn't been said about our society's gross fascination with thinness, hotness, youth, and femininity? But recent twitterings in the blog world have forced me to break my own ban and vent some much-pent-up frustrations about the way our little world works.
Exhibit A: Michelle Obama. Harvard Law graduate? Check. Pioneering community service program advocate? Check. Fearless defender of policies supporting families? Check. America's first ever African American First Lady? Check. But really, let's get down to what's important: her body and clothes!
Almost everything I've read about Michelle in the days following Barack's inauguration have focused primarily on her wardrobe and her biceps. Both, in my opinion, are stellar, but are we serious? I understand the long-standing tradition of First Ladies serving as fashion plates, a la Jackie O., but this is beyond ridiculous. The LA Times website asserts, "Some found Michelle Obama's dress breathtaking and sexy. Others said it looked like a chenille bedspread or like it was made of toilet paper." Breaking news, indeed.
But it goes so far beyond the typical "Hot or Not" shallowness we're all used to. Not only is it appropriate for the public to exclusively judge her based on appearance, but it's also perfectly okay to find fault with all possible facets of it. The Black Artists Association is attacking Michelle because she chose inauguration looks by Cuban and Taiwanese designers, but not an African American one. The nerve! Not only did her outfit strike some as a toilet paper art project, but it didn't equally represent every race, nation, and culture on God's green earth! What kind of First Lady are we dealing with here? Then of course there was the uproar that followed when the alleged toilet paper gown's designer, Jason Wu, revealed he'll be doing "a significant fur collection." Aha! Guilty animal murder by association! So now the media has reduced our Harvard Law whiz kid/community leader/family activist to a mink-killing, racist, toilet paper wearer. Awesome.
And don't get me started on the buzz surrounding her exposed and impressively toned arms.
Oh, but it gets better. I haven't even scratched the surface of how high a value our society places on the female sex. Well, except for when they're fat. And by fat, I mean approaching the average height and weight criteria for optimal health. Just yesterday, Jessica Simpson made it on to every blog, entertainment show, news site, and radio program because, (insert gasp - it's quite shocking) she dared to don a body skimming outfit on stage, even though she had no visible bones protruding! Who does she think she is!? The media was up in arms over the fact that Jessica seems to have "let herself go" and no longer resembles the walking masturbatory fantasy she was in Dukes of Hazzard. Of course, Jess has since admitted that getting that body required 2-hour daily workouts and an aversion to all things carby, but hey - what's a little compulsive exercise and malnutrition when you can achieve a headline-worthy ass? She may not be the most talented singer (yes, she sings), but she's built a considerable career and done some admirable charity work - all totally worthless, now that she can't wear size 00 daisy dukes - what a loser!
Joining Jess on the Hollywood fat train are Jennifer Lopez and supermodel Karolina Kurkova. You know, J.Lo - ridiculously beautiful artist, recent mother of twins, and Karolina - insanely hot underwear model who claims to have a thyroid disorder (and who's listed on dnamodels.com as being 5'11" with a 25" waist). Perez "Going Straight to Hell" Hilton wrote, "No one wants to see the rolls, mami!" after Lopez wore a super revealing dress to the Golden Globes and had the audacity to bend in such a fashion as to create a crease in her skin. If all new moms (of TWINS!!) looked as hideously fat as J.Lo, I think the rates of postpartum depression would decrease exponentially.
Karolina was torn apart in the Brazilian media for her "cellulite and love handles" after Fashion Week in Sao Paulo last year. Well, with a little more heartless prodding and condemnation, she could get down to an enviable 88 pounds like Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston - oh, but wait - she died from complications due to Anorexia.
Thank goodness for that women's lib movement!
3 comments:
you are my new hero.
excellent post as always! i've boycotted Perez since his INSANE fat J. Lo post - i'm done with him!
I wish you had a radio show. Just think of all the call-ins you'd have.
I'm so in agreeance with you on all counts. It's unfortunate we live in a shallow society - could you expect less - and, honestly, if people, and not just the media, would find more enriching things in their own lives, we'd not have the trite and condemning blast on "women who aren't perfect".
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