Toxic lessons on femininity
There are many things that could have warped me as a kid, but I'm grateful for the ones I managed to avoid.
I think back on an episode of The Facts of Life where Blair's mother comes to the school and everyone is fawning over how gorgeous she is. Blair is so proud until she catches her making out with a married man. Then, she promptly decides to frump herself up to avoid being anything like her.
I remember watching this when I was about 12 or 13 and I was especially disturbed by what the mom said when Blair confronted her. She simply says that you can't change the fact that men like attractive women and she was going to have the same problem. Seriously? Was she suggesting that because a man wanted her she had no control over what she did in response? It wasn't the first time I heard this attitude. A man is attracted to a woman and she has no volition. She's a passive thing drawn by a magnet that makes her land on his penis and is therefore not culpable. I won't deny that I was immature and clueless about a lot of things at that age, but I'm still glad I recognized this for how idiotic it was.
I actually found the episode on YouTube. My opinion on more than one thing about it hasn't changed. Like the way they keep talking about how great her figure is. Huh? That dress is like a toga. You can't even see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0YImXTvI6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umRvxZZ95hc
I think back on an episode of The Facts of Life where Blair's mother comes to the school and everyone is fawning over how gorgeous she is. Blair is so proud until she catches her making out with a married man. Then, she promptly decides to frump herself up to avoid being anything like her.
I remember watching this when I was about 12 or 13 and I was especially disturbed by what the mom said when Blair confronted her. She simply says that you can't change the fact that men like attractive women and she was going to have the same problem. Seriously? Was she suggesting that because a man wanted her she had no control over what she did in response? It wasn't the first time I heard this attitude. A man is attracted to a woman and she has no volition. She's a passive thing drawn by a magnet that makes her land on his penis and is therefore not culpable. I won't deny that I was immature and clueless about a lot of things at that age, but I'm still glad I recognized this for how idiotic it was.
I actually found the episode on YouTube. My opinion on more than one thing about it hasn't changed. Like the way they keep talking about how great her figure is. Huh? That dress is like a toga. You can't even see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0YImXTvI6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umRvxZZ95hc