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My local paper ran a picture with Rachel Ray and Jessica Simpson. The tag line on the bottom read something like " Jessica Simpson and Rachel Ray take a break after meeting to solve world hunger, the economic crisis, cure cancer and stop global warming.'"
While any and all of those things are admirable, and I do know that the local paper was being facetious, it still struck me as funny.
So I googled Rachel and Jess and this is the clip I found.
If you watched the whole thing you might have to have a injection of something to counteract the sweetness of it all, but beyond that there are just so many things that I find disturbing about it!
First Jessica walks off towards the audience completely the wrong way. While the sweet little girl is crying in Rachel's arms about actually meeting her 'role model' Jessica.
Role model? Really? Wrong-way Finnigan would be a better role model!
And the first thing she says to Jess is " You are my everything."
To which Jess replies, something vapid- " Just keep on keepin' on."
What? That's a catch phrase from waaay back in the 70's! Keep on doing what, exactly?
Being blond?
Being able to skate and chew gum while tossing long blonde curls around?
Being able to maintain that cute little body?
How about being able to walk with grace on heels- something which Jessica is still working on evidently.
The young girls room is plastered with posters of Jessica, posing.
Can anyone say 'objectified'? I am a child of the 70's new women's movement and all that- but I was hoping that we had gotten past the need for making 'pretty' something to strive for.
I thought maybe SMART would be something a young woman might aspire to instead.
'Graceful' would be up there too, maybe 'independent'.
Now my daughters say I am being just an old curmudgeon, that I am jealous of Jessica Simpson and her blinding good looks.
That ain't so. I could turn a head or two in my day- and I think there are a whole lot of women out there that are good-looking AND smart. ( And not in politics I might add)
All I'm saying is if you are going to use your sweet as sugar, pretty as a day in May brand of niceness, use it to inspire girls like that for a reason.
Maybe you can't really solve world hunger or cancer, but at least be serious about trying.
