Offensive?
In last Thursday's Calgary Metro:
In Brief:
POLITICS
An unannounced Capitol Hill visit by Jennifer Lopez this week underscores the fact that Democrat Barack Obama is winning the image war against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain when it comes to star power, particularly of the beautiful young female type.
I find this mildly disturbing - I find the concept of "image war" in presidential politics disturbing (if increasingly inevitable..) anyway.
Anyway.. I wonder - are they simply saying that J.Lo is boosting Obama's lead in the 'image war' with her endorsement as a celebrity OR are they implying that she is endorsing him DUE to his established lead in said image war?
I find the tone a little a disconcerting anyway.. the implication that 'beautiful young female' voters can only be of interest in relation to their image and the image of others around them. I'm not sure the article would have been written the same way if Sean Penn had gone to Capitol Hill.
Could it not also be said she has a vested interested in Obama as a candidate as a fellow racial minority? Or more to the point is the fact that she is evidentally a democratic supporter (such a shock coming from anyone in the world of showbiz) not the point here?
Given that.. is this even news? Not really. And I don't like the unimaginative spin they put on a nothing story.
I am realizing I live in a very sexist city. An environment I have never been in before. More and more I conclude that British society is quite matriarchal and I find it very hard to adjust to the men being in charge here (not that women are exactly in charge in England but it seems a much more even playing field back home).
I keep noticing offside sexist (both to women and men) asides in the local commuter papers and I plan to start documenting them here. Today's nugget was the following taken from an article about the MuchMusic Video Awards:
"An appearance by former Sporty Spice Girl, British singer Melanie C, and a performance by the less dressed Pussycat Doll prodigy, Girlicious, represented the evolution of women in pop music over the past 10 years"
Yes Calgary, the only evolution for women in the pop industry is that they are now wearing less clothes. Awesome. (by the way does noone remember the Spice Girls seeming at times controversial way back when with their mini-skirts and platform sneakers)
Never mind singer songwriters like Feist who are bringing credibility to pop music..
It's not extremely offensive.. it just seems snide and unnecessary at the end of what is a throw-away article anyway. Out of interest the article also implies that noone would have come out in the rain to see Rainn Wilson (Dwight in The Office) but instead must be there to see artists like Rihanna. One can only conclude that this joke was made as Rainn is not conventionally attractive.
Hm.
In Brief:
POLITICS
An unannounced Capitol Hill visit by Jennifer Lopez this week underscores the fact that Democrat Barack Obama is winning the image war against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain when it comes to star power, particularly of the beautiful young female type.
I find this mildly disturbing - I find the concept of "image war" in presidential politics disturbing (if increasingly inevitable..) anyway.
Anyway.. I wonder - are they simply saying that J.Lo is boosting Obama's lead in the 'image war' with her endorsement as a celebrity OR are they implying that she is endorsing him DUE to his established lead in said image war?
I find the tone a little a disconcerting anyway.. the implication that 'beautiful young female' voters can only be of interest in relation to their image and the image of others around them. I'm not sure the article would have been written the same way if Sean Penn had gone to Capitol Hill.
Could it not also be said she has a vested interested in Obama as a candidate as a fellow racial minority? Or more to the point is the fact that she is evidentally a democratic supporter (such a shock coming from anyone in the world of showbiz) not the point here?
Given that.. is this even news? Not really. And I don't like the unimaginative spin they put on a nothing story.
I am realizing I live in a very sexist city. An environment I have never been in before. More and more I conclude that British society is quite matriarchal and I find it very hard to adjust to the men being in charge here (not that women are exactly in charge in England but it seems a much more even playing field back home).
I keep noticing offside sexist (both to women and men) asides in the local commuter papers and I plan to start documenting them here. Today's nugget was the following taken from an article about the MuchMusic Video Awards:
"An appearance by former Sporty Spice Girl, British singer Melanie C, and a performance by the less dressed Pussycat Doll prodigy, Girlicious, represented the evolution of women in pop music over the past 10 years"
Yes Calgary, the only evolution for women in the pop industry is that they are now wearing less clothes. Awesome. (by the way does noone remember the Spice Girls seeming at times controversial way back when with their mini-skirts and platform sneakers)
Never mind singer songwriters like Feist who are bringing credibility to pop music..
It's not extremely offensive.. it just seems snide and unnecessary at the end of what is a throw-away article anyway. Out of interest the article also implies that noone would have come out in the rain to see Rainn Wilson (Dwight in The Office) but instead must be there to see artists like Rihanna. One can only conclude that this joke was made as Rainn is not conventionally attractive.
Hm.