After a run of busy days that took me away from here, with the exception of a quick peek from my phone along the way, I happened upon one of the most vile, misogynistic, slanderous, POS, diary that I've seen in seven and a half years. I won't even link to it, but here is what was said about Elizabeth Edwards.
"I’m tired of people pretending that being diagnosed with cancer trumps treating your husband badly for years, and gaining 75 pounds."
"If you treat someone like crap but you’ve tied your ambition to theirs, and you call the shots because you’re a ball buster, don’t be surprised if your husband go off the rails and falls in love with someone who is pretty and tells him how smart and wonderful and sexy he is."
Gaining 75 lbs justifies betrayal? Tied her ambitions to his? Like she needed to?
Women don't need a man to tie their ambitions to. Elizabeth Edwards was a success of her own accord, in many roles, professionally and personally.
No woman, dead or alive, should be subjected to this kind of misogynistic evaluation.
My personal preference is to never rant without presenting a solution.
Both are over the golden kosbow.
Is a healthy weight and BMI better for any of us? Yes.
Does not having that make someone else less of a person than you?
Hell no.
No woman's worth should be measured by her looks.
"Great tits and ass" by societies standards is not make a quality woman, professionally or personally.
Des Moines Register Op-Ed columnist, Rekha Basu, hit it spot on this last Sunday in her article, "Women need belief in their value - other than looks"
"The New York Times reported last Sunday on women so desperate to lose weight before their weddings that they’re going on feeding tubes for eight days at a time to avoid eating."
"Not all woman are going to those lengths, but every woman who watches television or music videos, or reads fashion magazines gets The Memo. The one that says “Look sexier, skinnier, younger or risk being ugly, unloved and irrelevant."
"For those of us who grew up in the women’s movement, these discussions bring a frustrating sense of déjà vu. Didn’t we learn to value ourselves beyond our looks and to support one another instead of competing and back-stabbing? And didn’t men get Our Memo — the one demanding equal treatment?"
emphasis mine
Basu goes on to reference
Ashley Judd going up against gossip over her appearance:
“This abnormal obsession with women’s faces and bodies has become so normal that we (I include myself at times — I absolutely fall for it still) have internalized patriarchy almost seamlessly. We are unable at times to identify ourselves as our own denigrating abusers, or as abusing other girls and women.”
We owe it to the women who fought for our rights before us to reach out to young women and reinforce this message.
This is being done my Miss Representation.Org
The film Miss Representation exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.
In response we created MissRepresentation.Org a call-to-action campaign that seeks to empower women and girls to challenge limiting media labels in order to realize their potential.
We are uniting individuals around a common, meaningful goal to spark millions of small actions that ultimately lead to a cross-generational movement to eradicate gender stereotypes and create lasting cultural and sociological change."
It is our duty to step up and empower our sisters. This organization provides many ways to do so.
Using social media, women and girls are speaking out, telling their stories and influencing change. Men and boys are standing up to sexism, countering hyper-masculinity and championing women as leaders.
Schools are using the Miss Representation‘s Curriculum to educate youth around media literacy and to inspire and activate students to make change.
Communities are hosting screenings and discussions to shift the cultural mindset around gender and end sexism.
Consumers are using their power to celebrate positive media and advertising, and challenge negative media and advertising.
Rant over, at least one resource to a solution provided.