First Lady Michelle Obama; lawyer, wife, mother; fashion icon?
Even for a women married to a man comfortable enough with his masculinity to be able stand up and declare himself a feminist, life in the public eye can’t have been easy. She has been subjected to the most vile racial epithets imaginable.
She has been derided for speeches she has given, the stances she has taken and yes, even for the clothes she has worn.
The Third Rail
There’s nothing wrong with an interest in fashion. We can gather in tight-knit coffee shop clusters and prove what 21st century men we are by agreeing that Obama looks good in a suit.
We can co-opt grammar mnemonics “i before e except after c” by integrating them into a hierarchy of words to be included in our descriptions of successful women She’s intelligent and elegant; i before e, we tell each other sagely.
The savagery with which we police ourselves is of our own doing.
Earlier today, Washington Post fashion editor Robin Givhan, admitted that the First Lady had declined requests for an interview on the subject of fashion and fashion designers. It’s not hard to imagine why.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDDNMGlH6iI
Off The Rail
The Post’s article went out regardless. In a piece that was ostensibly about how skeptical the First Lady feels about her status as a fashion icon, the word ‘gown’ was mentioned no fewer than 13 times.
A fashion designer like Wang, Jason Wu, Brandon Maxwell, Azede Jean-Pierre. The typical list of the fashion designer ‘who’ she had worn was presented without any sense that as Michelle prepares to leave office the contents of her wardrobe will be the thing we will miss least.
It’s not like she hasn’t been vocal about where her priorities lie.
Speaking at a White House round table in 2011, when asked about her husband’s fashion sense she seemed to give a somewhat barbed response:
“He doesn’t understand fashion. He’s always asking, ‘Is that new? I haven’t seen that before.’ It’s like, ‘Why don’t you mind your own business? Solve world hunger. Get out of my closet.'”
Yes, Michelle Obama has appeared on the cover of Vogue three times; she sells magazines after all. And yes, she’s a magnate to those of us who are dazzled by the sheer glamour of White House politics. And at any rate, that people are interested in the clothes she wears is perfectly natural. It’s OK to acknowledge her beauty.
Footnotes And Fancy Shoes
As long as it’s kept as a footnote to what’s really important. As long as it’s kept low down on that hierarchy of adjectives we use.
Because, let’s face it, most of us have a crush on Michelle Obama. Not in a sleazy ‘guy’ way of course. It’s more like the asexual crush of a pre-pubescent boy letting a girl dam a river with him over the summer holidays. It’s got nothing to do with how she looks and everything to do with the fact that Michelle Obama is flat-out, spit-in-my-eye, fucking awesome.
It’s pretty much the one thing that every single Liberal agrees on.
Let’s Move (To Canada)
In the face of widespread racism, she remains one of the most popular First Ladies of all time. She has two Ivy League degrees, one from Princeton and another from Harvard. Prior to her time in the White House, she was a successful lawyer; she still is a dedicated, and loving mother.
Last October, her speech denouncing president-elect Trump remains one of the most must-watch speeches of recent political history. And then there is her list of accomplishments. It’s hard to know where to begin.
Her fight against obesity, the second leading cause of preventable death in America helped transform communities across the nation.
She helped to pass a school lunch program which provides free and reduced-price meals to more than 21 million low-income children.
In 2014, her Reach Higher program helped encourage millions of Americans to pursue education beyond the mandatory age to leave high school; 18.
The Great Divide
And then there’s Let Girls Learn, a program that has touched so many lives since its 2015 inception. And not just those affected by the program directly either. She speaks on behalf of women all over the world yes, but when she does so, she speaks also for men. Indeed, if that was not already apparent, she was happy to spell it out for us.
Speaking of Trump’s disgusting hot mic sexual assault revelations, she said:
“…To dismiss this as everyday locker-room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere. The men that you and I know don’t treat women this way. They are loving fathers who are sickened by the thought of their daughters being exposed to this kind of vicious language about women. They are husbands and brothers and sons who don’t tolerate women being treated and demeaned and disrespected.”
It’s little wonder that so many of us want her to run for the Presidency in 2020.
So, we can marvel on how good she looks in this gown or that gown, and we can ask her about her sense of fashion, how she works such long hours, juggles so many roles, and still keep that ‘healthy glow’ to her skin. We can even ask her what she’s wearing.
As long as we remember to ask what she’s reading first.
For a reminder of how much we will all miss Michelle Obama, here’s the New Hampshire speech in full.
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
