June 3, 2013 Post #15 Martha Speaks!



Picture on Martha Stewart's dating profile



Recently, Martha Stewart's name has been flung around like raw meat in a pit of lion-like media outlets, all scrambling for their piece of the juicy, 3-day dry-rub and 12-hour marinated steak. I googled "Martha Stewart online dating" and immediately there were thousands of big-time magazines and media conglomerates, like US Magazine, The Washington Post, OK Magazine and The Huffington Post with there claws in Martha's story. 

The bomb dropped when Martha went on the Today Show and revealed the Matt Lauer that she was considering joining an online dating service, and later Martha returned...with news. She signed up with match.com with the user name "TheGoodLongLife". Her hobbies are listed as "cooking, dining out, travel, fishing and hunting. One website I looked at said that the 71-year-old homemaker was looking for a man in the 40-50 and 55-70 age range, she could become the next cougar. GO MARTHA! She's looking for a date or someone to go to bed with, and probably doesn't care what the media will say about it. Props to Marth. 

The media has nitpicked everything Martha has said or put out on the internet and used it against her. As stated earlier, only because Martha was looking for men younger than herself caused this "scandalous" story to erupt. If a man was looking for a younger woman to date and have a relationship with, no one would so much as sniff at the direction of that story. BORING. But God forbid a successful businesswoman such as Martha Stewart, albeit a former prisoner, have a younger man in her life. THAT'S the tipping point.

Martha, now in her early seventies, is under much scrutiny because of this online dating service, but she isn't the first celebrity to do so. Joan Rivers did so, but her age range match that of her own. Charlie Sheen did so as well, but he's a man, so OBVIOUSLY it's allowed. Carrie Ann Inaba of Dancing with the Stars also joined match.com but that's okay because she's young. Chase Crawford, Gossip Girl's Nate Archibald also joined, but again, he's a man. And even Jenny McCarthy took part in the online dating service, but like Inaba, it's okay because she's young.

There are so many things wrong with the previous paragraph that I don't even know where to start. All of these roles that women must fit in: young, attractive, not too slutty but not to prudish, successful, fun, entertaining, caring, loving, supportive, second-fiddle when necessary and much much more are all defined by the media. Not only the media, but the man-run media industry. Not only men but white men in power. Old, wrinkly, liver-spotted, bald men are in charge of what is pretty. Gross. These old farts are who define the separate catagories that women must register in order to be the "perfect woman".

Many of these issues are reached in the American documentary, Miss Representation. Shown in the film, women are introduced to the "perfect woman" at a very young and impressionable age, such as Barbie dolls and they see what is valued by both men and women alike and are introduced to something that they have to compare themselves to. This ideal of the "perfect woman" has many affects on these young girls and they (not every single girl mind you, but the majority) are constantly comparing themselves to this Barbie doll. According to Miss Representation, 17% of teenagers cut themselves due to anguish over their appearances. Girls and teens then turn on each other and judge and compare.

As women continue to be seen as objects, they will see themselves as objects. This snowball-effect causes more pressure on women's appearances, more anguish and in some cases, more self-harm. As women are higher up on the media-food chain, the more they are criticized, like actresses and politicians. Female politicians have the butt-end of the deal, for centuries politics was a man's world. Now in the political world (in a country that is based upon the belief of equality) women politicians are under the radar for many things men aren't. During interviews, interviwers would refer to female senators as Mrs. or Miss, deminishing their accomplishments. The worst aspects of power are associated with women, shown by the media bias where men are seen as "stating" facts while women are "complaining".



Former SNL actresses Tina Fey & Amy Poehler



Above is a clip from The View, in which the hosts discuss a Saturday Night Live clip in which actresses Tina Fey and Amy Poehler portray Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton respectively. In the clip, sexism in politics is a topic introduced by one of the actresses that The View focused on. Elisabeth Hasselbeck said, "Sexist remarks work for the woman...women get behind other women who have had sexist remarks directed towards them." Barbara Walters said, "If you say anything about a woman, it's sexist. We are a little different than men, but still..." Another host of the show mentioned that Joe Biden said, "If Sarah Palin made it to the white house it would be a backwards step for women." Barbara Walters later said, "They make fun of Joe Biden being old, is that ageist?"

Now personally, I identified more with what Barbara Walters said than any other co-host said. Her comments might have been brusque, but to me they were matter-of-fact, no BS-covered opinion. I find her opinion on sexism to fit my idea of sexism the best and I believe we see eye-to-eye on the matters of sexism. I also think that the media is a harsh, judgment-filled world, but some judgments might hit a little closer home than others, not just for women, but the one's that do hit closer to women seem to escalate into bigger problems. Not to be rude, but what ever happened to standing up and brushing the dust off of your pants? If insults made by some fat, sweaty blogger living in LA trying to make it as a copywriter or something equally lame makes you feel bad about yourself and then you LET that blogger's words AFFECT you, how can you lead a country?

That is why I identify with people like Barbara Walters and Martha Stewart, because the acknowledge the differences between men and women, but they do not let it define what their capabilites are and they embrace that difference. To me, that is more inspirational than fighting back people calling you fat or unattractive or dumb.