Let's talk about breasts. After all, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But the real reason I want to talk about breasts is Meghan McCain.
To recap, last Sunday McCain appeared on Christiane Amanpour's show on ABC, where she challenged Christine O'Donnell's fitness to be a U.S. senator. And it wasn't just because of the TV ad where O'Donnell unwittingly proved the point McCain was making by declaring: I am not a witch...I am you. Or her bizarre views on masturbation and abstinence. McCain said that many in her generation see the 41-year-old Sarah Palin wannabe as a nutjob.
She then added:
I speak as a 26-year-old woman. And my problem is that, no matter what, Christine O'Donnell is making a mockery of running for public office. She has no real history, no real success in any kind of business. And what that sends to my generation is, one day, you can just wake up and run for Senate, no matter how [much] experience you have.
Never mind that McCain is a moderate Republican. Never mind that what she said was entirely reasonable compared to a Senate candidate who believes that teaching creationism in the public schools is perfectly legal. Faster than you can shout "we want our government back!" the new conservative boys' club started trashing her.
On Michelle Malkin's blog, a blogger named Doug Powers posted a photo of McCain wearing a skimpy tank top and waving a copy of Andy Warhol's biography. A year ago McCain caused a tizzy when she uploaded the photo to her Twitter page. If you ask me, the image was far less racy than anything you'd see on a Victoria's Secret commercial or an episode of the Kardashians. Still, the fake outrage was so intense that McCain eventually apologized and removed the photo.
No matter. Here's what Powers wrote: Disregard the above photo. I'm only putting it there to remind myself to check my tire pressure later this afternoon.
Conservative blogger Dan Riehl referred to her as Meggie 'Big Mac' McCain, and then declared this self-indulgent set of mega-breasts doesn't belong anywhere a TV studio commenting on anything.
If you think that was hilarious, you will really love this comment that Jeff Poor, who writes for something called the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute, retweeted from a conservative blogger: I swear, if Meghan McCain gets any dumber she'll be drooling on her boobs. Poor, whose surname seems just right, then added: Haha.
On Rachel Maddow's show the other night, McCain said she has gotten used to such sexist attacks and feels good about her body. I'm glad. As it happens, I too have large breasts so I take these attacks personally. Don't get me wrong, I like my breasts. Still, there were years in my teens and twenties when I felt utterly self-conscious and embarrassed about them. Oh, to be an A cup or a B cup! I would cry, envying women whose chests did not attract stares and lewd remarks wherever they went.
What I did not realize then is that many women are unhappy with their breasts, no matter what their size. Otherwise why would countless women spend thousands of dollars to undergo breast enhancement surgery? (Now there's a euphemism for you.) Because men are obsessed with breasts. That's why. Did you know there are at least 138 slang words for breasts? I didn't either until in the interest of writing this post I did a Google search.
Here are some terms I wasn't even aware of: funbags, devils' dumplings, milk wagons, sweater cans. My favorite is Thelma and Louise. (Though Winnebagos was a close second.) As for Thelma and Louise, only a man who's very insecure would take two iconic feminist movie heroines and reduce them to a pair of breasts.
Which brings me back to Christine O'Donnell, and McCain's doubts about her ability to be a U.S. senator. I think she might have a point. For example, during the second debate, O'Donnell challenged Democrat Chris Coons when he asserted that the First Amendment dictates the separation of church and state. Really? O'Donnell kept repeating incredulously. At which point the audience started laughing. But rather than realize that they were laughing at her, the clueless O'Donnell just kept talking. And boy can she talk a blue streak!
I'm all for more women running for office. God knows, we need more women in Congress. But when did it become acceptable for female candidates not to be smart? Or accomplished? Or able to think? When did ignorance and failure and a penchant for being glib and talking nonsense not only become OK, but admirable?
This is what Meghan McCain was getting at. And I applaud her for speaking out about it, and then for taking the heat. Not even Karl Rove, after initially trashing O'Donnell, had the courage to stand up to the tea partiers and the GOP. The reason the right-wing hates Nancy Pelosi so much is not because she's an unapologetic San Francisco liberal and Speaker of the House. That's just their excuse. The reason they hate her is because she's fearless, savvy and smart. And if there's anything conservative men find threatening, it's a smart woman in charge. Especially one like Pelosi, who doesn't care a whit what right-wingers think of her.
This is why they resort to attacking women's bodies. Calling them fat. Calling them ugly. Emphasizing their breasts. Because it's easy, and it's mean. And they know how vulnerable women are to this kind of personal shaming. Hillary got the worst of it, and now she's one of the most powerful and admired women in the world. So occasionally there's justice.
But it's not only men who try to bully women like McCain into silence. One female conservative blogger tweeted about her: You know why Meghan McCain's physical appearance is still a topic of conversation? Because she won't shut up about it.
And why should she? It's a free country. Isn't that what the tea partiers are always shouting about? Free speech? But the point I want to make is we clearly have a long way to go before women in public life get the respect they deserve. Before going after a woman's body or her looks as a way to retaliate against her for being smart and opinionated is just no longer acceptable.
In the meantime, let's talk about breasts. And be sure to get a mammogram.
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Her "bizarre" views on sex are the teachings of the Catholic Church, which is a mainstream worldwide church with millions of adherents.
Is she the ideal candidate? No, but she is also being smeared as worse than she is.
Coons has been dragged to the right. He now says he wants all the Bush tax cuts to be extended.
lff
Well I guess a Mexican immigrant that is a U.S citizen that speaks English with an accent that is poor having no ivy league education and currently unemployed or disabled ugly people that are crazies like myself could never run for political office according to the White Intelligencia. As we limit those individuals that are developmentally to only achieve High School diploma and later use them for cheap under minimal wage and non union jobs. I agree that the White Intelligencia has its standards who they allow to have power in the United States. One thing that I appreciate of Christine O'Donnell's is that she has heart and very genuine just like me. She might not win but it is encouraging to know I t have a right and a chance that I might win an election someday to really make a difference.
I couldn't care less what color you are or whether you speak with an accent. Did you finish high school or if you didn't, did you get a job to help your family instead and have been a hard working citizen since then? Have you done ANYTHING (volunteer?) to contribute to your community? Have you managed to pay your bills without stealing from your campaign funds? Have you shown ANY responsible, adult behavior since turning 18? How about voting yourself? Have you done that?
No there aren't enough people of color representing their constituents, but other than complaining about it and blaming others, what exactly are you doing to change it? Electing know-nothings isn't going to help you or any other person in the Hispanic community. And by G@d, belittling and de-valuing education only hurts the kids who are taught by example. If you want the next generation to succeed, try ENCOURAGING EDUCATION, even if yours was limited. Knowledge IS Power and when you forget it, you lose and your community loses.
And, btw, paying less than minimum is illegal.
As for the wingnutteria, they demand 100% obeisance or they will attack. They attack Meghan's looks because they have to debase and demean her. To her credit she refuses to be demeaned. In terms the right would understand she's basically saying, "I'm rubber, you're glue."
Just watch one episode of the old Honeymooners show to get a sense of what women were expected to put up with.
The GOP is just presenting what they think the ideal woman is like: One who won't talk back and sleeps with makeup on.
But I do take issue with your contention that men are obsessed with big breasts. Yeah, we guys like to put on a show and behave rather boorishly when we're around other guys and we see a woman with a big pair of breasts. But the truth is, even in terms of pure shallowness, if we're just talking about important physical traits of a woman, big breasts are way way down on the list of important features. Legs, smile, hair, are all far more important, and a good personality really does trump even those. I honestly believe that women get breast implants to make themselves feel good, or to impress other women. Ask most men what they would change about their woman if they had a magic wand and could change just one thing, and you might be surprised to find out how few men would make the breasts bigger. It's just not that important. Guys, back me up here.
Conservative women should be careful what they wish for,
Conservative men just can't seem to control their sexism, especially, since they don't recognize it in the first place.
My wife was recently told at her mother's church by a WORM (white old republican male) that if God had tempted Adam instead of Eve the world wouldn't have all these problems!
Conservative testosterone - the world's most dangerous drug......