Comments on: It Starts Already:Michelle Obama Emasculation Meme

By: BC

BC — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:47:14 +0000

Lili, I couldn’t agree with you more. Most women of colour can wear almost any colour and get away with it. I’m a red head and I know I can’t wear everything. Michelle’s dress sense is fantastic. I literally can’t wait to see what she is going to wear next. The Obama’s will be a breath of fresh air after decades of boring frumpy first ladies. The dress that she wore to the White House was stunning – she has the figure and height to carry it off to perfection and she did. Roll on Inauguration day, she is clearly going to wear something that America will never forget.

By: Lili

Lili — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:05:37 +0000

Anonymousfemale, you are seriously overthinking the dress. Michelle Obama wears strong, bright colors because they suit her best, because she can carry them off. A statuesque black woman is not going to be flattered by anemic pastels.

Moreover, I do not consider that Obama has been “unladylike,” unless your definition of “ladylike” is derived from the 1950’s edition of Emily Post. She is a relatively young woman, her generation tends to be rather less formal than those born in earlier eras, and this is part of her appeal.

I’d say that you are precisely the sort of person to which this blog refers: someone ready to criticize and be suspicious of even the most innocuous details of dress or behavior. That’s unfortunate.

By: anonymousfemale

anonymousfemale — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:58:49 +0000

I am sorry but I would never say my husband is smelly in the mornings. Although Michelle has had an excellent academic education ,she clearly refuses to be lady like with her comments, using ” stuff” instead of being descriptive,pointing with her thumb and picking such a dissappointing dress for victory night and walking without grace. She should make friends with Condolezza Rice..
I do not believe for one second that a women as bright as her is only going to play mom at the white house.. Secondly. everyone has had a reaction to her black and red dress, but what I would like to know is what was Michelle’s intention when she strategically picked this dress, What was the real subliminal message she wanted america to receive ? Why hasn’t anyone asked her that question. To me that is what is the most important aspect of her choice. Because of that faux pas , i started researching her other fashion choices which were normal and feminine. But it felt like a new Michelle stepped up the inaugural stage. She keeps using red, evidenced by dress for her white house visit. Red means power , pay attention to me .. Who can be so naive as to think for one second she will be playing supportive fiddle,She needs to be watched closely. I pray to God that power does not get to her head as they have already apparently described her as arrogant. Why did Hilary Clinton loose ?
I do admire the american people for having elected an african american.Martin Luther King is one of my heroes. America is in for a political adventure which I hope will restore our economy and respect for life of every shape, size and color. Was Dr. King for abortion ?

By: Isa

Isa — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:22:06 +0000

I do not think very many people seriously believe she emasculated him (except the nasty folks who will jump at any excuse to hate them both). I doubt Mr. Obama would feel that way either.

I wish I could say “who cares what these nuts think?” and just be done with it, but I can’t let it go because I really do think it is a symptom of the racism and misogyny that still linger in our society.

/sigh

She’s a classy lady. She will continue to rise above it all, I’m sure.

By: rikyrah

rikyrah — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:09:58 +0000

They are just ‘hating’. So, what else is new….

By: Graciela

Graciela — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:01:35 +0000

I forgot to mention that Hillary Rodham Clinton was exactly the same age as Michelle Obama when Bill Clinton started his presidency in 1993.

By: Graciela

Graciela — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:50:42 +0000

I agree with the premise of the article, namely about the sexism and misogyny against Michelle Obama. What I don’t agree with, and I ‘ve been a feminist since I was 15 y/o, is the whole American patriarchal notion of the “First Lady.” Why is it that as a country we haven’t adopted the much more avant garde position of the countries ( England, France, Germany, Sweden, etc.) in which the presidents or prime ministers’ spouses, regardless of their gender, are just people who should continue living their lives, doing their own thing, and keeping their own identity. The patriarchal system understandably feels threatened when thinking about a possible title for the husband of a female president or governor, and that’s why Todd Palin stupidly calls himself the “first dude,” and the media pundits seemed awkward about what to call Bill Clinton in the event that Hillary ‘d have been elected president. They even made fun of him about decorating the White House and serving tea, which makes me wonder why those things are not considered to be humiliating as long it’s the “first lady” who does them. In summary, this system has been in place for more than 200 years regardless of the fact that we don’t live under a “Leave it to Beaver” traditional male-female arrangement any more. So why are we feminist women, not questioning it, and by doing so implicitly accepting it?

And one more thing, why referring to Michelle Obama as “Mrs” ? If you don’t want to call her Ms., then just refer to her as Michelle Obama. I simply think that it’s a terrible injustice that women like her, Hillary Clinton during the 90’s, and Eleanor Roosevelt, highly talented, brilliant in their own right, and independent thinkers, have and had to limit themselves to be just supporters of their husbands’ achievements, be kept in their place, and constrained by a title imposed on them.

Precisely because I think highly of Michelle Obama, is that I wouldn’t like her to be idealized and mythologized in her role as first lady. There are other women of color who can and have been role models for others (Cynthia McKinney, Rosa Clemente, Maxine Waters, Dolores Huerta, Angela Davis, the late Barbara Jordan, and others).

First ladies just don’t represent the empowerment of women as a group, period.

By: Del

Del — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:05:05 +0000

*sigh* Let them be bitter. They don’t have anything better to do, unfortunately. I for one can’t wait for this classy lady to move into the White House.

By: Dani

Dani — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:59:45 +0000

They want to stereotype her they want to paint a nasty image of her but she is our new face of class and beauty and I am so proud! She is so intelligent and just like Hillary Clinton she is going to speak on issues of education and equality and use her position as a platform to help both causes…I am ready for Jan 2009—get the Bushes out of there!