There is a lot of ridiculousness to be had here. None more so than those ruffle socks on #10. Nothing says counterculture bourgeois more than ruffle socks.
@UnicornZiva: Let us unite. Seriously, I would go halfsies on a hat like these. I LOVE HATS, but I have nowhere to wear them to. It's a sad life I lead.
I think it takes some sorting out though; Palin and Clinton were treated poorly because they were women and also a host of other issues. I am totally biased, but particularly Palin was viewed negatively because of some solid problems with her as a candidate. And she really tried to accentuate her gender and be a sexual candidate and take advantage of that. From 'pit bull with lipstick' to 'hockey mom' she really emphasized her female-ness without really putting any substance behind that or recognizing issues that effect women (besides taking advantage of the choice to carry your fetus to term). Yes Palin suffered as a candidate because of sexism, but she was sexist towards herself (if that's even possible) and that was just kind of weird.
Clinton on the other hand has kind of dealt with the whole thing by de-emphasizing her gender. I think that has mainly served to help her in political office, but I'm not sure if I would want that to be a mandatory thing in order to serve as a woman in politics.
So, I'm not sure where to go with all that, but those were just my first incoherent thoughts in response to this. Hopefully someone else can add to them and complete them into something better! #womeninpolitics
@banana_grabber: I don't necessarily think that Clinton de-emphasized her gender; she just didn't make it a bigger issue than it was. I completely agree, however, that Sarah Palin was "sexist towards herself" in that she felt that being a woman was enough to get people to vote for her.
Men don't emphasize or de-emphasize their gender as politicians. I think women should do the same, and I honestly believe that Clinton is a prime example of this (and not the only woman in politics to have achieved this). #womeninpolitics
@nozer: What is truly sad is that Sarah Palin was right. Amy Siskind and her P.U.M.A. cohorts really did vote for Palin just because she is a woman. #womeninpolitics
@nozer: I agree for the most part. But, I do think that a woman can emphasize her gender in a positive way. I think of Michelle Obama for example (although, she's not elected and I'd be curious about how she would speak differently if she was). She really talks about policy issues as a woman and as a mom. I'd be curious how men feel about how she does this, but I think it's really positive the way she has talked about health care, for example, as a woman's issue. And Barack Obama speaks as a father and husband sometimes when he speaks about women's or men's issues. So, I think it's possible to to speak for your gender without making it the focus of your issues. But, I wouldn't want a woman to feel as though she has to do that. That's obviously not Clinton's style at all and if she started talking about things like Michelle did, it would just be weird.
"the example both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin set is so admirable"
Being a hateful fear-monger who was chosen to run for national office solely because she was pro-life and attractive despite her inability to string together several comprehensible sentences or name any newspapers that she reads, who used her unwed, uneducated teenage daughter's pregnancy for political gain, whose policies are hostile to women, this is an admirable example? Sarah Palin is an example of nothing except for the hypocrisy and sexism of the Republican party.
I'm all for Meghan McCain doing her thing and didn't have much of an opinion of her one way or the other until now, but that just makes me think she's an idiot. #womeninpolitics
@ShinyMcShine: That statement also made me do a double-take.
What exactly does McCain find admirable? Inciting racial tension and terrorist threats against Barack Obama at her hateful rallies? Forcing rape victims to pay for their own rape kits during her tenure as governor of Alaska? Pandering to the dumbest and most insecure conspiracy theorists of middle America?
McCain needs to include some supporting evidence to back up such a bold claim. Because I, for one, am having a really hard time finding any admirable qualities. #womeninpolitics
Even though Meghan isn't the "sharpest knife in the drawer," I'd still vote for her over Palin, were they the only alternatives. Now, she's abstaining from politics, I don't lean the same way on most issues and hopefully, I would never be subject to such a scenario - but I think she has a refreshingly open mind for someone who has been so immersed in circle of Republican "royalty." She's likely not the heir to the prowess of William Buckley, but she's no Ann Coulter, either.
In many ways, I hope the Republicans (Dems, too) can be less of a platform-party and more of a party of issues; If 3rd parties can never fully realize strength in America, the next best thing, to me, would be a variety of individuals in each party that held integrity, compassion, justice, intelligence, and objectivity in high esteem.
@Jack_Burton: Our system is necessarily a race to the middle, especially with the oligarchical and rurally dominant senate and the immense power o the executive. I'm hot and cold on the magnitude of the power of the exec branch, but a unicameral legislature would be much more populist and active. #womeninpolitics
I have the hardest time feeling anything positive about Meghan McCain. Even when she says things halfway intelligent like this, my instant response is, "And it took you how many years to figure this out?"
A hyperrich white young attractive blonde woman who got an instant platform in the national media because her father is a conservative Republican Senator realizes that some women have it hard. News at 11! #womeninpolitics
@yvanehtnioj: i think your assessment of meghan mccain is a tad judgmental. she may have gotten a pulpit through no work of her own, other than campaigning relentlessly for her father, but she is an intelligent and compassionate moderate republican. she has been attacked to no end by conservatives for her unwavering support of gay marriage and the gay community. though i may disagree with her politics for the most part, i respect that she has her own mind and her own voice, despite all of the forces trying to put her in a different box - labeled CONSERVATIVE.
@yvanehtnioj: I don't know your age, but speaking from the standpoint of a 20 year old girl, it is a bit of a realization that women have to work harder than men to get half as far. We are taught in school that women have achieved equality, and it really isn't until our first foray into the "real world" that we get slapped with the reality that women have not come as far as your high school history teacher would have you believe, particularly if you come from an upper middle class background. Most of my girlfriends in college still haven't realized how much harder the workforce will be for them. I only realized it in its entirety when I took a year off between high school and college to move to New York City to work (for Hillary Clinton's campaign, no less).
@emerson.ellie: I love your comment, and actually, even though I'm about 10 years older than you, I had a similar awakening upon entering the workforce. I had absorbed similar messages from school and parents about equality being a done deal.
Also, I know you may not feel like one, but please: you're 20 years old. You're a woman. Not a girl. Referring to yourself as a girl is probably unconscious, but think about how that impacts how people perceive you, and other 20-year-old women. #womeninpolitics
@emerson.ellie: But that's exactly my point. I think it's normal for people to buy into the whole "This is America, you can do whatever!" mentality until they get into the real world (although it's also very common for people that are politically aware / sensitive to see through that earlier), but the fact that she's 25 and just now getting a glimpse (emphasis on glimpse) of the real world is an example of her privilege. Most people are done with college by 21, and a huge percentage start work before that. She still doesn't have to "work" (you know, with interviews and bosses and such); her career is to be a blogger without having done any previous writing work or time in the trenches learning the craft because of who her dad is, while many talented and experienced writers are out of work due to the economy and death of print media and whatnot. I really just can't dredge up any sympathy.
@amandavmead: Nothing you just said is inconsistent with anything I said. So, um, okay? Yes I do judge her. #womeninpolitics
@yvanehtnioj: I agree with emerson.ellie -- in school, many people get a sense that all these "struggles" and such are in the past, that feminism isn't in the news so much, so it must be over. I've been a feminist for a long time, and I still had a bit of a rude awakening since leaving college. (Maybe I thought it "wouldn't happen to me"?)
While MM definitely speaks from a place of (largely unexamined) privilege, you can see she's trying to leave her shelter and slowly get a grip on the world (the world world, not the world invented by the likes of Michelle Bachmann, R-Crazytown) -- even if she's not straying too far from the tent.
I think she's a ninny, but I have to admit I sort of stand behind her stated mission to reform (or at least youngify) the GOP from within. Not that I think it will work. But it's like when my parents wouldn't pull my brother out of Boy Scouts over the gay scoutmaster case, because they reasoned that if all the liberals left the BSA in protest, the organization would have no one left interested in changing its policies. #womeninpolitics
@bumbleleaf: But this is exactly my point: She's having these realizations like 5 years behind her peers because she's so. danged. privileged (which is annoying). And sure it's a somewhat natural progression to come to these realizations, but watching her interact with reality for apparently the first time ever just drives home the point that she has no business having this national platform. It's just another reminder that she hasn't earned our attention, she's inherited it.
Look, I don't hate the woman, she's not the antichrist, she's not the worst Republican of the bunch, and I hope to heaven that she can convince some of those nutjobs of basic things like "gay people deserve human rights". But I don't like her, and I find that every time she makes the news she speaks from a position of such oblivious, blind privilege that it sets my teeth on edge. #womeninpolitics
@yvanehtnioj: I wouldn't say that I exactly bought into a "you can do whatever you want in America" mentality," and I resent your implying that I was not politically aware or sensitive (um, hello...I worked for Hillary Clinton beginning right after my 18th birthday). I'm simply saying this girl should be villanized for coming from a position of privilege. She certainly didn't choose it, and she seems to be trying to pop that "bubble" that you are referring to. Perhaps she is behind (although I think you are overestimating a significant portion of the population), but she's getting there. Should we begrudge her for trying?
@emerson.ellie: I think resentment might be a bit of an overreaction, given that I was working from your own description that it was a surprise to discover that life was not as your high school history teacher described. But even still, I'm saying it's a common problem.
More importantly, there's nothing at all about Meghan McCain that says she's trying to pop the "bubble" of her privilege. Where did you get that idea? The way she fell ass-backward into her sinecure? Her self-appointed position as Important Republican Voice? (As much as the Rs do need better voices and serious reform, it takes a hell of a lot of chutzpah to think of yourself as the go-to person to reform one of America's two major political parties before you've ever even held down a job.) Her privilege is entirely unexamined. Realizing that there is such a thing as sexism is not the same as examining your own privilege. And yes, if you are among the most privileged people in the world and don't ever take the time to reflect on that reality or acknowledge its benefits, I will be tempted to villify you. That's the kind of attitude that allows blatant disregard for the less fortunate, and "she didn't ask to be a billionairess" doesn't negate the need for self-awareness with me.
And lastly, I was talking about entry into the real world when I said she's at least 5 years behind her cohort. We both know that there're many people who never think about sexism (though these people are very rarely women), so I surely didn't mean to imply that everyone is an informed feminist by 25. But when you factor in people that start working straight out of high school and people that work their way through community college and/or college, yes. She's very far behind her peers in re: dealing with the real world. #womeninpolitics
The necklace in #10 bears a striking resemblance to one of my belly dancing belts. I might have to try wearing it around my neck to my next gala appearance.
...Oh, wait.
Also, I'm pretty sure the girls of Blue Crush would describe her hairstyle as "triple overhead," and that's awesome.
At this point it must be very hard to be Lindsay Lohan. It seems people just want her to fail.
I think the problem with the show was more in the styling than in the clothes themselves. There are actually some really nice pieces in the collection but they get lost b/c they are paired with a tube top or silly heart pasty thing.
Looking back at the pics from this morning, I think the biggest problem with the collection is that it lacks coherence. Its hard to see how the white jumpsuit from pic #2, the hearts and stripes dress from pic #10 and the blue pants & tube top from pic #23 are even part of the same collection.
Overall, even if Ungaro wanted a celebrity to bring more youthful attention to the brand, I'm not sure Lindsay was the best choice. I don't really see her personal style really meshing with the POV of Ungaro.
@erinna: I think that's true. The collection was VERY Lohan, which is what Ungaro wanted. I don't think she can really be blamed for delivering exactly what was asked/expected of her.
@hortense: @erinna: maybe Lindsay should be like Kelly Bensimon and not put her name on anything.
Also, I feel like this is one of those instances where someone asks you to lend a hand with a project and then you get thrown under the bus for the entire thing.
@erinna: Your last paragraph. If you want to expand the demographic related to your aesthetic, you have to look at the aesthetic first, not just ... choose somebody who a) ordinarly embodies its complete opposite but b) just happens to look good in yours.
@thePrototype: I don't think I'd put braces in the "cosmetic surgery" category. Lots of kids "need" them--orthodontists and dentists don't always differentiate between needing them for actual bite/eating/health reasons and just to make your teeth fit together better.
But maybe I'm just defending a "cosmetic procedure" I thank God every day I had access to at a young age.
@thePrototype: i had to have orthodontic surgery as a child because i had severe malocclusion of my upper teeth. perhaps it was cosmetic, but im glad that my canine teeth are no longer busting through my gums above the rest of my teeth and i didn't have to go through adolescence looking like a vampire in those pre-twilight days. and i imagine that i would probably would have encountered some serious oral health problems if i hadn't had the attended to early on.
@nothanks: The British have the good sense not to put themselves and their children through years and years of expensive and painful dental treatment in the name of straight teeth. It's just not as culturally acceptable as it is in the States.
@geekgirlliz: Mmm, having lived in Britain for eight years I do think that British people sometimes go too far in the other direction, taking a perverse pride in ugly teeth. While it's mostly a cosmetic issue, I know several people in their 20s and 30s who are now having to spend quite a bit of money to correct problems that could have been prevented/treated much more easily and cheaply through braces when they were young.
And I get tired of British magazines and newspapers poking fun at people with teeth that they have judged to be too perfect or too white, like it's a sign of decadent morals (a la The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire).
@geekgirlliz: I think you'll find it's more common here than you think. I certainly had years of painful dental work - partly cosmetic, and partly to repair the damage done in a skiing accident when I was 8. Not everyone has braces, sure. But you won't find many 20-year-olds with wonky teeth: the majority will have chosen to have braces.
@NotMandatory: Really? I'm British and all of my friends (who weren't lucky enough to be born with straight teeth) have had braces. I've had six years, due to complications, of braces. Sure, teeth whitening isn't so common, but are you seriously saying everyone in Britain is walking round with wonky, yellow teeth and taking pride in it? Because I call bullshit on that one.
12/09/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
As a 3 year old, I could make lace socks that I was wearing disappear if I was unsupervised for over 45 seconds.
12/08/09
11/23/09
11/23/09
OMG HAAAAAATS *clutches face*
11/24/09
11/17/09
11/09/09
Clinton on the other hand has kind of dealt with the whole thing by de-emphasizing her gender. I think that has mainly served to help her in political office, but I'm not sure if I would want that to be a mandatory thing in order to serve as a woman in politics.
So, I'm not sure where to go with all that, but those were just my first incoherent thoughts in response to this. Hopefully someone else can add to them and complete them into something better! #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
Men don't emphasize or de-emphasize their gender as politicians. I think women should do the same, and I honestly believe that Clinton is a prime example of this (and not the only woman in politics to have achieved this). #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
11/10/09
11/09/09
Being a hateful fear-monger who was chosen to run for national office solely because she was pro-life and attractive despite her inability to string together several comprehensible sentences or name any newspapers that she reads, who used her unwed, uneducated teenage daughter's pregnancy for political gain, whose policies are hostile to women, this is an admirable example? Sarah Palin is an example of nothing except for the hypocrisy and sexism of the Republican party.
I'm all for Meghan McCain doing her thing and didn't have much of an opinion of her one way or the other until now, but that just makes me think she's an idiot. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
What exactly does McCain find admirable? Inciting racial tension and terrorist threats against Barack Obama at her hateful rallies? Forcing rape victims to pay for their own rape kits during her tenure as governor of Alaska? Pandering to the dumbest and most insecure conspiracy theorists of middle America?
McCain needs to include some supporting evidence to back up such a bold claim. Because I, for one, am having a really hard time finding any admirable qualities. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
11/09/09
In many ways, I hope the Republicans (Dems, too) can be less of a platform-party and more of a party of issues; If 3rd parties can never fully realize strength in America, the next best thing, to me, would be a variety of individuals in each party that held integrity, compassion, justice, intelligence, and objectivity in high esteem.
I know... Keep dreaming. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
11/09/09
A hyperrich white young attractive blonde woman who got an instant platform in the national media because her father is a conservative Republican Senator realizes that some women have it hard. News at 11! #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
Also, I know you may not feel like one, but please: you're 20 years old. You're a woman. Not a girl. Referring to yourself as a girl is probably unconscious, but think about how that impacts how people perceive you, and other 20-year-old women. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
@amandavmead: Nothing you just said is inconsistent with anything I said. So, um, okay? Yes I do judge her. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
While MM definitely speaks from a place of (largely unexamined) privilege, you can see she's trying to leave her shelter and slowly get a grip on the world (the world world, not the world invented by the likes of Michelle Bachmann, R-Crazytown) -- even if she's not straying too far from the tent.
I think she's a ninny, but I have to admit I sort of stand behind her stated mission to reform (or at least youngify) the GOP from within. Not that I think it will work. But it's like when my parents wouldn't pull my brother out of Boy Scouts over the gay scoutmaster case, because they reasoned that if all the liberals left the BSA in protest, the organization would have no one left interested in changing its policies. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
Look, I don't hate the woman, she's not the antichrist, she's not the worst Republican of the bunch, and I hope to heaven that she can convince some of those nutjobs of basic things like "gay people deserve human rights". But I don't like her, and I find that every time she makes the news she speaks from a position of such oblivious, blind privilege that it sets my teeth on edge. #womeninpolitics
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/10/09
11/10/09
More importantly, there's nothing at all about Meghan McCain that says she's trying to pop the "bubble" of her privilege. Where did you get that idea? The way she fell ass-backward into her sinecure? Her self-appointed position as Important Republican Voice? (As much as the Rs do need better voices and serious reform, it takes a hell of a lot of chutzpah to think of yourself as the go-to person to reform one of America's two major political parties before you've ever even held down a job.) Her privilege is entirely unexamined. Realizing that there is such a thing as sexism is not the same as examining your own privilege. And yes, if you are among the most privileged people in the world and don't ever take the time to reflect on that reality or acknowledge its benefits, I will be tempted to villify you. That's the kind of attitude that allows blatant disregard for the less fortunate, and "she didn't ask to be a billionairess" doesn't negate the need for self-awareness with me.
And lastly, I was talking about entry into the real world when I said she's at least 5 years behind her cohort. We both know that there're many people who never think about sexism (though these people are very rarely women), so I surely didn't mean to imply that everyone is an informed feminist by 25. But when you factor in people that start working straight out of high school and people that work their way through community college and/or college, yes. She's very far behind her peers in re: dealing with the real world. #womeninpolitics
10/12/09
Also, Zombies are clearly not Sleepless in Seattle (heyo!)
10/08/09
...Oh, wait.
Also, I'm pretty sure the girls of Blue Crush would describe her hairstyle as "triple overhead," and that's awesome.
That is all.
10/08/09
10/08/09
strength of your screen-name. So good.
10/08/09
10/08/09
10/08/09
10/04/09
I think the problem with the show was more in the styling than in the clothes themselves. There are actually some really nice pieces in the collection but they get lost b/c they are paired with a tube top or silly heart pasty thing.
Looking back at the pics from this morning, I think the biggest problem with the collection is that it lacks coherence. Its hard to see how the white jumpsuit from pic #2, the hearts and stripes dress from pic #10 and the blue pants & tube top from pic #23 are even part of the same collection.
Overall, even if Ungaro wanted a celebrity to bring more youthful attention to the brand, I'm not sure Lindsay was the best choice. I don't really see her personal style really meshing with the POV of Ungaro.
10/04/09
10/04/09
Also, I feel like this is one of those instances where someone asks you to lend a hand with a project and then you get thrown under the bus for the entire thing.
10/04/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
But maybe I'm just defending a "cosmetic procedure" I thank God every day I had access to at a young age.
09/30/09
I would be willing to bet that the large majority of orthodontics are done for cosmetic reasons.
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
10/01/09
10/01/09
And I get tired of British magazines and newspapers poking fun at people with teeth that they have judged to be too perfect or too white, like it's a sign of decadent morals (a la The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire).
10/01/09
10/01/09