How The Washington Post Peed in My Coffee

There I was, sitting at the kitchen table, not fully awake but trying to read the Sunday paper before all two year old hell broke loose in my house and sipping some coffee when I saw it. By it, I mean, the front page article in The Washington Post's Outlook section, 'We Scream, We Swoon, How Dumb Can We Get?', by Charlotte Allen.

Ugh.

Read it now. Get back to me.

Are you angry? Or do you just feel "dim" as Allen puts it and you don't quite understand all the fuss?

Why is an article such as this the one that gets the front page? Why an article about how women will always lag behind men, are the worst drivers, love romance novels and are only smart enough to remember where the berries are, the type of piece that ends up on the front page?

Reading Allen's piece I not only got angry but I started thinking of the many times I've met women who think this way and how I wanted to throttle them. I'm all for using your talents in life. If your talent is cooking or baking or writing romance novels so be it. If it is being a big-rig driver. Go for it. But DON'T dumb it down no matter what it is simply because you have been labeled by some old, long-dead man, as the 'fairer sex'. Don't put yourself in the backseat because you are a woman and prone to emotions which must equate to you being some sort of gooey mess. Does anyone read this blog? If they do, they know that despite my pieces of sap I am not overly emotional. Yet, somehow I have the X chromosome and a va-jay-jay (yes, I just used an Oprah term and in Allen's world this means I'm dim. We women loves us some Oprah right?! Blech.).

I must admit that in reading the first few paragraphs I was not terribly offended. I kind of agreed with Allen. I don't get the whole women swooning over political candidates. Sure, I backed Edwards but it was not because of his fluffy hair. In fact, the whole issue of his hair bothered me. I wanted the facts, the beliefs, the stances on issues. Screw the hair! Leave the hotness factor to Hollywood and the likes of Christian Bale and Johnny Depp. The more of Allen's piece that I read it soon became clear that it was not even about celebrating what makes us women. It was not about promoting our own strengths as individuals either (forget promoting our strengths as a sex even!) but just about how we as females should just sack it all in and admit "we are...kind of dim." My thoughts? It isn't "we women", it is just you honey. The Washington Post too for displaying and perpetuating this kind of 17th Century crap. Ms. Allen? The Washington Post? Do the rest of women a favor and leave the rest of us out this.




Want to know more about finding your own strengths? No matter what sex you are? Read this PBN book review here.



I'm also awarding Lattes and Life the February Perfect Post award.

Her post 'Don't Let Them Fool You' just tells it like it is and really rings true. Congratulations! For more perfect posts go to Petroville and Suburban Turmoil.