Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Bloggers, Breasts and Bill - Bull



"It's so nice to see women being judged by more than their looks. Oh, wait..." Jessica Valenti

Attention all feminists: Women have breasts. Women also have brains. The two (facts) are not mutually exclusive. So for the luvagod, please stop acting as if they were. It demeans all of us ... and you.

On that subject, the feminista blogosphere is in a tizzy over the appearance of one of it's most articulate young members--Jessica Valenti--in a photo with Bill Clinton. Said tizzy was initiated by Wisconsin blogger and law professor Ann Althouse, a self-consciously strident liberal feminist if ever there was one.

Ms. Althouse, in a self-described "breastblog" titled Let's take a closer look at those breasts, takes aim at Ms. Valenti:

Jessica: I'm not judging you by your looks. (Don't flatter yourself.) I'm judging you by your apparent behavior. It's not about the smiling, but the three-quarter pose and related posturing, the sort of thing people razz Katherine Harris about. I really don't know why people who care about feminism don't have any edge against Clinton for the harm he did to the cause of taking sexual harassment seriously, and posing in front of him like that irks me, as a feminist. So don't assume you're the one representing feminist values here. Whatever you call your blog....
Whoa. Ann Althouse needs to take a deep breath. And another look at her own feminist values.

For the record, Ms. Valenti has feminist creds out the kazoo. She's got a Masters in Women's and Gender Studies, is founder and executive editor of Feministing.com, a fresh new blog for young feminists. She blogs for Alternet, Salon, The Guardian and the Huffington Post, and is writing a book on feminism for younger women.


And Ms. Valenti, 27, is clearly attractive. She also has rather attractive breasts. However, all idiotic blogger comments on Althouse's "breastblog" to the contrary, Mr. Clinton is not staring at them in the "controversial" photo. Judge for yourself.

Ms. Valenti was part of a group of Democratic bloggers invited to an informal luncheon meeting with the former president, as shown in another photo above. Ms. Althouse either was not invited, or chose not to attend.

Perhaps if she had, she could have challenged Mr. Clinton on his blow to the sexual harassment cause (so to speak). But no, she chose instead to chuck brickbats from afar at a young woman she doesn't know. And make defamatory assumptions about that woman based on a picture.

Let me tell you something, Ms. Althouse. I've worked in political hallways from the State House to the White House. I've seen firsthand how seductive power can be. And how willingly young women throw themselves at powerful men.

It's bad enough Republicans used the Lewinsky affair to grind the country to a halt. I am really sick and tired of liberal feminist bleating about Bill Clinton's sexual harassment of Monica Lewinsky. It. Didn't. Happen.

Their affair wasn't about sexual harassment, it was about sexual dalliance. Inappropriate to be sure, but not criminal. Monica Lewinsky's job was never in danger. Her reputation was ... at her own hand. Bill Clinton certainly rocked his marriage, but the only person who damaged Ms. Lewinsky was Ms. Lewinsky, with her inability to keep the details of the affair discretely to herself.

Jessica Valenti takes her education, ideals, ambition and goals seriously enough to participate in the process. And when she showed up at a meeting of liberal Democrat bloggers with the former President of the United States, she posed prettily for a group picture.

A blow to feminism everywhere? No. But apparently, a blow to some feminists' egos.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Cynthia Johnston said...

I know I'm old but didn't think I was blind, but... WHAT boobs? The little 3/4 pose? I thought that was to look skinny...What am I missing?

Only last night I was celebrating the fact that young feminists today don't even use the word, they just don't take any crap, God love 'em. I was surfing the 'net the other day and found these two quotes from Jessica Alba. I used to watch Dark Angel because she did her own fight scenes and rode a motorcycle. She never used the word feminism that I could find but here's what she did say:

"Men are much bigger divas than women. When I used to do the action scenes in Dark Angel, I would have to play it rough. If you hit an actress accidentally, she would usually take it on the chin and say, Don't do that again. But with the guys, they would put ice on it, take a 20-minute break and ask for X-rays. It was unbelievable. I would tell them, Come on, man, get over it. That's actors for you."

...and this:

"I just didn't like the damsel-in-distress thing. I could relate to young girls wanting to see her take care of herself. And because I'm so good at action, I talked the writer and producer and director into throwing together a little fight sequence. It ended up taking three more weeks to shoot it. But at least I'm not tied up and asleep until my knight in shining armor comes and saves me. So I thought it was cool."

There is hope, my sisters, even with the Anns of the world. And let me just add one more thought. If all American kids had mandatory Martial Arts in school, 9/11 might never have happened.

2:10 PM  
Blogger Cynthia Johnston said...

I know I'm old but didn't think I was blind, but... WHAT boobs? The little 3/4 pose? I thought that was to look skinny...What am I missing?

Only last night I was celebrating the fact that young feminists today don't even use the word, they just don't take any crap, God love 'em. I was surfing the web the other day and found these quotes from Jessica Alba. I'm a fan of Dark Angel because she does her own fighting and rides a motorcycle. She never used the word feminism that I could find but here's what she did say:

"Men are much bigger divas than women. When I used to do the action scenes in Dark Angel, I would have to play it rough. If you hit an actress accidentally, she would usually take it on the chin and say, Don't do that again. But with the guys, they would put ice on it, take a 20-minute break and ask for X-rays. It was unbelievable. I would tell them, Come on, man, get over it. That's actors for you."

...and this:

"I just didn't like the damsel-in-distress thing. I could relate to young girls wanting to see her take care of herself. And because I'm so good at action, I talked the writer and producer and director into throwing together a little fight sequence. It ended up taking three more weeks to shoot it. But at least I'm not tied up and asleep until my knight in shining armor comes and saves me. So I thought it was cool."

There is hope, my sisters, even with the Anns of the world. While I'm up, here's another thought I'd like to share: If we'd had manditory Martial Arts in all our schools, 9/11 might never have happened. As my Kung Fu teacher said, You never see a Korean airliner get hijacked because all the passengers can fight.

So fasten your bra straps, Ladies, and keep a can of whoop ass in your back pocket.

2:26 PM  

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