So, most readers probably know that Hilary Duff is a personal shero of mine. To launch into a full explanation would take too much space, but I've loved her since the Lizzie McGuire days and have seen her twice in person.The summer before starting Yale, I drove up to Hollywood with
friends for the premiere of A Cinderella Story and while I was in London last semester I was probably less than ten-feet away from her as she performed in a Soho club.
But she's been disapointing me lately.First, there was her turn as a Maxim cover girl.
Then the "op-ed"(I apply that label loosely) she penned for the The Observer, entitled, "What I know about men ..." It featured Hilary spouting such gems as:
"I'm not, like, a crazy feminist. I think women definitely need men. Like, I couldn't imagine having a girlfriend!"
"I want to have a husband and two kids and a nice little life baking pies."
"Women are definitely home-makers. We're obviously very different from men."
And, then, there's her new orientalist music video for the single, "Stranger."
You won't have to wait too long before you see her decked out in "Indian" jewelry and make-up bellydancing because because, you know, just like all feminists are lesbians, all of Asia just oozes sex.
I'm not abandoning her just yet, but suggestions for new personal heroes are welcome.
2 comments:
hey mark,
cool blog.
i would like to comment on your searching for a new hero.
i always thought i would never want to be a housewife, until i learnt that it is largely out of your control to not be attached to your children. a woman has a new life inside of her that is dependent on her lifesystem and the new life/baby and the mother become biologically attached. this attachment intensifies when the baby is born and breast feeding commences (this has been studied). because of this "attachment" many career oriented woman, like hilary, change their priorities when they have their first child. many of them opt to stay home, if they can afford it, and their primary goal is to be a caretaker of their children. i have seen this firsthand and heard/read many stories of highly driven women, femanists and athletes choose to stay at home to raise their children because they cant tolerate the idea of anyone else taking care of their children. these women acomplish quite a lot before becoming fulltime moms.
dear rachel,
i am in no way criticizing homemakers in this post. i am only criticizing the actions and views of Hilary Duff.
My Mom was a "homemaker" and I definitely agree that there are differences between women and men and agree with some of your points.
BUT, I think, maybe a woman wouldn't have to feel like she'd be abandoning her child by pursuing her career if we lived in a culture that demanded that men balance family and career just as much as it demands that balance from women.
And, do you really agree with any of these statements:
"I'm not, like, a crazy feminist. I think women definitely need men. Like, I couldn't imagine having a girlfriend!"
"Women are definitely home-makers. We're obviously very different from men."
In the first, she shows a tremendous ignorance about feminism, suggesting that all feminists are lesbians.
And, although some women CHOOSE to be homemakers--and that is a choice I and all people should respect--to say that women ARE homemakers is just ridiculous.
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