January 24, 2007

American Idol, State of the Union, and Feminism

Last night was great television! I've never watched American Idol from the very beginning, and thus far I haven't missed a week. Of course, I don't appreciate the abuse that some of the not-so-talented people are forced to endure (for the record, abuse isn't always at the hand of Simon). But I really do enjoy the unexpected talent. So far this year, the best singers seem to be the least physically attractive people. In other words, they aren't covergirls or centerfolds, they're just regular people. One, in fact, looks just like Castro!

Last night's State of the Union address was equally as entertaining. While watching American Idol, my husband often remarks "wrong door" when people leave their audition and can't open the door to leave. We were both quite amused by the restraint of the democrats on many occasions last night. Similarly to the contestants trying to exit through the "wrong door," I could hear myself saying "wrong door" to the Dems who remained sitting in judgment of Bush whenever they didn't agree with parts of his speech. I know this is nothing new and is really something more of a tradition. But nevertheless, it is quite comical. Bush could have worn them down and had his speech written in a way that integrated a standup/sitdown pattern.

And while it's interesting that this is the first time in history that a President has been able to say "madam speaker" I am not all that interested in her gender. By demonstrating over-excessive glee over a woman (finally) in the speaker position is to forget the great accomplishments women have already had. Women have been to space, have written books, have fought for our right to vote, have fought for our country, have always been mothers, are college professors, CEO's, senators, etc. As a woman, having a woman speaker is no big deal to me. And having her as a liberal only makes things worse.

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