In the previous posts Critiquing "Feminist" Marketing (Part 1) and Critiquing "Feminist" Marketing (Part 2), we discussed changes in and repercussions of mass media's co-opt of the "feminist" message, and we examined the overt versus subliminal concepts inherent in each. Now we move into the realm of why these subliminal messages find fertile ground within our minds.
Our eyes are our windows to the world. They're what helps our unconscious determine what is real and what is not. They show us our tribe, connect us to the people we love, respect, and hate, and they help us find our place within that social order. Now that we've moved beyond 100-person villages -- Who is our tribe, and how do we know them?
We now have virtual tribes composed of real, physical humans and the virtual people that mass media brings within our personal sphere. We see the same newscasters every morning and every night, we see and hear the same television and radio hosts over and over, and we are bombarded by model hawkers constantly. At a certain point, our brains begin to subliminally incorporate these people into our tribe.
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Critiquing "Feminist" Marketing (Part 2)
In the previous post Critiquing "Feminist" Marketing (Part 1), we compared the messages between a current Verizon ad and a Nike ad from the mid-'90s. While the overt messages inherent in ads that speak to women have changed over the years, so have the subliminal ones. Recent years have brought us more modern interpretations of the female experience, including its lice-ridden underbelly.
In the mid '00s, Dove began the "Campaign for Real Beauty". Early in the campaign, the FCC banned this "Pro-Age" ad because it apparently didn't conform to FCC regulations:
Holey rusted door, Batgirl! We have Victoria's Secret models parading their perfect bodies on stage, we have scantily-clad cheerleaders gyrating at every profession sporting event, and we have teen pop stars wiggling their advocation of adult sexuality to preteens, but Christ forbid that normal, older, fig-leafed women be visible on television. Ever.
Never mind that these older women are more "covered" than said models, cheerleaders, or pop-stars, and never mind that these older women are not parading, gyrating, or wiggling. Just know that a woman over the age of 25 who shows more than 8 square inches of exposed non-face, non-hand skin is so patently offensive to the US public that complaints provoked the FCC to use the grey areas in their guidelines to ban said ad.
What wasn't banned was the "Evolution" ad, and it's actually my favorite:
Even without the digital trickery, I'd look like a supermodel, too, if I had a team of hair and make-up professionals at my side every morning! While digesting this ad, considering it's wider implications, I held my breath waiting to see what was next.
Supplementing the "Evolution" ad, consider another mid-'00s video in which a digital artist transforms a normal-looking woman into a glamorous goddess thanks to the wonders of Photoshop (sorry for the pop-up ad on the video, just click the [x]):
I am particularly fond of the instant weight-loss and skin perfection. The hair extensions are a nice touch as well. Doubleplusgood on the removal of the spectacles. Compare the two pictures, and you could be forgiven for thinking that these women are sisters instead of the same person. Of particular angst to me is that the creator/poster of this video had so many requests for same that she posted links to tutorials showing aspiring digital artists how to accomplish these same tricks and pointed out where the eyelash brush can be downloaded. Instead of outrage, worship? Kill me.
In the next post we move further into why and how the cultural programming of impossible beauty standards works and the effects of same.
~Riot.Jane
In the mid '00s, Dove began the "Campaign for Real Beauty". Early in the campaign, the FCC banned this "Pro-Age" ad because it apparently didn't conform to FCC regulations:
Holey rusted door, Batgirl! We have Victoria's Secret models parading their perfect bodies on stage, we have scantily-clad cheerleaders gyrating at every profession sporting event, and we have teen pop stars wiggling their advocation of adult sexuality to preteens, but Christ forbid that normal, older, fig-leafed women be visible on television. Ever.
Never mind that these older women are more "covered" than said models, cheerleaders, or pop-stars, and never mind that these older women are not parading, gyrating, or wiggling. Just know that a woman over the age of 25 who shows more than 8 square inches of exposed non-face, non-hand skin is so patently offensive to the US public that complaints provoked the FCC to use the grey areas in their guidelines to ban said ad.
What wasn't banned was the "Evolution" ad, and it's actually my favorite:
Even without the digital trickery, I'd look like a supermodel, too, if I had a team of hair and make-up professionals at my side every morning! While digesting this ad, considering it's wider implications, I held my breath waiting to see what was next.
Supplementing the "Evolution" ad, consider another mid-'00s video in which a digital artist transforms a normal-looking woman into a glamorous goddess thanks to the wonders of Photoshop (sorry for the pop-up ad on the video, just click the [x]):
I am particularly fond of the instant weight-loss and skin perfection. The hair extensions are a nice touch as well. Doubleplusgood on the removal of the spectacles. Compare the two pictures, and you could be forgiven for thinking that these women are sisters instead of the same person. Of particular angst to me is that the creator/poster of this video had so many requests for same that she posted links to tutorials showing aspiring digital artists how to accomplish these same tricks and pointed out where the eyelash brush can be downloaded. Instead of outrage, worship? Kill me.
In the next post we move further into why and how the cultural programming of impossible beauty standards works and the effects of same.
~Riot.Jane
Critiquing "Feminist" Marketing (Part 1)
The messages inherent in the ads that speak to women have changed over the years. While we do still have plenty of housewifely cleaning product ads, recent years have seen more modern interpretations of the female experience. Some have been spectacular, but others could use some help.
Let's start with Verizon's current "Rule the Air" ad:
What bothers me about this ad is the overall impression that Verizon is trying to ride the Third-Wave Feminist train to Shangri-La. Every young female in this ad is picture-perfect, and all but one has long dark hair. These girls all look the same, and they're from/in wealthy environments with the world at their feet. Platitudes abound, and the weight of thousands of years of Western culture is absent. The only two females of color are the ones who speak about "prejudice" and whether or not she is "white," and that bothers me.
Classism is ignored for sexism, and in this world simply having an above-average IQ and a Verizon cell will allow you to shirk the bonds of femininity. As an anthropologist friend of mine said, "The air is free as long as you can pay for it." Verizon's motto here, "Rule the Air", is, more accurately in my mind, "Rule, my ass."
Compare the Verizon ad above to this classic Nike advertisement from the mid-'90s:
This ad has quite a bit to say, and it effectively says it. Girls are important, and girls sports are important -- just as important as boys and boys sports. At a time when challenges to, and increased enforcement of, Title IX (regarding unsubstantial or nonexistent female sports programs) were both vying for the soul of the nation, this ad was instrumental in changing public sentiment. Even if you didn't buy these shoes, the message stayed with you and helped change our culture. While a friend of mine has argued that Nike has since lost whatever soul it once had, this video was, in its time, a paragon of social conscience.
In the next post we move from substantive social commentary in media marketing to the programming of impossible beauty ideals.
~Riot.Jane
Let's start with Verizon's current "Rule the Air" ad:
What bothers me about this ad is the overall impression that Verizon is trying to ride the Third-Wave Feminist train to Shangri-La. Every young female in this ad is picture-perfect, and all but one has long dark hair. These girls all look the same, and they're from/in wealthy environments with the world at their feet. Platitudes abound, and the weight of thousands of years of Western culture is absent. The only two females of color are the ones who speak about "prejudice" and whether or not she is "white," and that bothers me.
Classism is ignored for sexism, and in this world simply having an above-average IQ and a Verizon cell will allow you to shirk the bonds of femininity. As an anthropologist friend of mine said, "The air is free as long as you can pay for it." Verizon's motto here, "Rule the Air", is, more accurately in my mind, "Rule, my ass."
Compare the Verizon ad above to this classic Nike advertisement from the mid-'90s:
This ad has quite a bit to say, and it effectively says it. Girls are important, and girls sports are important -- just as important as boys and boys sports. At a time when challenges to, and increased enforcement of, Title IX (regarding unsubstantial or nonexistent female sports programs) were both vying for the soul of the nation, this ad was instrumental in changing public sentiment. Even if you didn't buy these shoes, the message stayed with you and helped change our culture. While a friend of mine has argued that Nike has since lost whatever soul it once had, this video was, in its time, a paragon of social conscience.
In the next post we move from substantive social commentary in media marketing to the programming of impossible beauty ideals.
~Riot.Jane
How to Date a Women’s Studies Major: Just Don’t
Brittany Hunt @ The Miscellany News has posted a hilarious piece, How to Date a Women’s Studies Major: Just Don’t, about the pitfalls of dating radfems. While I don't necessarily agree with with everything in the piece, the serious points she makes about stereotypes and the men who are afraid of (or are intimidated by) radfems bear consideration by those of us who consider themselves feminist. Make no mistake: Hunt is talking about radfems in her piece, not your garden variety (and much more common!) feminist.
While Hunt's piece does bear reading, I'd like to seriously address her bullet points here in my own feminist voice:
Remember: She's a Lesbian Until Proven Otherwise
How do I describe how infuriating it is to have people hate me due to a figment their own imagination? Seriously, people -- If you're going to dislike me, do it because I'm boisterous, loud, outspoken, aggressive, obstreperous, direct, brutally honest, suck with interpersonal politics, have a potty mouth, demand equal treatment, or any one of a number of other characteristics I actually posses in abundance.
If you're so full of hatred and self-loathing that you can't see past your own insecurities and guess as to what gender sex partner I prefer, then redeem yourself a bit by waiting until you actually experience something about me before hating me, okay?
But if She Isn't, She's a Total Slut
Your expectations of when or if I'm going to have sex with you has very little to do with my politics or your financial worth. My sexual activity has much more to do with my hormonal cycle, how charming you are, and whether or not I'm emotionally involved with someone else. The slightest whiff of expectation from you transforms my vulva into the Antarctic -- Dry to the touch, cold, and most uninviting. Whether or not I love the cock in general has little to do with whether or not I'm going to love your cock.
Speaking of male sexual expectations regarding feminists . . . No, we're not all on The Pill. No, we don't all love having abortions. No, we're not all superfreaks in the sack. No, we're not all VD-free. No, we're not all into rampant promiscuity. Some of us can't use hormonal birth control, some of us are intensely anti-abortion, some of us only like Missionary-only sex, some of us are just as irresponsible as some of you are when it comes to safe sex, and some of us are actually fairly chaste.
Deal with it, and stop assuming things that are going to get you slapped, sued for child support, or a venereal disease while you stand there whining, "But she was a feminist!"
Don't Hold the Door for Her
I can't tell you how many times I have an exchange like this with a male stranger:
Holding a door is no different that "Excuse me," or "Please pass the salt," so . . .
Yes, talk about your emotions but don't go overboard. I am a proud human, and a feminist, and as a result I'm generally not going to be a whiny or over-emotional type. There's a huge difference between bitching about an encounter at the office that pissed you off, explaining why it pissed you off while you're trying to work through it and whining like an impotent victim and moping for a week.
If you're more emotional than I am, if you're more "sensitive" that I am, I'm not going to be impressed. Everyone has moments of weakness and struggle, but if it's overboard and if it's a pattern, I'm probably going to toss you like an old pair of shoes.
Check it -- I am a strong person, and I keep strong people around me because I don't have time or patience for anything else.
Congrats! You've Made it to Your One-Year Anniversary -- Things NOT to Buy Her as a Gift
Unless you're replacing items I already own that are broken, that I've run out of, or it's a gift card from a store you already know I love to shop, beauty products and kitchen products are right out. If you haven't figured out by the 1-year mark what I like and/or what I need, and you're not creative enough to come up with something on your own, then you really ought to re-evaluate your own observational skills while you're e-mailing my best friend to ask her advice.
~Riot.Jane
While Hunt's piece does bear reading, I'd like to seriously address her bullet points here in my own feminist voice:
Remember: She's a Lesbian Until Proven Otherwise
How do I describe how infuriating it is to have people hate me due to a figment their own imagination? Seriously, people -- If you're going to dislike me, do it because I'm boisterous, loud, outspoken, aggressive, obstreperous, direct, brutally honest, suck with interpersonal politics, have a potty mouth, demand equal treatment, or any one of a number of other characteristics I actually posses in abundance.
If you're so full of hatred and self-loathing that you can't see past your own insecurities and guess as to what gender sex partner I prefer, then redeem yourself a bit by waiting until you actually experience something about me before hating me, okay?
But if She Isn't, She's a Total Slut
Your expectations of when or if I'm going to have sex with you has very little to do with my politics or your financial worth. My sexual activity has much more to do with my hormonal cycle, how charming you are, and whether or not I'm emotionally involved with someone else. The slightest whiff of expectation from you transforms my vulva into the Antarctic -- Dry to the touch, cold, and most uninviting. Whether or not I love the cock in general has little to do with whether or not I'm going to love your cock.
Speaking of male sexual expectations regarding feminists . . . No, we're not all on The Pill. No, we don't all love having abortions. No, we're not all superfreaks in the sack. No, we're not all VD-free. No, we're not all into rampant promiscuity. Some of us can't use hormonal birth control, some of us are intensely anti-abortion, some of us only like Missionary-only sex, some of us are just as irresponsible as some of you are when it comes to safe sex, and some of us are actually fairly chaste.
Deal with it, and stop assuming things that are going to get you slapped, sued for child support, or a venereal disease while you stand there whining, "But she was a feminist!"
Don't Hold the Door for Her
I can't tell you how many times I have an exchange like this with a male stranger:
Man: Holds door open and allows me to pass through ahead of himI never cease to be amazed that holding a door is considered by anyone to be anything except common courtesy. I hold doors for people all the time . . . The elderly, the young, the infirm, people carrying things, etc. Sometimes I hold it open behind me, sometimes I hold it open in front of me to let them pass. All of it depends upon my mood, the situation, and my level of observance.
Me: Why thank you, kind sir. I appreciate that!
Man: Relieved look.
Man: I'm really glad! I never know when I'm going to get yelled at for that!
Holding a door is no different that "Excuse me," or "Please pass the salt," so . . .
Men: Keep holding doors when you want to do so! Most people appreciate it.Talk About Your Emotions
Women: Get over yourselves! You are not advancing the cause by yelling at strangers in public for extending common courtesy.
Yes, talk about your emotions but don't go overboard. I am a proud human, and a feminist, and as a result I'm generally not going to be a whiny or over-emotional type. There's a huge difference between bitching about an encounter at the office that pissed you off, explaining why it pissed you off while you're trying to work through it and whining like an impotent victim and moping for a week.
If you're more emotional than I am, if you're more "sensitive" that I am, I'm not going to be impressed. Everyone has moments of weakness and struggle, but if it's overboard and if it's a pattern, I'm probably going to toss you like an old pair of shoes.
Check it -- I am a strong person, and I keep strong people around me because I don't have time or patience for anything else.
Congrats! You've Made it to Your One-Year Anniversary -- Things NOT to Buy Her as a Gift
Unless you're replacing items I already own that are broken, that I've run out of, or it's a gift card from a store you already know I love to shop, beauty products and kitchen products are right out. If you haven't figured out by the 1-year mark what I like and/or what I need, and you're not creative enough to come up with something on your own, then you really ought to re-evaluate your own observational skills while you're e-mailing my best friend to ask her advice.
Hints for the BEST Anniversary Gifts:I hope that my effort to supplement Hunt's humorous piece with serious points has been educational. I invite our Janes and Joes to comment about dating feminists and radfems.
If I read, books are a hit if you've taken 10 minutes to look at my bookcase or paid any attention whatsoever to what I talk about. Take your ass to a locally-owned bookstore and talk to a clerk if you're at a loss.
If I'm a science nerd, science museum trips are a winner because it's an experience with you
Receiving flowers at the office is a total win because I get lots of attention from my co-workers. This gives me a chance to bask in the limelight and talk you up with everyone else being jealous! Whatever happens, don't have them delivered on the last day of my workweek -- Send them early if you have to, because wilted Monday flowers are simply sad.
Stay away from topics you don't know -or- consult with a knowledgeable person early. The book item I already talked about? Do this with fashion accessories or technical gadgets or anything else that you're not into but I am. If you don't, you'll look incompetent at best and uncaring at worst. This is why men and women squabble after gift-giving: The appearance of not putting enough thought or effort into the gift that it makes some kind of sense.
Be sure that any object you choose (if you choose an object) is fully, 100% returnable/refundable. At least if you mess up, the two of you can make an afternoon of exchanging/refunding it for a more suitable item. This afternoon can be, if planned properly, a second anniversary celebration. If you pay attention, you can turn a fail into a win!
~Riot.Jane
*What* Magazine is This Supposed to be Again?!
Okay, enough is enough. I've simply had it with inappropriately-included, Photoshopped-to-better-than-life female models on magazine covers, most specifically when the magazines in question have nothing to do with making women appear more attactive. (Yes, beauty magazines suck, too, but that's a separate topic for another day.)
I imagine that a neighbor standing near me as I pulled this lovely bit of tripe from my mailbox probably received burns from the steam that shot from my ears:
Do I need to specifically tell you, dear reader, that I don't subscribe to beauty, young men's, or sprots/fitness magazines? Well, I don't.
For comparison, this is the cover of the above-magazine's closest competitor for the same month (November 2010). Again, I blocked the words to bring the graphic forefront:
Look at these two covers. If I paid you money for your honesty, would you ever in one million years have said that these two magazines were competitors?
I thought not.
Now, let's look at these covers side-by-side with just the words applying to the main cover story of each showing:
Compare these two covers one more time and consider: If I gave you a lifetime subscription to the one of your choice for your honesty, would you ever in one million years have said these two magazines were competitors?
I thought not.
May I just say that sex shouldn't be used to sell everything? That there really are some things (like baby clothes) that are just inappropriately hawked when sex comes into play?
Seriously, Editors: What are you, 13?
The first magazine has been doing this for the last several years. At first, the change was minor and could have been considered more "modern." Then it ramped up in both frequency and audacity. After the leathered-up dominatrix with a whip (!) cover, I really blew my stack. I wrote an angry letter, and many other readers did, too. I was filled with sister-love when I read their outraged comments. I felt vindicated and justified and not, as I feared, a bit too prudish for the 21st Century.
Then the magazine e-mailed me an invitation to participate in an online focus group for an upcoming cover . . . Finally! I could do something about this misplaced appeal-to-the-masses garbage! I was so excited and mission-oriented as I clicked the link . . .
Yeah, all of the covers they provided for us to choose from were already inappropriately sexed-up. There wasn't a realistic or even non-laughable picture to be had, so I chose the least offensive one. Of course, that one didn't make it to my mailbox. I guess that's what focus groups are all about -- the least common denominator.
This last cover is my last straw. I hereby refuse to renew my subscription to this magazine, and I'm pissed off at this point that I renewed for two full years last time. I've actually enjoyed its competitor more over the years, anyway. It's brainier and not trying to break into the god-awful beauty magazine industry.
You've been patient, so here are the actual, complete, unedited magazine covers. Read 'em and weep, dear Janes and Joes.
The first was my needy best friend years ago who grew into a shallow tramp. The other is my best friend now, the uncomplicated one who I could spend endless afternoons with drinking coffee and using my brain.
Goodbye, Psychology Today. Hello, Scientific American Mind.
~Riot.Jane
InfoGraphic: Evolution of the Lady Action Hero
Stumbled upon while wandering the wilds of the WWW . . .
While I will be forever torn between Ripley and Trinity as my favorite, I'd like to find out about your favorites and discuss who was skipped.
~Riot.Jane
[Source: Evolution of the Lady Action Hero]
While I will be forever torn between Ripley and Trinity as my favorite, I'd like to find out about your favorites and discuss who was skipped.
~Riot.Jane
Using Google Suggest as a Cultural Crystal Ball
I sometimes use Google Suggest as entertainment. This find was not so entertaining.
Since it's not just one single hermit in a cabin in the woods in Wisconsin using Google, more people than I'd like to consider are infected all the way to their bones with negative stereotypes about women. Even women themselves.
The next time someone tries to posit that "women have it easy nowadays," point them towards this and ask them again how easy it is we have it.
~Riot.Jane
Since it's not just one single hermit in a cabin in the woods in Wisconsin using Google, more people than I'd like to consider are infected all the way to their bones with negative stereotypes about women. Even women themselves.
The next time someone tries to posit that "women have it easy nowadays," point them towards this and ask them again how easy it is we have it.
~Riot.Jane
Methods to Managing Menopause
Menopause “hit” me when I was 50. Naturally, like most women I was beset by fears that this marked the beginning of a downhill descent. I rushed off to my gynecologist who wrote a prescription for Premarin, assured me it was safe, and sent me on my way.
I left his office with a spring in my step, “Goodie, now I don’t have to get upset about hot flashes, mood changes and losing my sexuality.” It seemed as if all my worries were over, until I began reading reports of increased cancer risks in women who took Premarin. So, rushing off to my doc again to check this out, he added Progesterone which he said would balance the “horse pee” (Premarin’s source). Once again I felt confident that all would be well.
One day after completing a lecture on Exquisite Aging at New York’s Whole Life Expo, I was approached by Dr. Viana Muller who proceeded to inform me that her company offered herbs that were as effective as hormone replacement… without any negative side effects. When I asked her about her background, her answer, “I’m anethno botanist!” made me stand up and take notice. I’d never heard that word before, and was curious about what she knew about HRT.
Along with teaching me about indigenous herbs… those cultivated in the soil of their origin, she introduced me to a term that went on to play a major role in my understanding of how herbs function in the body. That word is “precursor”. It seems that most problems with HRT come from the fact that the chemicals they’re made of are actual hormones. As such they replace the hormones lost in menopause. Precursor Herbs contain no hormones but rather stimulate the body to keep creating its own Anti-Aging components.
Except for a short stint with bio-identical hormones, I’ve been using the herb, ROYAL MACA, from her company, WHOLE WORLD BOTANICALS for 20 years. Yes, aging can be a daunting prospect, but with this magical herb in my arsenal, I’ve maintained unprecedented youth.
Need proof? I modeled for a Dolce & Gabbana ad in a skin tight bathing suit at age 74! Thanks to this chance meeting with Dr. Muller over 20 years ago, I’ve been blessed with a youthfulness I never could have imagined.
Check out her company’s website www.wholeworldbotanicals.com. A whole new world of indigenous Peruvian herbs will open up for you as it has for me!
~Hattie RetroAge
www.holisticallyhattie.com
www.bestcruisesandtravelnow.com (sponsoring my THE EMPOWERED WOMAN CRUISE in January)
I left his office with a spring in my step, “Goodie, now I don’t have to get upset about hot flashes, mood changes and losing my sexuality.” It seemed as if all my worries were over, until I began reading reports of increased cancer risks in women who took Premarin. So, rushing off to my doc again to check this out, he added Progesterone which he said would balance the “horse pee” (Premarin’s source). Once again I felt confident that all would be well.
One day after completing a lecture on Exquisite Aging at New York’s Whole Life Expo, I was approached by Dr. Viana Muller who proceeded to inform me that her company offered herbs that were as effective as hormone replacement… without any negative side effects. When I asked her about her background, her answer, “I’m anethno botanist!” made me stand up and take notice. I’d never heard that word before, and was curious about what she knew about HRT.
Along with teaching me about indigenous herbs… those cultivated in the soil of their origin, she introduced me to a term that went on to play a major role in my understanding of how herbs function in the body. That word is “precursor”. It seems that most problems with HRT come from the fact that the chemicals they’re made of are actual hormones. As such they replace the hormones lost in menopause. Precursor Herbs contain no hormones but rather stimulate the body to keep creating its own Anti-Aging components.
Except for a short stint with bio-identical hormones, I’ve been using the herb, ROYAL MACA, from her company, WHOLE WORLD BOTANICALS for 20 years. Yes, aging can be a daunting prospect, but with this magical herb in my arsenal, I’ve maintained unprecedented youth.
Need proof? I modeled for a Dolce & Gabbana ad in a skin tight bathing suit at age 74! Thanks to this chance meeting with Dr. Muller over 20 years ago, I’ve been blessed with a youthfulness I never could have imagined.
Check out her company’s website www.wholeworldbotanicals.com. A whole new world of indigenous Peruvian herbs will open up for you as it has for me!
~Hattie RetroAge
www.holisticallyhattie.com
www.bestcruisesandtravelnow.com (sponsoring my THE EMPOWERED WOMAN CRUISE in January)
Choosing to Grow Young
I choose to grow young, not old.
I've been intrigued with, attracted to and dating men considerably younger than myself for a quarter of a century. Twenty five years ago the stigma was much more intense than it is now. In my mid-fifties, when I told my mother I was dating a man 20 years my junior, she had a cow! I learned to never bring the subject up with her again.
Back in the day, we had no terminology, catchphrases or labels. We were simply older women who were drawn to younger men. I broach the subject in my book, Sexy In Your 60s, How You Can Naturally Reverse The Aging Process & Rejuvenate Your Life, and blog, www.SexyInYour60s.com, which focus on the health of our body, mind and spirit. I share with others, women especially, what's hindered and helped me over the years, things that keep me young at heart and reversing the aging process.
What can I say? I'm a woman who chooses to grow young, not old. My lust for life attracts younger men and that doesn't seem to be waning with age. Quite the opposite. The older I get the more curious they are. They pick my mind, sometimes I feel like Dear Abby. Recently I joined some Cougar/Cub sites to get a finger on the pulse. I've belonged to other date sites and always draw younger men, but not sites that are subject specific. The resounding welcome and dialogue has been fascinating and prompted me to do some research and writing of my own.
The so-called Cougar/Cub phenomenon as many know, is not new. In my book I explore the goddess cultures, go back thousands of years and guess what? Younger men and older women were an item then just as they are now. Regardless, I'm having a difficult time calling myself a Cougar. This excerpt speaks for me:
Not one to embrace the ‘Cougar’ image, I find the explanation confining and not in keeping with a truly seasoned woman, a crone. Ego need not play a part and while every woman reaps the rewards of honoring her body, the body needn’t be the sole reason to attract men, men of any age. Nor do I adhere to the inference that older women are always on the prowl, not able or interested in long term relationships. I believe that women have choices and to categorize us is counter-productive.
A crone is a woman in her third phase of life; maiden/virgin, mother, crone. A postmenopausal woman. I use the book as a platform because the crone stage is the most astounding, powerful, time of a woman's life. According to the ancients, the crone comes into her mastery on all levels including her sexual mastery. Such a hush-hush taboo subject; older women and sexuality. My friend and mentor, Dr. Linda Savage, was instrumental in awakening me to this part of myself. Her expertise flows all through my book. Savage's book, Reclaiming Goddess Sexuality:The Power of the Feminine Way takes us back into history and reminds us the ancient woman-positive cultures have a message about sexuality that we can learn from today.
On the Internet I found amazing forward-thinking women who have websites and blogs that depict their take on the Cougar/Cub movement. Dr. Fayr Barkley, CEO of www.CougarInternational.com caught my attention with her empowering and informative articles. Dr. Fayr mirrors my old school/young school mindset. She brings into focus those things that serve us and points out those that don't. She does women and men a great service by acting as a role model that speaks to the awesomeness of womanhood. I've become one of her biggest fans and am an active participant on her website.
Another woman, Linda Franklin, her website www.TheRealCougarWoman.com , and author of
Don't Ever Call Me Ma'am, impressed me with her life experiences. She too is empowering women and mirrors my opinion that regardless of our age, we are never too old to try or do something different. No one could have told me I would publish my first book at 64, or, for that matte,r speak out about my lifestyle as it pertains to younger men. Like Ms. Franklin, I encourage women to reach for their dreams and not let social dogma get in their way.
Dawn Marie Ellison, founder of www.CougarandtheCub.com, caught my attention. She sees the cougar/cub relationship as "a spiritual, emotional and sensual connection and not merely sexual." Ellison's comment speaks worlds. The ancient cultures teach the balance of the sexual and the spiritual. In Pagan Society there was no rift between Spirituality and Sex. Both were seen as true and vital forces, dancing in beautiful symmetry.
Regardless what we choose to call ourselves; kittens, pumas, cougars, cleos or just women, the key to it all is to stand as role models for the young people, acting responsibly and with integrity. The reality show mindset the media sells our children and grandchildren doesn't always represent the positive side of life. Much of it is based on dysfunctional conditioning that doesn't serve anyone. It's up to us as women, cougars or not, to set the bar for those who learn from our actions; the children.
~ Joan M Bunney
Author, Speaker, Advocate for Social Change
www.sexyinyour60s.com
I've been intrigued with, attracted to and dating men considerably younger than myself for a quarter of a century. Twenty five years ago the stigma was much more intense than it is now. In my mid-fifties, when I told my mother I was dating a man 20 years my junior, she had a cow! I learned to never bring the subject up with her again.
Back in the day, we had no terminology, catchphrases or labels. We were simply older women who were drawn to younger men. I broach the subject in my book, Sexy In Your 60s, How You Can Naturally Reverse The Aging Process & Rejuvenate Your Life, and blog, www.SexyInYour60s.com, which focus on the health of our body, mind and spirit. I share with others, women especially, what's hindered and helped me over the years, things that keep me young at heart and reversing the aging process.
What can I say? I'm a woman who chooses to grow young, not old. My lust for life attracts younger men and that doesn't seem to be waning with age. Quite the opposite. The older I get the more curious they are. They pick my mind, sometimes I feel like Dear Abby. Recently I joined some Cougar/Cub sites to get a finger on the pulse. I've belonged to other date sites and always draw younger men, but not sites that are subject specific. The resounding welcome and dialogue has been fascinating and prompted me to do some research and writing of my own.
The so-called Cougar/Cub phenomenon as many know, is not new. In my book I explore the goddess cultures, go back thousands of years and guess what? Younger men and older women were an item then just as they are now. Regardless, I'm having a difficult time calling myself a Cougar. This excerpt speaks for me:
Not one to embrace the ‘Cougar’ image, I find the explanation confining and not in keeping with a truly seasoned woman, a crone. Ego need not play a part and while every woman reaps the rewards of honoring her body, the body needn’t be the sole reason to attract men, men of any age. Nor do I adhere to the inference that older women are always on the prowl, not able or interested in long term relationships. I believe that women have choices and to categorize us is counter-productive.
A crone is a woman in her third phase of life; maiden/virgin, mother, crone. A postmenopausal woman. I use the book as a platform because the crone stage is the most astounding, powerful, time of a woman's life. According to the ancients, the crone comes into her mastery on all levels including her sexual mastery. Such a hush-hush taboo subject; older women and sexuality. My friend and mentor, Dr. Linda Savage, was instrumental in awakening me to this part of myself. Her expertise flows all through my book. Savage's book, Reclaiming Goddess Sexuality:The Power of the Feminine Way takes us back into history and reminds us the ancient woman-positive cultures have a message about sexuality that we can learn from today.
On the Internet I found amazing forward-thinking women who have websites and blogs that depict their take on the Cougar/Cub movement. Dr. Fayr Barkley, CEO of www.CougarInternational.com caught my attention with her empowering and informative articles. Dr. Fayr mirrors my old school/young school mindset. She brings into focus those things that serve us and points out those that don't. She does women and men a great service by acting as a role model that speaks to the awesomeness of womanhood. I've become one of her biggest fans and am an active participant on her website.
Another woman, Linda Franklin, her website www.TheRealCougarWoman.com , and author of
Don't Ever Call Me Ma'am, impressed me with her life experiences. She too is empowering women and mirrors my opinion that regardless of our age, we are never too old to try or do something different. No one could have told me I would publish my first book at 64, or, for that matte,r speak out about my lifestyle as it pertains to younger men. Like Ms. Franklin, I encourage women to reach for their dreams and not let social dogma get in their way.
Dawn Marie Ellison, founder of www.CougarandtheCub.com, caught my attention. She sees the cougar/cub relationship as "a spiritual, emotional and sensual connection and not merely sexual." Ellison's comment speaks worlds. The ancient cultures teach the balance of the sexual and the spiritual. In Pagan Society there was no rift between Spirituality and Sex. Both were seen as true and vital forces, dancing in beautiful symmetry.
Regardless what we choose to call ourselves; kittens, pumas, cougars, cleos or just women, the key to it all is to stand as role models for the young people, acting responsibly and with integrity. The reality show mindset the media sells our children and grandchildren doesn't always represent the positive side of life. Much of it is based on dysfunctional conditioning that doesn't serve anyone. It's up to us as women, cougars or not, to set the bar for those who learn from our actions; the children.
~ Joan M Bunney
Author, Speaker, Advocate for Social Change
www.sexyinyour60s.com
Want a Raise? Wash Your Vulva, Dammit! (Part 2)
We recently introduced you to a disgusting full-page Woman's Day magazine ad in Want a Raise? Wash Your Vulva, Dammit! (Part 1). As promised, here's the follow-up . . . now that I'm clear-headed enough to write it.
Let's start from the top of their list . . .
Vaginas are NOT dirty or germy in their natural, healthy state! Health professionals have finally manged to, for the most part, eradicate the idea that we need to douche to maintain the health of our vaginas, but the myth that they smell bad is still out there. Vaginas have a smell, and much like other smells that humans have, the smell varies from woman to woman. Sometimes it's earthy, sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's stronger than other times. Just because the pubic area has a smell all its own doesn't mean there's something wrong (with it or its smell or with us), or that it's bad, or that something should be done about it.
The male genitals also have a smell all their own, one that also varies man to man. No one markets "scrotum freshening" products to them because regular soap use is considered sufficient. This should apply to the vulva as well, but we're supposed to feel our "most confident" by "staying fresh" down there. Hear me, women: The only reason our natural smell could possibly affect our confidence is because we've been programmed to believe there's something wrong with it (and, therefore, with us). Fight that programming!
The first mention of actual practical advice is not mentioned until #4! The model is dressed in a suit, so we must assume that she is some type of a career woman in a professional environment. This is a woman who has her act together, who's over the age of 25, who stands on her own two feet. This is a woman who already knows how and when to feed herself and that scheduled work hours are an expectation to not be ignored. How dumb does Summer's Eve think such a woman is? Clearly, they think she's so dumb that feeding programmed insecurities, promoting eating schedules, and lecturing about expected arrival time are more important points than creating "a list of all your important contributions and accomplishments." A brilliant method to approach your target audience is assuming basic stupidity.
Pornography references have no place in a advertorial about navigating the workplace! Yes, I'm sure it was an oversight, but it's an oversight that should never happen. Supporting documentation is a practical reminder (although so basic as to be an almost unneeded reminder to our career woman), but dear God, "You made me look good" in the "XXX project"?! Really? No one caught that? I would hope that a full-paged ad in a national publication would be an expensive enough endeavor that Summer's Eve would have focus-grouped said ad, but apparently that didn't happen. If it had, some one would have mentioned "the XXX project". Women fighting for equal pay don't need any fuel in feeling like a piece of meat.
Supporting documentation shouldn't be a list of approval quotes! Returning to Western-culture female programming, approval is not what women in the workplace should be focusing on -- Productivity is. Fluffy happy approval notes are suitable for informal employee feedback or appreciation, not compensation negotiation. Documentation from superiors should include concrete items, such as tasks completed early, extra duties filled, money saved, expectations exceeded, etc. If the job includes providing a service to others, such happy notes are useful as a method of supporting claims of high customer satisfaction but are groundless as an actual productivity measure. I've seen enlightened as well as barbaric managers make this same mistake, so seeing this advice given is doubly outrageous because if the subordinate doesn't fight it, the battle could very well not be fought. Fight that programming!
Talk is cheap and silence is golden, but there's a fine line between a conversation and a question/answer session! While the ad's advice to respect silence is apropos because too many women who are victims of approval-seeking programming will fill any silence of longer than two seconds with inane chatter, remember to not go too far in the other direction. Warmth, a certain level of likability, and team cohesion are important to your long-term value to the company, and your manager is well aware of this. Appearing cold, uncooperative, disrespectful, unfriendly, or just plain stoic probably won't help your cause. Confidence and strength must be balanced with cooperation and respect in order to shine your professionally brightest.
Don't let the conversation get personal?! This is a particularly tacky bit considering this ad is for a female genital perfume product. Is Summer's Eve trying to tell us that, without guarding against it, our boss will be nosing around our crotches during the negotiation? Or are they, as I suspect, trying to imply that our externally-programmed vagina-insecurity is somehow valid rather than being an imaginary paranoia fed (in the past) by ignorance and (currently) by companies trying to market their unneeded products to another generation of skittish women they helped program? That the only way to not offend everyone around you is to use their product so that you have a certain fresh linen smell about your nether-regions? I can't say this strongly enough . . . Fight that programming!
The "bottom line" pun is offensive! I can't decide whether or not this was an oversight of the caliber of "XXX project" or an intentional pun. Either way, it sucks because females sit on their genitals. The ostensible advice, to remember that your value to the company is based upon finances, is lost in the subtext (if I can even use that word) of your value being tied to the "bottom line". If this had been written anywhere else, it wouldn't be offensive. The context is both what brings out the pun and makes it offensive.
Staying "fresh" isn't important; staying "clean" is, and is really IS simple! We don't need a special product for our vulva -- just washing with normal soap daily does the job. The lesson your mother taught you when you were a tot has always applied and will continue to apply until the day you die. Your vulva and vagina need no different cleaning care than any other part of your body, and it certainly doesn't need deodorant! If you're worried that it does, then see your doctor to make sure nothing's wrong. When your doctor tells you you're healthy, that your feminine smell is within the normal (wide) range of variation, throw all those damned products in the trash and learn to love yourself!
There is good advice available on this topic, why not use it?! This is an advertorial, and that means that the point was to push their product. While I understand that this means at least one of the number points had to be about the product, did it have to be #1? Why not #8? Besides the alternative advice I've offered above, there is at least two quality online articles on why women have a difficult time asking for raises that not only offer insights as to why this is but also practical advice on how to do so but also how to prepare to do so. Why go with the air-headed powder-puff Tiger Beat-oriented information instead of the gritty, real deal, when the information is out there? Laziness, ignorance, and a least-common denominator mindset is why.
Men receive practical advice, women receive garbage and insecurity! Check out these two articles, targeted towards men, that offer advice on how to ask for a raise. You won't see much crossover between these advice pieces and the Summer's Eve Woman's Day advertorial. Why is this?
We are valuable, and our perspective is all our own. We must keep refusing to participate in that which reduces us. Only with vigilance and constant contrariness will we achieve that which is ours to claim: cultural equality.
The path through these woods I would like to know, but the answer lies in the distance though. On this, the darkest night of the year, my little horse must think it queer to pause when there is no answer here. She gives her harness bells a shake, knowing there must be some mistake. The answers are myriad, dark and deep, and we have traveled miles without sleep. Between the woods and frozen lake, let's light the torches and grab our skates. They will not see us stopping here until long after we have refused their fear. *
~Riot.Jane
Let's start from the top of their list . . .
Vaginas are NOT dirty or germy in their natural, healthy state! Health professionals have finally manged to, for the most part, eradicate the idea that we need to douche to maintain the health of our vaginas, but the myth that they smell bad is still out there. Vaginas have a smell, and much like other smells that humans have, the smell varies from woman to woman. Sometimes it's earthy, sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's stronger than other times. Just because the pubic area has a smell all its own doesn't mean there's something wrong (with it or its smell or with us), or that it's bad, or that something should be done about it. The male genitals also have a smell all their own, one that also varies man to man. No one markets "scrotum freshening" products to them because regular soap use is considered sufficient. This should apply to the vulva as well, but we're supposed to feel our "most confident" by "staying fresh" down there. Hear me, women: The only reason our natural smell could possibly affect our confidence is because we've been programmed to believe there's something wrong with it (and, therefore, with us). Fight that programming!
We are valuable, and our perspective is all our own. We must keep refusing to participate in that which reduces us. Only with vigilance and constant contrariness will we achieve that which is ours to claim: cultural equality.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The path through these woods I would like to know, but the answer lies in the distance though. On this, the darkest night of the year, my little horse must think it queer to pause when there is no answer here. She gives her harness bells a shake, knowing there must be some mistake. The answers are myriad, dark and deep, and we have traveled miles without sleep. Between the woods and frozen lake, let's light the torches and grab our skates. They will not see us stopping here until long after we have refused their fear. *
~Riot.Jane
Hattie Slams Howard Stern on His Own Show!
I wanted to keep you abreast to my encounter with Howard Stern – just in case you had not heard…
Let’s go back a bit…
For months, I’d been telling people, “One of these days I’m gonna be topless on the Howard Stern Show!” I figured that being on the show would encourage other women to follow in my tracks.
Brazenly proclaiming what fun that would be– with strategically placed pixels, of course, I joshed, “Someone’s gotta do it…and thank God, that someone is me!”
Tired of society’s view that being a sexy senior is a curiosity to sniggle at, I decided to show the world that this “old broad” was living life according to her desires and having sex with men half her age!
Well, my prophesy came true:
One of Howard’s producers was member of my Health Club. I asked the enrollment manager to pitch an appearance for me, and I got booked for the following week.
My decision to appear was filled with both vanity and valor. Vain because I was exhibiting my breasts like a go-go dancer and valiant because I knew I would be teased, insulted, and even laughed at. Nevertheless, this was my opportunity to get my RetroAge® message across. Knowing that I would be inspiring women to be powerful, sexual and beautiful made me impervious to any derision. Besides I knew it would be great fun!
Briskly entering the studio, I let Howard know he wasn’t dealing with your typical “old hag,” as he had been referring to me all morning on the air. In an attempt to taunt me, he leered, “It’s really disgusting for old women to sleep with young guys.”
Here was my chance to best him at his own game.
“You know, Howard, when an old guy sleeps with a woman young enough to be his daughter, society respects and reveres him. But just let an old woman sleep with young guys, and society reacts like she’s sick and disgusting.”
Then, strategically dropping my melodramatic delivery, I leaned toward him, smiled, and slowly added, “Well, Howard…
MAJOR PAUSE…
I’m sick and disgusting!”
This unexpected comeback rendered him uncharacteristically contrite, “Okay. Hattie, you are good looking, but you’re much too old for me,” whereupon his sidekick Robin Quivers shot back, “And you’re too old for her, Howard!”
Everyone in the studio cracked up.
Possibly to save face, Howard summoned the producers and engineers from the control room, asking them one by one if they would fuck me. To a man, they replied, “You bet we would!”
Then he jabbed, “Are your teeth real?”
“Everything’s real,” I replied, coyly playing with the bejeweled collar of my desgner jacket. The shock jock looked down at his notes and, almost as a dare, said “It says here that you’re going to take your top off. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is,” I replied, calmly removing my jacket. I was determined to get as much mileage as I could out of this TV appearance. I knew that the network would cover my breasts with pixels, so I wasn’t completely exposing myself… and it would be years before my grandchildren would see a tape.
Perhaps I didn’t alter Howard’s oft-uttered repulsion for older women, but It certainly gave the TV audience a good look at a senior who hasn’t chosen to been cut, stitched or injected to be sexy.
It made for a wild show that was aired three times.
Not bad for an “old hag.”
What can I say… he got the breast of me…
~Hattie RetroAge
Let’s go back a bit…
For months, I’d been telling people, “One of these days I’m gonna be topless on the Howard Stern Show!” I figured that being on the show would encourage other women to follow in my tracks.
 |
| Hattie RetroAge |
Tired of society’s view that being a sexy senior is a curiosity to sniggle at, I decided to show the world that this “old broad” was living life according to her desires and having sex with men half her age!
Well, my prophesy came true:
One of Howard’s producers was member of my Health Club. I asked the enrollment manager to pitch an appearance for me, and I got booked for the following week.
My decision to appear was filled with both vanity and valor. Vain because I was exhibiting my breasts like a go-go dancer and valiant because I knew I would be teased, insulted, and even laughed at. Nevertheless, this was my opportunity to get my RetroAge® message across. Knowing that I would be inspiring women to be powerful, sexual and beautiful made me impervious to any derision. Besides I knew it would be great fun!
Briskly entering the studio, I let Howard know he wasn’t dealing with your typical “old hag,” as he had been referring to me all morning on the air. In an attempt to taunt me, he leered, “It’s really disgusting for old women to sleep with young guys.”
Here was my chance to best him at his own game.
“You know, Howard, when an old guy sleeps with a woman young enough to be his daughter, society respects and reveres him. But just let an old woman sleep with young guys, and society reacts like she’s sick and disgusting.”
Then, strategically dropping my melodramatic delivery, I leaned toward him, smiled, and slowly added, “Well, Howard…
MAJOR PAUSE…
I’m sick and disgusting!”
This unexpected comeback rendered him uncharacteristically contrite, “Okay. Hattie, you are good looking, but you’re much too old for me,” whereupon his sidekick Robin Quivers shot back, “And you’re too old for her, Howard!”
 |
| Howard Stern |
Possibly to save face, Howard summoned the producers and engineers from the control room, asking them one by one if they would fuck me. To a man, they replied, “You bet we would!”
Then he jabbed, “Are your teeth real?”
“Everything’s real,” I replied, coyly playing with the bejeweled collar of my desgner jacket. The shock jock looked down at his notes and, almost as a dare, said “It says here that you’re going to take your top off. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is,” I replied, calmly removing my jacket. I was determined to get as much mileage as I could out of this TV appearance. I knew that the network would cover my breasts with pixels, so I wasn’t completely exposing myself… and it would be years before my grandchildren would see a tape.
Perhaps I didn’t alter Howard’s oft-uttered repulsion for older women, but It certainly gave the TV audience a good look at a senior who hasn’t chosen to been cut, stitched or injected to be sexy.
It made for a wild show that was aired three times.
Not bad for an “old hag.”
What can I say… he got the breast of me…
~Hattie RetroAge
Introducing Joan M Bunney: Couger Advocating Change
 |
| Joan M Bunney |
Dear Jane:Joan and the admins have corresponded in more depth since receiving her initial e-mail, and we're quite pleased to introduce Joan to TJP!
I am a friend of Hattie Retro-age, and like her, choose to reverse the aging process naturally, no chemicals or toxins allowed in or on my body.
I'm also an advocate for social change and speak out on relevant issues all having to do with the children's well being. Born in 1945 I've watched this health epidemic of the body and mind happen over the decades.
I wrote a book, Sexy InYour60s, to share with others, women especially, what I've learned and applied and why I'm growing young not old; a new mindset.
I've been to your website and would love to contribute, be a part of your blog. The 'older' I get the more relevant the subject matter. The elder woman is stepping forward to share accrued wisdom that will help to make change happen.
I've attached my media bio, my Sexy In Your 60s website that holds my book and journey thus far. I am just beginning the second half of life. The ancient goddess cultures tell us the seasoned woman is in her mastery at this stage of life. My purpose is to awaken women of all ages to this truth by using myself, much as Hattie does, as a live testimonial.
About to launch a new website, AgelessCougar.com to celebrate the cougar woman rather than demean her. Like Hattie, I've been attracted to and dating younger men for a quarter century. The website in part will dissuade the naysayers and the bad press. The rewards of aging are endless. ...
Best regards,
Joan M Bunney
Author, Speaker, Advocate for Social Change
JoanBunney@hotmail.com
http://www.sexyinyour60s.com/
We are excited to see her work and grow from her contributions.
~Riot.Jane
Want a Raise? Wash Your Vulva, Dammit! (Part 1)
Male friend trident5 kicked a DemocraticUnderground link my way with the comment, "I am wholly unqualified to offer an opinion on this." Kowing him, I was expecting to find something nerdy/political and bizarre enough that he, one of my Nerd Flock, would be dumbfounded.
Moments after clicking the link, my curiosity turned the corner of Geek Avenue and sped down Outrage Lane.
What trident5 sent me was a link to a scan of a recent Women's Day full-page advertisement for a Summer's Eve product. At first glance, the model is a modernly-dressed woman, so it's clear that this is not a retro ad copy.
Click the ad to see the full-sized version. The text is difficult to read, so I replicated it immediately below the ad. Prepare for your own personal Two Minutes of Hate:
Feel free to comment or submit your impressions before I make my second post.
~Riot.Jane
Moments after clicking the link, my curiosity turned the corner of Geek Avenue and sped down Outrage Lane.
What trident5 sent me was a link to a scan of a recent Women's Day full-page advertisement for a Summer's Eve product. At first glance, the model is a modernly-dressed woman, so it's clear that this is not a retro ad copy.
Click the ad to see the full-sized version. The text is difficult to read, so I replicated it immediately below the ad. Prepare for your own personal Two Minutes of Hate:
 |
| Click the ad to see the full-sized version |
How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. Which I will do in a later post after I manage to reclaim my brain.Confidence at Work:How to Ask for a RaiseFeel your most confident every day
- It should start with your usual routine and all the things you do to feel your best, including showering with Summer's Eve Feminine Wash or throwing a packet of Summer's Eve Feminine Cleansing Cloths into your bag for a quick freshness pick-me-up during the day.
- Just as important: Be sure to eat a healthy breakfast.
- Leave early. You don't want to be late on a day when someone will be thinking about your performance.
- Go over your calendar for the past year, look through old files and emails. Jot down a list of all your important contributions and accomplishments.
- Bring quotes from higher-ups to the meeting, such as "Great job on the XXX project! You made me look good."
- Don't be afraid of silence. Effective negotiation requires using strategic pauses. These valuable moments allow your points to resonate and give you time to gather your thoughts.
- Don't let the conversation stray or get personal.
- Focus on the things you've done to improve the bottom line. Today, it's about your worth to the company.
Whether you're at work or at play, staying fresh isn't always simple. Designed for daily use, Summer's Eve Feminine Wash and Feminine Cleansing Cloths help you feel clean and confident from the beginnning of your day to the end.
Feel free to comment or submit your impressions before I make my second post.
~Riot.Jane
More on the Elderly Indian IVF Trend
In a recent post, we discussed the cultural components involved in the developing Indian trend of financially middle- and upper-class elderly women giving birth through IVF. I ended that post with the statement "I honestly can't imagine living in such a culture. "
I've read a few things since that only intensify my revulsion.
The life expectancy of a child born in India in 2008 is <64 years. The life expectancy for a child born in the entire world in 2008 is <70 years. Further manipulation of the page will show that all of the Western European countries life expectancy for a child born in 2008 range from 78 to 82.
In the manipulated chart, as shown below, the bottom line is India, the next line up is the entire world, and the rest are the clustering of the Western European nations.
In a country so overcrowded and slum-filled that large swaths of urbanites don't have clean water or electricity, with such under-developed infrustructure that people sit in traffic for four hours one way, with a birthrate (22.22/1000 vs. the US' 14/1000 in 2008) and infant mortality rate (currently 52/1000 vs the US' 7/1000) so high that poor couples are being paid to delay childbirth and train-rage incidents involve tossing two year olds to their deaths, a dowry expectation that is such a crippling expense that a female child is considered an insufferable burden, and a strict social (but illegal) caste system that, for the most part, prevents social and financial mobility . . .
How have the women in this society not risen up en masse against the pressures to selectively abort female fetuses and to continue bearing children into their dotage, whatever the means, because of the need for male heirs?
I used to think that India was a civilized democracy. I'm no so sure about the "civilized" part anymore.
~Riot.Jane
I've read a few things since that only intensify my revulsion.
The life expectancy of a child born in India in 2008 is <64 years. The life expectancy for a child born in the entire world in 2008 is <70 years. Further manipulation of the page will show that all of the Western European countries life expectancy for a child born in 2008 range from 78 to 82.
In the manipulated chart, as shown below, the bottom line is India, the next line up is the entire world, and the rest are the clustering of the Western European nations.
In a country so overcrowded and slum-filled that large swaths of urbanites don't have clean water or electricity, with such under-developed infrustructure that people sit in traffic for four hours one way, with a birthrate (22.22/1000 vs. the US' 14/1000 in 2008) and infant mortality rate (currently 52/1000 vs the US' 7/1000) so high that poor couples are being paid to delay childbirth and train-rage incidents involve tossing two year olds to their deaths, a dowry expectation that is such a crippling expense that a female child is considered an insufferable burden, and a strict social (but illegal) caste system that, for the most part, prevents social and financial mobility . . .
How have the women in this society not risen up en masse against the pressures to selectively abort female fetuses and to continue bearing children into their dotage, whatever the means, because of the need for male heirs?
I used to think that India was a civilized democracy. I'm no so sure about the "civilized" part anymore.
~Riot.Jane
Meeting Hattie RetroAge: Cougar Extroardinaire
I watched an episode of TLC series {Strange}SEX for the very first time last week. The particular episode I saw was about "cougars", or older women who date younger men (the show defined it specifically as women aged 40+ who pursue men at least 8 years their junior).
Hattie's response arrived overnight: |
| Hattie RetroAge |
In this episode, viewers get to know 73 year old Hattie RetroAge, a woman who lives, loves, laughs, and has sex freely. She's a divorced mother who, upon her divorce in her late 40s, picked her life up from the point in her early 20s at which she married. She posts completely accurate internet personals and receives 30-50 responses whenever she does. w00t!
There are more men out there wanting to date older women than I thought. Since she's long past the stage of wanting a wedding ring and children, she's a great prospect to men who are avoiding that type of situation. Add to this that she was a professional dancer and has remained active and in excellent shape, and the Hattie picture becomes more clear. w00t!
In the episode I watched, we get to know Hattie, her adult son, and 33 year old Ron. By the end of the episode, Hattie and Ron will have gone on their first date together. The date seemed to go well; they seemed to hit it off, and the viewer is left with the thought that they will see each other again. w00t!
I'm normally not into "reality tv," but this series seems to be done in a documentary style that wasn't nearly as prurient as the topic matter would indicate. I realized that Hattie would make a wonderful addition to TJP, so I Googled her, found her e-mail address, and sent her an e-mail in which I praised her for being true to herself, introduced TJP, and asked her to consider reading and/or contributing.
It was an honor to receive your lavish praise, thank you.
It is as shocking to me as it may be for others to view a women in her 70's, without surgery or shots or hormone replacement, emerge as a sex object! To understand how this happened I reviewed my past involvements: In the 60's I wrote the first Organic Certification Form in America! So individual respendent health has been my focus for decades. Add to that my years as a dance teacher to pre-schoolers. They imparted a spirit that is implanted in my marrow. And...I love expressing love. (often referred to as sex!)
At this point I am involved in creating a paying career to carry me thorugh the next 20 years! I had been working as a healer, however my body developed fibromyalgia and arthritis, so I had to re-create a life as a writer/speaker on exquisite aging. ... The career of my choice is to be a newscaster with a regular spot to discuss issues of aging. If you have any contacts that could help me achieve this, I would be infinitely grateful.
Keep it up, dear Jane,
Hattie
hattie@hattieretroage.comHattie has already published three books available on Amazon and has agreed to contribute some of her previous and future work to TJP. If any of you have any contacts for Hattie, please comment!
http://www.holisticallyhattie.com/
http://www.bestcruisesandtravelnow.com/ (sponsoring my THE EMPOWERED WOMAN CRUISE in January)
I can't wait to see Hattie's work!
~Riot.Jane
Homeland Security, TSA, and the Police State
It's Official: "TSA" = "Totally Stupid Assholes"
The Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Safety Administration (a/k/a "TSA") has reached a new low. Kathy Parker, 43, alleges that TSA personnel illegally invaded her privacy during a preflight security screening at Philadelphia International (PHI) on August 8.
Parker says the TSA screener/s removed retail receipts and other papers from her wallet and read them (while telling her they were looking for razor blades), needlessly embarrassed her by removing and openly displaying prescription medications from her handbag, and then, after "inspecting" negotiable instruments (i.e. checks) that were also in her wallet, conferred with on-hand Philadelphia police. One of the officers then attempted to confiscate said checks without process or paperwork, telling her that he suspected her of embezzlement. When she protested, she says he told her "It's not your money." *
According to Parker, she was only allowed to collect her belongings and board the plane after half an hour of humiliation and interrogation because she eventually handed over her husband of 20 years' cell number and authorities called him regarding the possibility of Parker attempting to "empty their bank account" due to "a divorce situation." *
Even though Parker's husband missed the call, the police eventually allowed her to board the plane. *
According to a Philadelphia police spokesman, the officer was suspicious because the checks Parker carried were "almost sequential" and he was simply trying "to make sure there was nothing fraudulent." The spokesman added, "They were wondering what the story was. The officer got it cleared up." *
This statement downplays the control issues evident in Parker's version, in which the Philadelphia police officer admonished her that, when she questioned him about whether or not she actually had to explain herself or her checks, his response was, "If you don't tell me, you can tell the D.A."
So a call to her husband sufficed? A call that Parker's husband didn't even answer?
To be fair, if one can call it that, a TSA spokeswoman said that the explanation for Parker's experience is that, with specifics undefined, a behavioral detection officer noticed her, and she acted "as if she feared discovery." *
Behavioral profiling is a tricky area, one which is too large to fully address here. Suffice it to say that Nature all but tells us that science's perspective is that behavioral screening's effectiveness is no better than chance:
Compare Nature and Schneier's academic takes with the contents of thus 60 Minutes interview (at the end of this post) with Kip Hawley (TSA head from July 2005 to January 2009) in which he says that these behavior officers can tell the difference between "normal" people who are tense and anxious because they're late for their flight and someone carrying a bomb. Schneier responds, "There's not a lot of truth in that, but they'd love it if you reported it because, in all seriousness, we are safer if the bad guys believe we've got this piece of magic." Magic is a great word for something that gives no better hit rate than chance. Security Theater is another.
(Note: The video itself, while interesting, is not particularly germane to the discussion at hand -- The important points are covered in this post.)
According to the 60 Minutes video, the TSA spends $160,000,000 of our tax money on more than 2000 behavior detection officers who anonymously roam security checkpoints analyzing micro-facial expressions looking for nervousness and anxiety that are indicative of terrorist intentions versus simple travel woe. The TSA wouldn't tell 60 Minutes if any of the 180,000 passengers stopped for an interview have turned out to be a terrorist, but Congressional sources told CBS that none had. (Worse than coin-flipping? Way to go, TSA! Only you could screw up such a sure thing.)
Also according to the 60 Minutes video, the TSA is spending another $35,000,000 of our tax money to send every one of its 50,000 screeners back to "screener school" for retraining in how to treat the flying public who is consistently enraged, flustered, anxious, and resentful of what it interprets to be an inane and insane travel mess. I'm not sure who thought that re-training was a better idea than, maybe, going back to the drawing board and designing procedures that respect the human dignity of the flying public, but I'd sure like to give him/her a piece of my mind.
Another sore spot with the flying public are the full-body image scanners. When the 60 Minutes correspondent, looking at the airport scanning images, asks "What happens to this image now? Is that stored anywhere?" Hawley replies "No, it's destroyed as soon as the next one comes. The machines are not capable of storing images."
Per a letter written by TSA Acting Administer Gale D. Rossides to the Chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Hawley's statement on storing images is not true.
Rossides' letter advises that the machines the TSAscreeners "operating in the airport environment have neither the technical capability nor the authority to change the AIT [scanner] into test mode." Additionally, "Any changes to privacy settings on individual machines can only be made by the 'Z' [level] users." As of February, 2010, there are 45 Z-level users, including both Federal employees and government contractors.
So, the TSA purchases the machines with the ability to save and transmit pictures, but they only use said functionality in testing and have said functionality disabled prior to airport delivery, banking on operator ignorance to keep that functionality disabled. If the Diebold voting machine hacking fiasco has taught us anything, it's that any functionality present but blocked can, and will, eventually be enabled.
Factor in the TSA's introduction of new police-style uniforms to give the screeners a more authoritative look (even though Washington D.C.-area screener Ladonta Edwards claims, "We're not out there to be fake security guards") -- also from the 60 Minutes video, and a creepy police state vibe develops.
Back to Kathy Parker. First it was razor blades that would've been seen on x-ray. Then embezzlement. Then theft from her husband. An admission from the TSA that one of the anonymous behavior detectors was involved. This sounds to me a whole lot like that behavioral detector detector locked onto Parker for reasons never to be known to her or the public, and that regardless of what was (or, in this case, wasn't) discovered bore no consequence. I think what freaks me out the most about this was that, if I had been Parker, I surely would have lost my temper. I would then probably have been arrested, booked, and detained while my husband, in another state, attempted to obtain my release.
That kind of power, in the hands of one person, without clear guidelines and due process, keeps me awake at night. I simply cannot reconcile this with the liberty and security in our persons and papers and that we've been led to believe are Constitutional guarantees. This is not the first time the TSA has trampled on personal liberty and human dignity, but working through the fear caused by the ever-increasing loss of liberty is all the more difficult when trying to quell my outrage at the sexism in the Parker case.
The law applies to all citizens equally, and someone needs to find the screeners and Philadelphia police officer involved in the Parker case and remind them all that women, even married women God forbid, are allowed to own and possess items of value separate from the influence or presence of a spouse. They need to be reminded that women, married or not, accompanied by said spouse or not, are as equally guaranteed security in their persons and papers as any man. My unmitigated rage at the indignity thrust upon Parker, of knowing this last would not have occurred to her had she been in the company of her husband, is awe-inspiring.
Caution: This recipe has not been tested in those with sensitive stomachs, rage disorders, or the intellectually libertarian due to the possibly volcanic reactions that could ensue.
~Riot.Jane
60 Minutes Report on the TSA:
 | ||||
| Kathy Parker, 43 |
Parker says the TSA screener/s removed retail receipts and other papers from her wallet and read them (while telling her they were looking for razor blades), needlessly embarrassed her by removing and openly displaying prescription medications from her handbag, and then, after "inspecting" negotiable instruments (i.e. checks) that were also in her wallet, conferred with on-hand Philadelphia police. One of the officers then attempted to confiscate said checks without process or paperwork, telling her that he suspected her of embezzlement. When she protested, she says he told her "It's not your money." *
According to Parker, she was only allowed to collect her belongings and board the plane after half an hour of humiliation and interrogation because she eventually handed over her husband of 20 years' cell number and authorities called him regarding the possibility of Parker attempting to "empty their bank account" due to "a divorce situation." *
Even though Parker's husband missed the call, the police eventually allowed her to board the plane. *
According to a Philadelphia police spokesman, the officer was suspicious because the checks Parker carried were "almost sequential" and he was simply trying "to make sure there was nothing fraudulent." The spokesman added, "They were wondering what the story was. The officer got it cleared up." *
This statement downplays the control issues evident in Parker's version, in which the Philadelphia police officer admonished her that, when she questioned him about whether or not she actually had to explain herself or her checks, his response was, "If you don't tell me, you can tell the D.A."
So a call to her husband sufficed? A call that Parker's husband didn't even answer?
To be fair, if one can call it that, a TSA spokeswoman said that the explanation for Parker's experience is that, with specifics undefined, a behavioral detection officer noticed her, and she acted "as if she feared discovery." *
Behavioral profiling is a tricky area, one which is too large to fully address here. Suffice it to say that Nature all but tells us that science's perspective is that behavioral screening's effectiveness is no better than chance:
[A] growing number of researchers are dubious not just about the projects themselves, but about the science on which they are based. "Simply put, people (including professional lie-catchers with extensive experience of assessing veracity) would achieve similar hit rates if they flipped a coin," noted a 2007 report from a committee of credibility-assessment experts who reviewed research on portal screening. *Add that security expert/technologist/author (and previous TSA advisor) Bruce Schneier's opinion that "It seems pretty clear that the program only catches criminals, and no terrorists," and the Parker fiasco doesn't seem so far-fetched. *
Compare Nature and Schneier's academic takes with the contents of thus 60 Minutes interview (at the end of this post) with Kip Hawley (TSA head from July 2005 to January 2009) in which he says that these behavior officers can tell the difference between "normal" people who are tense and anxious because they're late for their flight and someone carrying a bomb. Schneier responds, "There's not a lot of truth in that, but they'd love it if you reported it because, in all seriousness, we are safer if the bad guys believe we've got this piece of magic." Magic is a great word for something that gives no better hit rate than chance. Security Theater is another.
(Note: The video itself, while interesting, is not particularly germane to the discussion at hand -- The important points are covered in this post.)
According to the 60 Minutes video, the TSA spends $160,000,000 of our tax money on more than 2000 behavior detection officers who anonymously roam security checkpoints analyzing micro-facial expressions looking for nervousness and anxiety that are indicative of terrorist intentions versus simple travel woe. The TSA wouldn't tell 60 Minutes if any of the 180,000 passengers stopped for an interview have turned out to be a terrorist, but Congressional sources told CBS that none had. (Worse than coin-flipping? Way to go, TSA! Only you could screw up such a sure thing.)
Also according to the 60 Minutes video, the TSA is spending another $35,000,000 of our tax money to send every one of its 50,000 screeners back to "screener school" for retraining in how to treat the flying public who is consistently enraged, flustered, anxious, and resentful of what it interprets to be an inane and insane travel mess. I'm not sure who thought that re-training was a better idea than, maybe, going back to the drawing board and designing procedures that respect the human dignity of the flying public, but I'd sure like to give him/her a piece of my mind.
Another sore spot with the flying public are the full-body image scanners. When the 60 Minutes correspondent, looking at the airport scanning images, asks "What happens to this image now? Is that stored anywhere?" Hawley replies "No, it's destroyed as soon as the next one comes. The machines are not capable of storing images."
Per a letter written by TSA Acting Administer Gale D. Rossides to the Chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Hawley's statement on storing images is not true.
Rossides' letter advises that the machines the TSAscreeners "operating in the airport environment have neither the technical capability nor the authority to change the AIT [scanner] into test mode." Additionally, "Any changes to privacy settings on individual machines can only be made by the 'Z' [level] users." As of February, 2010, there are 45 Z-level users, including both Federal employees and government contractors.
So, the TSA purchases the machines with the ability to save and transmit pictures, but they only use said functionality in testing and have said functionality disabled prior to airport delivery, banking on operator ignorance to keep that functionality disabled. If the Diebold voting machine hacking fiasco has taught us anything, it's that any functionality present but blocked can, and will, eventually be enabled.
Factor in the TSA's introduction of new police-style uniforms to give the screeners a more authoritative look (even though Washington D.C.-area screener Ladonta Edwards claims, "We're not out there to be fake security guards") -- also from the 60 Minutes video, and a creepy police state vibe develops.
Back to Kathy Parker. First it was razor blades that would've been seen on x-ray. Then embezzlement. Then theft from her husband. An admission from the TSA that one of the anonymous behavior detectors was involved. This sounds to me a whole lot like that behavioral detector detector locked onto Parker for reasons never to be known to her or the public, and that regardless of what was (or, in this case, wasn't) discovered bore no consequence. I think what freaks me out the most about this was that, if I had been Parker, I surely would have lost my temper. I would then probably have been arrested, booked, and detained while my husband, in another state, attempted to obtain my release.
That kind of power, in the hands of one person, without clear guidelines and due process, keeps me awake at night. I simply cannot reconcile this with the liberty and security in our persons and papers and that we've been led to believe are Constitutional guarantees. This is not the first time the TSA has trampled on personal liberty and human dignity, but working through the fear caused by the ever-increasing loss of liberty is all the more difficult when trying to quell my outrage at the sexism in the Parker case.
The law applies to all citizens equally, and someone needs to find the screeners and Philadelphia police officer involved in the Parker case and remind them all that women, even married women God forbid, are allowed to own and possess items of value separate from the influence or presence of a spouse. They need to be reminded that women, married or not, accompanied by said spouse or not, are as equally guaranteed security in their persons and papers as any man. My unmitigated rage at the indignity thrust upon Parker, of knowing this last would not have occurred to her had she been in the company of her husband, is awe-inspiring.
Jack-Boot Recipe
Start with one part hokum behavioral screening
Add one abused security screener
Mix well
Add a generous lie about storing intimate pictures
Fold in mission creep
Add a dash of sexism/racism/classism, per abused screener preference
Toss with a generous helping of interrogation and humiliation
Stew until bitter, approximately one hour in a screening line
Serve on a plate paid for by your tax money
Caution: This recipe has not been tested in those with sensitive stomachs, rage disorders, or the intellectually libertarian due to the possibly volcanic reactions that could ensue.
~Riot.Jane
60 Minutes Report on the TSA:
In Celebration of Nerdy Girls who Love Sci-Fi
I squealed with joy several times while watching this lovely geek rock video for the first time!
Even though I'm fully versed in the nerdy-girl "type" (hell, to one extent or another *I* am a she-nerd), never did I think that I would ever come across a geek rock video celebrating the second-nerdiest of all interests: Ray Bradbury. (The First Place of nerdy pursuits must, by all accounts, be role-playing games, in which I am also fairly well versed.)
So, to celebrate the man's 90th birthday (August 22, 1920), I'm sharing this lovely Andrea James tribute to Ray Bradbury (NSFW: language) . . . F*ck Me, Ray Bradbury.
(You know, "the greatest sci-fi writer in history"?)
Even though I don't consider Bradbury to be "the greatest sci-fi writer in history," he did write one of my five favorite books of all time (that being Fahrenheit 451), so the man does invoke mondo props from me even if I think Arthur C. Clarke possesses more writing skill or I prefer Kurt Vonnegut's actual stories.
About the video, I can't decide which amuses me more: the unabashed expression of James' combined she-nerdiness/sexuality, or the parody of traditional cock rock. Whichever appeals to me most, the fact of the matter is that she's reclaiming traditionally male provinces and making them her own. By doing so, she's helping to liberate us all.
Additionally, the video is a delicous and refreshing whif of fandom at its very best. What's not to love for a nerdy-girl like me?
~Riot.Jane
Even though I'm fully versed in the nerdy-girl "type" (hell, to one extent or another *I* am a she-nerd), never did I think that I would ever come across a geek rock video celebrating the second-nerdiest of all interests: Ray Bradbury. (The First Place of nerdy pursuits must, by all accounts, be role-playing games, in which I am also fairly well versed.)
So, to celebrate the man's 90th birthday (August 22, 1920), I'm sharing this lovely Andrea James tribute to Ray Bradbury (NSFW: language) . . . F*ck Me, Ray Bradbury.
(You know, "the greatest sci-fi writer in history"?)
Even though I don't consider Bradbury to be "the greatest sci-fi writer in history," he did write one of my five favorite books of all time (that being Fahrenheit 451), so the man does invoke mondo props from me even if I think Arthur C. Clarke possesses more writing skill or I prefer Kurt Vonnegut's actual stories.
About the video, I can't decide which amuses me more: the unabashed expression of James' combined she-nerdiness/sexuality, or the parody of traditional cock rock. Whichever appeals to me most, the fact of the matter is that she's reclaiming traditionally male provinces and making them her own. By doing so, she's helping to liberate us all.
Additionally, the video is a delicous and refreshing whif of fandom at its very best. What's not to love for a nerdy-girl like me?
~Riot.Jane
Owning vs Emphasizing Your Feminity
On her AuntMoxie blog, Mary Michael Townsend recently wrote about the motivation behind her decision to begin a mini-revamp on her personal image. While I tend to respond to such discussions with a "Meh" (I am just not a clothes and make-up kinda girl), the first words caught my eye:
I will spare you the rant that comes to mind because Mary's only criticizing the female flight attendants. God save us from returning to the days of inequitable professional dress codes. We're still fighting the equal-pay and equal-promotion battles, and retro thinking hasn't helped.
As for the "boobs-in-the-face" and "'hey-do-you-want-a-piece-of-this'" types of emphasized femininity, these expressions are just as valid as the Mad Men image that Mary prefers or the Rosie the Riveter image that Southwest's female flight attendants invoked in her. The last thing that women need from other women is judgment regarding their work clothes, especially when it's uniformed attire (which he vast majority of flight attendants wear). Even if it's not a uniform, if you don't have something useful or supportive to say, would you kindly shut your mouth?
How do you think a female flight attendant from Southwest would feel if she read this? Are you really advocating that we should all return to impractical (and expensive!) clothes and hair, shoes that hurt our feet, and other affectations that detract from our independence and equality? Seriously, I'm okay with you saying this is how you feel about you and your style, but not with your saying that we all should do the same.
Isn't it lovely that our culture has evolved to the point of allowing each woman to choose our her personal style? Sure, "women and men alike enjoy looking at attractive women," especially those emphasizing (or over-emphasizing) their femininity. The proper time and place for that is social, though, not professional.
~Riot.Jane
Despite knowing I'll get ripped for sounding sexist, I'll say it: I think a lot of single women would probably feel more empowered over their dating lives if they'd own their femininity rather than shove it in their work suits.Okay, Mary, I dare you to tell me more about "owning my own femininity" without sounding sexist.
It hit me the other day while on a Southwest Airlines flight on which the flight attendant females walked the aisles in golf shirts, Dickie's work pants, and something akin to truckers' shoes. They looked like they should be directing planes on the Tarmac; not serving sodas. What happened to the days of the tall boots and mini skirts? It was so much more... well... feminine. (Yeah, I know. It's a dirty word to some women, but I have no problem with it. Women and men alike enjoy looking at attractive women. Tall boots? Short Skirts? Just throw in some tights, and I'll put them on now!)
But the sight of these women was just another reminder to get on the stick with something I've been wanting to do for a few weeks now: a mini-image revamp. Unlike the direction that Southwest is headed, I'm going full-throttle feminine. Not boobs-in-the-face, crack-showing, "hey-do-you-want-a-piece-of-this" pseudo-femininity feminine (as a lot of the teens and twenty-somethings seem to deem sexy), but old-fashioned feminine with a sophisticated, modern edge.WHOA THERE! Sounds to me like Mary is equating or confusing the words "owning" with "emphasizing."
Since when are skirts and dress blouses important to "serving sodas"? Why is a woman who isn't in heels and hose only suitable for "directing planes on the Tarmac"? When one woman's opinion is that tall boots, tights, and miniskirts are "feminine", this woman's opinion is that tall boots, tights, and miniskirts are an affectation designed to make ourselves more visually appealing to men while forcing us to walk like prey animals. (There's no surer way to make yourself seem like something to be protected rather than respected than to not be able to walk with a sure, strong stride at a quick clip on your own two feet.)
"[T]he direction that Southwest is headed" makes my heart sing. Enlightened companies with non-sexist dress codes are the ones that receive my resume. I don't want to work for a company that attracts and caters to Barbie Doll women. I don't need to compete with the Bimbo Brigade while they ostracize me from the informal networks that create successful professional relationships. I definitely don't do well in environments that respect physical beauty and politics more than efficiency and quality work product.
 |
| Business Casual Attire |
For the record, golf shirts (and the very similar item called polo shirts) are available in female cuts/sizes, and the two pair of Dickies "work pants" that I own look like slacks when ironed. "Business Casual" usually includes slacks and polos. Such attire is common today, especially in environments where employees will have to step, fetch, and perform any type of manual labor as part of their job duties (flight attendants, PC support, and inventory clerks are good examples). People required to be on their feet for hours at a time deserve the respect and kindness of shoes that fit their feet, not feet having to fit their shoes. Activity-appropriate footwear is actually a safety and ergonomic issue.
I will spare you the rant that comes to mind because Mary's only criticizing the female flight attendants. God save us from returning to the days of inequitable professional dress codes. We're still fighting the equal-pay and equal-promotion battles, and retro thinking hasn't helped.
As for the "boobs-in-the-face" and "'hey-do-you-want-a-piece-of-this'" types of emphasized femininity, these expressions are just as valid as the Mad Men image that Mary prefers or the Rosie the Riveter image that Southwest's female flight attendants invoked in her. The last thing that women need from other women is judgment regarding their work clothes, especially when it's uniformed attire (which he vast majority of flight attendants wear). Even if it's not a uniform, if you don't have something useful or supportive to say, would you kindly shut your mouth?
How do you think a female flight attendant from Southwest would feel if she read this? Are you really advocating that we should all return to impractical (and expensive!) clothes and hair, shoes that hurt our feet, and other affectations that detract from our independence and equality? Seriously, I'm okay with you saying this is how you feel about you and your style, but not with your saying that we all should do the same.
Isn't it lovely that our culture has evolved to the point of allowing each woman to choose our her personal style? Sure, "women and men alike enjoy looking at attractive women," especially those emphasizing (or over-emphasizing) their femininity. The proper time and place for that is social, though, not professional.
~Riot.Jane
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