2008 Woodie Awards
Stupidity, The New Beauty Secret: Women and Intelligence in Society
All that's bad about intelligence and its ability to change the image of female beauty.
Tanisha Mathis
Issue date: 11/4/05 Section: Opinions
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Christina Aguilera gets demonized for being a bad role model for girls but I should want my daughter to be like Jessica Simpson? Why? Because she says she waited for marriage to have sex? As commendable as that is, Simpson is the last person I would ever want a daughter of mine to imitate because I don't want my daughter pretending to be stupid for cuteness' sake.
It has become chic to be dense, and young Hollywood is leading the way. Simpson has Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, and a host of others and unfortunately some girls will follow. I'm sure there are some pop tarts walking around this campus whose IQs lower a bit and whose voices raise an octave in the presence of testosterone. In fact, I've had the displeasure of a few of these annoying in a couple of my classes. What burns me the most is that they aren't stupid; they just think it's cute.
Why do we accept this behavior? Why haven't we demanded Simpson pick up a book as strongly as we have demanded bare-bellied singers cover up? She is just pretending? It's only an act of stupidity? Well, do we really think Aguilera walks around the frozen food section in chaps and Spears wears that red cat suit to the local Starbucks? We accept the entertainment of stupidity, laughing as Simpson finds out Buffalo wings aren't from buffalo and pretend we don't see the correlation with her newly gained popularity.
After all the sacrifices and battles women such as Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Margaret Sanger endured so women could have equal rights, there are the Simpsons of the world, famous and unknown, sauntering around disrespecting their legacy. Women couldn't vote, weren't allowed to be educated, were denied careers and these pop tarts wear stupidity like it's the latest fashion piece. Unlike Jessica Simpson, these girls won't get a pay raise for being a dumb, hot chick.
According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, women, on average, make 76 cents for every dollar that men earn, which is down from a record high 77 cents on the dollar in 2002. Let me get this straight. We're already not seen as the equal of men and you want to set us further behind so you can get a date? It's easy to blame men for the lack of respect and money women receive in the workplace, and the members of the boys' club deserve the blame they receive, but women are becoming an even bigger enemy.
I don't need to hear Paris Hilton and her friends debate the pros and cons of a higher federal minimum wage (I do expect that from a woman on a college campus) nor do I want them to stop having fun. I want them to exhibit a bit of common sense. And I want women in the real world to know they owe it to the women who came before them and the young girls who will come after them to continue the battle. Of course, there is no battle if you don't mind going to school the same number of years as your male counterpart, incurring the same debt after law or medical school and earning over $8,000 a year less. The gap only increases as you continue in your career. By the time she reaches retirement age, a woman with a professional degree will earn $61,176 while a man earns $91,105.
Outside of Nike, The United Negro College Fund has, arguably, the most recognized slogan ever: a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Don't waste it trying to be cute.
It has become chic to be dense, and young Hollywood is leading the way. Simpson has Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, and a host of others and unfortunately some girls will follow. I'm sure there are some pop tarts walking around this campus whose IQs lower a bit and whose voices raise an octave in the presence of testosterone. In fact, I've had the displeasure of a few of these annoying in a couple of my classes. What burns me the most is that they aren't stupid; they just think it's cute.
Why do we accept this behavior? Why haven't we demanded Simpson pick up a book as strongly as we have demanded bare-bellied singers cover up? She is just pretending? It's only an act of stupidity? Well, do we really think Aguilera walks around the frozen food section in chaps and Spears wears that red cat suit to the local Starbucks? We accept the entertainment of stupidity, laughing as Simpson finds out Buffalo wings aren't from buffalo and pretend we don't see the correlation with her newly gained popularity.
After all the sacrifices and battles women such as Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Margaret Sanger endured so women could have equal rights, there are the Simpsons of the world, famous and unknown, sauntering around disrespecting their legacy. Women couldn't vote, weren't allowed to be educated, were denied careers and these pop tarts wear stupidity like it's the latest fashion piece. Unlike Jessica Simpson, these girls won't get a pay raise for being a dumb, hot chick.
According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, women, on average, make 76 cents for every dollar that men earn, which is down from a record high 77 cents on the dollar in 2002. Let me get this straight. We're already not seen as the equal of men and you want to set us further behind so you can get a date? It's easy to blame men for the lack of respect and money women receive in the workplace, and the members of the boys' club deserve the blame they receive, but women are becoming an even bigger enemy.
I don't need to hear Paris Hilton and her friends debate the pros and cons of a higher federal minimum wage (I do expect that from a woman on a college campus) nor do I want them to stop having fun. I want them to exhibit a bit of common sense. And I want women in the real world to know they owe it to the women who came before them and the young girls who will come after them to continue the battle. Of course, there is no battle if you don't mind going to school the same number of years as your male counterpart, incurring the same debt after law or medical school and earning over $8,000 a year less. The gap only increases as you continue in your career. By the time she reaches retirement age, a woman with a professional degree will earn $61,176 while a man earns $91,105.
Outside of Nike, The United Negro College Fund has, arguably, the most recognized slogan ever: a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Don't waste it trying to be cute.