Reply #22: hmm [View All]

Mefeels I am being held to a higher standard than the general population hereabouts.

I did say I have to say I don't know her, or know enough about her, to have a really worthwhile opinion, as introduction to a particular opinion I expressed -- which followed directly, and was: But she sure sounds like an idiot to me.

By "worthwhile opinion", I generally mean one that can be fully backed up with sound facts and argument (something that is more noticeable in places like DU, and the public agora in general, by its absence than by its plentiful presence).

I don't happen to know Stronach's IQ score. I haven't observed how she conducts meetings of the board of directors of a multi-billion dollar corporation. I don't know whether she gets jokes. But I've observed her speaking in public quite a few times, through the magic of television. And I've read snippets of her performances in the House of Commons. And she sure sounds like an idiot to me.

My opinion, like anyone else's, is as good as the facts and reasoning behind it. If there are facts that indicate that she is a candidate for a Rhodes scholarship, or reasoning to show that my conclusion (tentative as it was) that she is an idiot is faulty, anybody's welcome to offer them.

But the other opinion that you quoted, as somehow related to my statement that my opinion might not be really worthwhile, wasn't actually connected to that statement.

The opinion that you quoted was my opinion about people who do certain things and then are heard to object to being judged according to the standards that they themselves have plainly adopted. (And I didn't actually say that Stronach had actually done this; it has been third parties making the objections and I don't see them as having any basis for doing so on her behalf -- let alone on my behalf, or women's in general, or anyone else's.)

A woman who moulds herself according to a stereotype, and who blatantly uses her conformation to that stereotype to advance her own interests, really ought not to object to being treated like that stereotype.

Deborah Grey is entirely entitled to object to being judged according to a misogynist, sexist standard imposed on women to which she cannot, or will not, conform. Ditto Sheila Copps.

A woman who bleaches her hair blonde, paints up her face and ... well, okay, some people are just naturally skinny, I suppose ... has chosen to alter herself to conform to a misogynist, sexist standard. She has quite plainly done that either because she's a victim of the society that requires that she do this in order to get ahead and can't get ahead any other way (women actors and hookers do come to mind), or because she's mindfully chosen to do it in order to be able to advance her own interests for reasons external to her abilities and the merits of what she does and says. She's either exploited or exploiter. Yes, a woman who chooses to conform to the stereotype in order to advance her own interests, knowing full well how oppressive it is to all women, is an exploiter.

Mind you, I don't think Ann Coulter is stupid (and being exploited). She's just evil. I don't think Belinda Stronach is necessary evil. However, since she has all the money and power she needs to get what she wants on a level playing field, I do think she's consciously chosen to conform to the stereotype in order to gain an advantage. (Maybe she's just an insecure little rich girl, but there really isn't a whole lot of evidence of that.)

But I also don't think she's Mensa material. Having enough smarts to exploit one's conformity to a stereotype doesn't necessarily mean that one has the smarts to handle a major governmental portfolio, let alone be Prime Minister.

The stereotype to which Stronach has chosen to conform includes airheadedness. It's a complete package. Certainly it's not wise to judge someone who is born blonde, rosy-cheeked and skinny to be an airhead -- but someone who chooses to be blonde, to disguise a countenance that is pleasant and agreeable enough with paint to make it appear "beautiful", and ... well, maybe she actually eats pizza ... that one has made her own bed.

So if you think that this opinion is not worthwhile -- that women who make the choice to conform to the stereotype of an airhead bimbo in order to advance their own interests, and who choose to use their appearance, which they deliberatly alter in a certain and stereotypical way, to advance those interests, rather than relying on their abilities and the merits of what they say and do, should not be heard to object to being treated like one, go right ahead and explain why.