Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Credibility

FreeMan asks;
"Do you have to be ugly to be taken seriously as a woman?"

Maybe.
Mariah is married and has a net worth of $225 million.
Looks + money and still not taken seriously.

Janet is in the same boat with a net worth of $150 million.

Oprah is less attractive but with more money (1.5 billion).
Is it the "more money" or the "less attractive' that gives her credibility?
Maya Angelou is seen as beyond reproach by many - and not for her looks.
Even the Michelle Obama cadre of accomplished women (Susan Rice, Valerie Jarret and Desiree Rogers) can't match the power players of Gwen Ifill and Condi Rice.

IMO - everyone is objectified - but WE get to choose in which way.

4 comments:

FreeMan Press said...

Well if we take away the money would Maya and Oprah be objectified at all? HELL NO!

D.J. said...

I dont think Mariah and Janet are not taken as seriously because of how they look but more in how they have carried themselves. They have sold their sex to enhance their careers and that comes with a price. Oprah and Maya have not sold themselves as sex symbols but just on what comes out of their mouths. and even then in the case of Oprah she is a talk show host who use to do the same type of Rikki Lake, Phil Donahue shows that she now condemns.

Michelle Obama has always sold herself as a mother and a intelligent woman. It is funny my brother in law and I were having a Michelle convo one day and he said "I bet she would look good in some baby phat jeans, i bet she has a pair." My response was "She might very well own a pair and i can guarantee you will never ever see her in them, she is not going down like that."

It is all about your image.

RunningMom said...

Nothing takes beauty away faster than an ugly attitude. Beauty can get you in the door but it can't keep you there. I think our society is learning that you don't have to be beautiful or handsome to be successful. Who you are as a person, the inner rather than the outer is so much more important.

And just because you are pretty to look at doesn't mean you have anything intelligent to contribute either.

In the paraphrased words of Maya: To be used (but not misused) is good, because the opposite of useful is useless.

Citizen Ojo said...

Yes Oprah is no where near a sex symbol status. Even when guys talk about marrying her, the money is in the back of their minds.. But I think looking at your previous post with a naked cassie and supposedly Rihana and the looking at this one with Oprah and Maya Angelou it gives credibility to the point of looks giving people credibility. It's actually quite sad but that's how we do in America.