A Few Things That Make Me Angry
Why is there no longer any place that I can go that's free of advertisements? I pay ten dollars to go see a movie, and there's five - ten minutes worth of ads before the film starts. I pay five bucks cover to get into a bar, and there's ads hanging over the urinals. What's next? Is the dentist going to rent out space on his ceiling? Will McDonald's launch a banner into orbit? Are hospitals going to tattoo ads on the backs of babys' eyelids? At this point, nothing would surprise me.
Why aren't there any positive young female role models these days? What happened to the likes of Princess Diana and Jackie O? Instead, we've got Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. Don't get me wrong, Paris Hilton's a pretty savvy entrepreneur. But, considering that her idea of community service is parking her Mercedes SLR McLaren in a handicapped spot, I don't think she's going to win the Nobel Peace Prize anytime soon. I'm not sure exactly what's required to solve this problem, but if body mass is any indication then the smart money is on a strong gust of wind.
Why on earth would someone go to a job day-in, day-out if they hated what they were doing? I know these people are out there - they commute over an hour to get to a job that they loathe, all so they can afford a quality of life that isn't actually satisfying or rewarding, on any other than a financial level. I'm not sure what would be worse - being at a job you hate, or being stuck with all the other job-loathing, commute-sufferers who are equally numb. Seriously. Stop spending all your money on pay-per-view and home threatre equipment, save some cash, and open a dive shop in Fiji.
I think each driver should get a shoulder-launched anti-tank rocket when they get their license. You only get one, and that has to last you the rest of your life. Doesn't matter if you miss, either, because that's the only one you get. So you'd really have to pick your target carefully, knowing that that you only get one chance. Still, should each driver be so equipped, I bet that puke-orange rust-flaking pick-up truck with naked woman mud flaps and a "Got Guns?" bumper sticker might think twice before they huck a lukewarm can of Pabst Blue Ribbon at an endangered animal before conducting six simultaneous lane-changes. I'm just saying, is all.
posted by Ryan @ 11:23 p.m.
10 comments
10 Comments:
Princess Diana and Jackie O? Dude, all they did was marry well and look pretty doing it. We need better role models than that.
Uh... Amelia Earhart?
Princess Diana at least took up the landmine awareness project, which is pretty damn respectable. But as far as young, strong female role models are concerned, there doesn't seem to be many. Or maybe there are, but they just aren't well known. The youngest one I can think of is Hilary Clinton, and that's just sad. Umm... Angelina Jolie? I know, I'm reaching.
Do fictitious ones count? Because the archaelogist ("Marion Ravenwood") that played female lead alongside Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark was pretty cool.
Severn Suzuki.
Queen Latifah.
Naomi Klein.
Zadie Smith.
Cindy Klassen.
Tina Fey.
Cathy Jones.
Waneek Horn-Miller.
Roberta Bondar.
Maggie Macdonald.
And all of my friends, who are brilliant and smart and funny and dedicated to making the world a better place, even though you don't read about them in the shiny pages of Us.
As I figured - they do exist, but they get no press.
Of these, I've heard of Queen Latifah and Roberta Bondar. And I have no idea of what Queen Latifah's done that qualifies her as a positive role model.
Sad, no?
Queen Latifah is rad because she made a name for herself in a male-dominated musical genre and speaks/writes to/for young women about having a positive body image and feeling beautiful whatever your size. Plus, she was my personal breast reduction hero. (Like me, she got it done for physical comfort and health issues more than vanity).
Tina Fey = anchor on SNL, writer of Mean Girls. How do you not know her, or Cathy Jones (This Hour Has 22 MInutes) at all?
Also, how could you have EXISTED during the Summer Olympics this year and not have heard of Cindy Klassen?
And NAOMI KLEIN?!?! Writer of NO LOGO.
Sorry to sound like I'm shouting at you on your own blog, but wow. I am sort of floored that you aren't familiar with most of these women.
Re: Cindy Klassen, I of course meant WINTER Olympics.
Anyway, the moral of the story is you should google/wikipedia all of these women. They make me glow with pride on behalf of my gender. The end.
Okay, okay. I admit that I should probably recognize more of these names, but if one of the top female role models for today's young girls (young being the operative word) is a Canadian TV comedian born in 1955, then I think my original point remains valid. Not to say Cathy Jones isn't funny as hell, but she's not exactly a household name outside of Canada.
I'm looking full-scale, internationally famous young women who and still offering a positive example. Not someone who exhibits a portion of the fame held by Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, but someone who exceeds them.
The big question is, why aren't there more positive, famous female role models?
In the mean time, I will take a few minutes and look up these accomplished women.
And as far as Cindy Klassen is concerned, I was in Costa Rica at the time of the Olympics. Given the choice between watching synchronized backwards luging or drinking a rum-filled coconut and watching monkeys wrestle, I shall always choose the later.
Ooooooh, Naomi Klein. Good call.
(I will one day steal her from Avi Lewis. Mark my words. I don't know how, I don't know when, but... one day.)
There definitely are good role models, but no one wants to read about them.
Paris Hilton's lack of parking abilities and Lindsey Lohan's latest blow job sells more magazines... to women. So we should stop buying that shit.
I agree. That was what I was trying to get at when I asked the question - not as in, "Why don't women start doing cool things that will instantly launch them into role model status?", but "Why is it that, as a society, we don't seem to have the propensity to follow strong, intelligent women as role models?"
Not taking the bait when trashy magazines hit the stands is definitely a good start.
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