What We Missed
Former first lady Laura Bush defended President Obama's decision to address the nation's school children. Thanks for the bipartisan back-havin' LB.
Guanabee has an interesting take on the criticism thrown at thin women on the runways and pageants.
An interesting piece about how Obama's art choices might transform the White House collection (Hint: it's not just that he'll probably choose more women and artists of color; it's that he's actually interested in abstract art).
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: What We Missed.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/15873
I have no idea why people go so worked up over Obama's speech. All it was was a stay in school/study hard/try your best speech. Liberal propaganda my ass!
it was full of bootstraps and personal responsibility. should have been right up freepers' alleys.
submitted too soon.
and that on top of the ironicalness of taking your kids out of school for the day because you dont want to have them hear a speech about...wait for it...staying in school.
Public education is socialist.
Because it promotes socialism and communism and stuff.
Obviously.
I'm suspicious as to whether a Caucasian president would have had to put up with the same rhetoric. Wait, no I'm not; I know they wouldn't.
You don't remember the 90's do you?
I do. And as a student then, the attitudes expressed to us abut President Clinton were nothing like how those around schoolchildren today talk about Obama.
Even when he was under impeachment trial, the President of the United States was never treated like a persona non grata.
At your school? Or at the schools under discussion?
The Clintons were theorized to have killed any number of associates, Hillary was a lesbian, Bill shouldn't have gotten to make State of the Union addresses, Waco and Ruby Ridge were part of Bill and Janet Reno's plot to kill off all patriotic Americans, you name it. If Bill Clinton had tried to have a speech broadcast to schools there would have been a riot.
There's no missing that there's a specific racist aspect to the anti-Obama hysteria (the Birther mania above all). But the same people or their parents hated Clinton just as passionately and loudly.
I do. And as a student then, the attitudes expressed to us abut President Clinton were nothing like how those around schoolchildren today talk about Obama.
Even when he was under impeachment trial, the President of the United States was never treated like a persona non grata.
Indeed.
The bottom line is, no matter what President Obama says or does, he will be criticized by many White Americans just because he's Black.
They won't openly SAY that - but that's the real reason, because so many White Americans are White supremacists to the core of their souls.
This seems like a good time to say:
One of the reasons I hate my body so much is because of accusations like Guanabee is talking about. I see skinny women who look like me in the media followed by "Is she anorexic? She's too skinny!" and think "dear God, I hope that doesn't mean I'M too skinny."
Beauty and health comes in all shapes and sizes, and nobody should be pressured to eat more or less. It's also insulting to people who actually have eating disorders to call every really skinny woman "anorexic."
Yes, I've no doubt that most of the criticism and pseudo-concern thrown at models and such is just for head lines. However, I don't think it is unreasonable to be concerned when a woman is that skinny. To me she looks like a holocaust survivor. Is is possible that she could be healthy at that height and weight. I guess. But it isn't very likely.
If you are healthy at your size, then don't let the criticisms of those who are not bother you.
"To me she looks like a holocaust survivor. Is is possible that she could be healthy at that height and weight. I guess. But it isn't very likely."
Lillith Luffles just stated that these kinds of comments are the reason she hates her body. How could you take that as an opportunity to use "concern" to insult her more? There *are* people that are healthy when they are very skinny, many actually. I am 5'10 and weigh 110 lbs. no medical condition, no eating disorder, I just don't gain weight. I look like the models many people call anorexic and unhealthy. Do you know how horrible it is to hear "well yeah it's so wrong to be mean to skinny chicks but hey i think they look like holocaust survivors"?? Shame on you for responding like that.
Right, thank you for this. I get so sick of people who say "don't chastise fat women by being concerned for their health!" then turn around and ask skinny people if they are eating enough.
The thing is, even when I do gain weight, I look like I'm anorexic. Why? I've got tiny ass bones and a fast metabolism! You can see my ribs if I turn a little, my hips jut out, my spine is prominent, I can wrap my fingers around my forearm halfway up my arm, and most choker-necklaces are too big for my neck. I'm 21 years old, 5'8", 120lbs. I started the summer out at 109lbs. And I cried about that. I cried when I looked at the scale and saw 109lbs. Then I gained 11 lbs. Now I have a little bit bigger of a tummy. The truth is, skinny people will just be skinny, the same way fat people will just be fat. I'm so sick of people claiming that you can't mention health when discussing fat people (btw, I think it's horrible and a scare-tactic to moan about health to fat people) then turn around and talk about how bones showing = most likely not healthy. Yeah, the model is really skinny. But focus on what message her ideal thinness sends to girls who can't be that thin, not how "unhealthy" she might be.
Exactly. I'm fat. And I have every right to inhabit my body and my space in this world, just like you, and other thin people do. They are OUR bodies, not anyone else's and nobody should be judging us because of them. If you know someone well enough to discuss their eating and/or health with them, you know all about what is going on in their lives and what their shape is. If not, keep your opinion to yourself. I don't need to "put down a donut" and Lilith Luffles does not need to "eat a cookie."
That comment is so misogynistic, I can't even wrap my head around it.
Oy fucking gevalt.
I'm sorry people put you through that. And I'm sorry to hear it gets to you.
You are right, of course, beauty comes in all forms, including yours and mine.
I hate when people call skinny women anorexic, as though anorexic were a physical descriptor. It's a mental illness, and women with anorexia come in all shapes and sizes, even if they are skinny in general. My former roommate was anorexic in high school and it always bugged her that, in her 20s and no longer stick-skinny, people wouldn't give her issues any credit because she no longer looked anorexic enough. It's fucked up.
I agree 100%. I have a friend who is a bit taller than me but almost double my weight - she has struggled with bulemia since she was in highschool. I don't think people take her issue seriously enough because she's not skinny. I am - and people are always concerned about my eating habits. It just pisses me off - it's like "take your stereotypes and F off... Just like not everyone who is fat eats fried food - not everyone who is skinny starves themselves."
I agree... It's hard to feel attractive when people say things like "eeeeew, you are so skinny, do you eat enough?" In all reality - that would be like me walking up to someone who is fat and saying the same thing but with "do you eat too much?" It's freakin' rude, hurtful and people are definitely letting their insecurity shine through when they put someone down like that. I would never do that to someone who may or may not be eating too much - so why do so many fat and curvier women think it's okay to do it to women who are just really skinny?
And I really REALLY hate (and it totally shows how some feminist have misogynistic undertones) it when women say things like, "REAL women have curves and fat." (I can't even count the number of times I've heard FEMINISTS say this) So what the fuck? Am I not a REAL woman, just because I don't have cellulite? I exist on this planet just as much as they do, and those models exist as much as any other women does... I've had so many women try to claim that men like curves etc but I've actually never had a hard time getting boyfriends or dates...and for some fucked up reason - only WOMEN have accused me of not eating enough (envy? jealousy? I'm not sure...)
And that models weight isn't THAT bad... My father was 6 ft tall at 110 pounds and he had NOTHING wrong with him. His organs didn't shut down, he didn't die and in fact - because he tried to gain weight by eating crappy foods (and because everyone told him he was so lucky cuz he could) - now he's at risk for heart disease.
I tried to force myself to eat a lot of fattening foods too for a while - I didn't gain a pound, but I gained gallstones. People think they are medical experts - just because they have eyes and they are brainwashed by societies beauty standards - just as much as any other person who can't think for themselves
And to the girl who compared skinny women to "holocaust survivors" - get a clue. There are a lot of women that look like that woman, who are not anorexic and are not obsessed with thinness (other than the grief it has brought them). Ever hear of THYROID problems? Type 1 diabetes? Hypoglycemia? and there are a whole list of health complications that can lead to this, not including genes - which, for a lot of women - is the biggest issue. You can't change genes...
I admit I'm guilty of using the 'men like women with curves' line because that's what I've seen in my personal experience, just as you've seen it another way and have never had problems getting dates/boyfriends. Your experience is different than mine, but that doesn't mean that they're not both valid. Perhaps saying that SOME men like curves is more accurate...
I'm underweight and my doctor has questioned me about my diet/health before. The model is clearly underweight, and while I do not think anyone should tell her she has to eat or call her anorexic, it is appropriate, IMO, for a health professional to talk with her about her weight. Being underweight has health risks too...I know osteoporosis is one of them...
I don't think weight correlates to beauty in male eyes nearly as much as it does for women. Some curvy women are beautiful, some slender women are beautiful, the prettiest girl I know's weight fluctuated (as did mine) when we traveled and she was smoking hot every day of it. Boys don't read Cosmo, so we don't know when curves go in or out of fashion. We just like girls.
Lubna Hussein continues to be such a badass! I love her, she is one of my new heroes.
Obama's speech shows the double standard, not just in the media but in the American mindset that is inclined to give conservative protestations the benefit of the doubt but often quickly stereotypes liberal grievances as dangerous and unpatriotic. It's as destructive a phenomenon as any of the -isms we have tried to stamp out in an effort to bring equality to our society.
I'm glad President Obama has a fondness for abstract art. I do as well, but I recognize also that art for art's sake can produce brilliant works and sometimes it can produce works of banality billed as substantive and profound.
Of course the average annual GNI per capita in Sudan is only about $950 so it's a huge fine.
She says she won't pay it. They say they'll jail her. She says she'll write a report on jail conditions. I like her.
And the pants thing is only an excuse, this is harassment of a brave and independent journalist.
I thought I heard on the radio yesterday that the journalist's union is going to pay the fine.
I appreciate Laura Bush's comments, I always liked her. These conservatives have lost what minds it seems and none held accountable. I want to see some push back.