Real Women Have Curves

I love these new mannequins. They look like real women. Not those scrawny alley-cat looking Goth models slinking down the runways at Milan or in Paris or New York. These mannequins look like real women; ones who hold real jobs, and have real kids like so many of us do. In an age where a woman is valued more for her looks than her brains, this is a very refreshing change.

As a boy growing up in the 1960’s and early ‘70’s, I was always confused at how women wished to be perceived. In the films and books of the times, women were housewives and mothers, nurses, waitresses etc. And the models were all waif-like and almost asexual; I never could get the “hots” for Twiggy.

As the women’s movement grew and changed their perceptions of themselves; in many cases freeing them from a life of few selections; something strange happened. For decades men had been accused of valuing women only for their sexuality, and men had to learn a hard lesson in how to treat women properly. Then came the confusing part; many women took Roe vs. Wade as being the apex of victory in the Feminist Movement. Indeed, it is a pet peeve of mine that women never did push further for the ERA after Roe was decided. Instead they took the sexual equality as being the victory itself, rather than merely a component of a larger goal. And until this very day, America remains one of the only industrialized nations on Earth without an Equal Pay Act for Women.

The war against women is full on in America today, with many of the leading culprits being women politicians who have been elected, in large part, by women. It will never cease to amaze me at how many women turned out the vote for Hillary Clinton as she traveled the world demanding Equal Rights for women, while remaining silent on the same issue at home. Condolezza Rice and Madeleine Albright, along with every woman congressperson and senator, all share the blame in this.

Excuse my rant; I am just happy to see that someone, somewhere, is taking a vital step towards having women view themselves through the lens of accomplishment rather than the size of their dress.