Tuesday, September 11, 2007

le sigh

I wanted to post a blog about September 11th and how I think it's completely wrong that we're not doing anything as a country to memorialize the date that changed everything in America.  I really did.  I wanted to rant and rave about the government, I wanted to praise  our military, with a special shout out to my boys and girls serving overseas or that have been overseas--Tim, Matt, Cody, Ann, Joe...there are so many more of you that I didn't name.

But instead, I'm stuck.  I'm stuck thinking about Britney tramptastic Spears and her "comeback" at the VMAs.  But unlike the myriads of reports focusing on how horrible her performance was and how horrible she looked in the outfit she had chosen to perform in, I'm blown away.

I'm blown away by the thousands of editorials touting a young woman who, in the last 3 years has given birth twice, as grotesquely fat.  If SHE, whose body I would gladly eat my right arm to have as it stands right now, is America's definition of "fat," we can all throw in the towel right now. 

What kind of message is this sending to young girls--girls who watch the VMAs and are listening to what the media has to say? Are we telling them that only women who embody Mary Kate Olsen are considered "in"?  That skeletal, waif-like women, who probably haven't had a period in months because their bodies are starved, whose hair is falling out because of lack of nutrition, whose skin and hair is lackluster at best--THESE are the women that our younger generation should be looking up to??  That our 5th, 6th, and 7th graders should aspire to look like Nicole Ritchie?  That anorexia and bulimia is the way to go?

Britney may not have looked like the 17-year-old pop tart she once was.  Guess what, folks?  She's not 17 anymore, either.  The Pop Princess is now a mother of two, and I think most women, especially those who are mothers themselves, would agree that Britney looks damn good for being a new mother the second time around.

Wake up, people.  This Catch-22 that we keep our daughters in--it's taking a toll on their self-esteem.  Sure, Britney may not be an ideal role model, but no one is perfect--those in Hollywood so hell-bent on casting doubt and shame on her doubtless are thanking their lucky stars that the attention is on her and not on them. 

And personally, I would much rather see a healthy Britney prancing (trudging?) onstage than Mary Kate Olsen or Nicole Ritchie.

If Britney Spears is fat, I'll eat my socks.