Michelle Obama is not "a big dude," Jay Mohr

Monica Roberts at TransGriot posted the following video on her blog. Comedian Jay Mohr called into The Jim Rome Show, whose annual Smack-Off competition gave him a platform to attack Michelle Obama for her looks, including the shape of her eyebrows and the fact that she is tall. He even called her "a big dude" (starts around 1:50 in the video, which is really quiet - you'll need to turn up the volume if you want to watch it):



Some quotes from when Mohr discusses Michelle (with some help from the post at TransGriot):

"...I'd like to talk about Kevin Garnett. This guy's the Michelle Obama of the Celtics. He doesn't really do anything, but damn he looks good, doesn't he Jim?

Michelle Obama - that is a big dude. When Barack plays pick up games at the White House, you know he picks Michelle as at least his forward, maybe his [center] depending on who’s in Congress that day.

That has to be like being married to Elton Brand. She is a big dude. I like when she put her arm around the Queen of England and she put her in a headlock and told her, "I’ve been waiting 200 years to put my arms around you lady."

I like how she shaved off all her eyebrows, and then drew them back way too high and into an arch, and then way back down, so she always looks super surprised. Michelle Obama kind of looks like the Count on Sesame Street. That's great. One - ah ah ah - One Black President - ah ah ah."

So after reading and watching this video at TransGriot, I tried to do a little background research about what this Smack-Off is, and what I found wasn't surprising.

I am not a fan of insult-based "comedy," especially because it tends to fall back on sexist/racist/and other -ist stereotypes in a way that makes them easily accessible to a larger audience. Making stereotypes for easy consumption, I feel, only helps to perpetuate the problems caused by such generalizations.

And what exactly does Michelle Obama have to do with basketball? Nothing, except that she is tall, and apparently being tall is for men. And men play basketball. How dare her not fit into the little box that the Patriarchy expects all women to fit into.

Good job, Jim Rome, for allowing this kind of decidedly un-funny garbage to air on your show.

Target Women: Fashion is not political news edition

Humorously as always, Sarah Haskins takes on the ridiculous news coverage of Michelle Obama's sleeveless outfits.

What's that? Fashion is still not political news? You'd never have guessed.

Parts one, two and three.

Michelle Obama: Image Control

I wasn't sure what to think of this article at first, with all the "fashion is not political news" crap that shows up in the media, when it comes to women in the public eye, such as Michelle Obama,

The article starts out describing how Michelle has been adamant about having the last say in what she wears whens he poses for magazines like Vogue, People, Essence, and More. But it isn't only through her wardrobe choices that she is shaping her public image.

She has given coveted interviews primarily to women’s magazines and news outlets that have allowed her to highlight her domestic side: her focus on motherhood and her efforts to settle her family in the White House; her interest in gardening and healthy living; her affinity for mixing off-the-rack and designer goods; and her efforts to open up the White House to ordinary Americans.

This effort to focus her image is seen by the article's author as a "remarkable political transformation."

Only 10 months ago, Mrs. Obama was described as an angry black woman by some conservatives and as a liability to her husband. Now, she is widely admired for her warmth, and her vibrant and accessible manner, and her race seems almost an afterthought to many Americans. She has the highest favorability ratings of any incoming first lady since 1980, and is even more popular than the president.

As I read this I was a little disappointed because there are so many more aspects to Michelle Obama's character than her domestic side. Why aren't Michelle and her aides highlighting these things?

The image that Mrs. Obama is projecting, however, fails to fully reflect the multifaceted first lady. A Harvard-trained lawyer and former hospital vice president, she is also a tough-minded professional who cares deeply about influencing public policy and sometimes promotes legislation at her events.

Some analysts feel that Michelle may be trying to build her popularity through more traditional means in order to be able to push for action in policy areas she cares about in the future. I'm not sure what I think about this. What about you?

Fashion is STILL not political news

Aw, hell no.

Slate has up an article today titled: Fashion advice for Michelle Obama, with slideshow.

We've been over this before. Fashion and hairstyles are not political news. If you're covering a fashion designer's new winter line, then yes. That's news. But if you're offering your "advice" to someone who doesn't make a career in fashion, then it's not. It's just ridiculous and sexist.

Michelle Obama is an intelligent, passionate, hard-working woman who doesn't need someone writing about her clothing choices. I think the only person who should be critiquing her wardrobe is her stylist, and I'm almost certain that person wouldn't be writing about it for Slate.

So one more time with me: Fashion is not political news, or almost any news in general.

Failing at Irony and Alienating Your Allies: The Liberal Dude's Guide to Satire

So I open my blog reader and the Huffington Post. What do I have the pleasure to find?

Oh Christ, who's the genius behind this?

I know this might be rocket science to liberal dudez who think things like rape are funny, but this really tasteless and poor excuse for satire is not inducing anything but my gag reflex. You know you fail at irony when your art work is indecipherable from the message of those you intend to mock. While I was sleeping, someone decided that mocking the Republicans by depicting the Obamas with racist stereotypes was effective and funny. I can imagine a bunch of balding upper-class white dudes giving each other congratulatory back slaps around some editor's desk at The New Yorker, engaging in mutual masturbation inflation of their over large egos as their wit goes to press.

You know what's really funny? Mocking Nazis by walking around in public, in places where there may or may not be Jews, and acting and dressing in such a manner completely identical to Nazis. So what if you offend a few Jews along the way? Your completely nonsensical message must be conveyed in the manner you see fit, even if you offend a demographic that would otherwise be allies. I might be white, but even I know that the picturing of an afro-sporting woman in military fatigues is probably a dig at her deviant blackness and her radical opposition to white culture. Also, if you think drawing racist depictions of prominent political figures is funny, you might be racist.

The purpose of satire is to shock and inflame your opposition. If your illustration could be used as a poster for the far right and you are offending your political allies, then it's about time someone fired you.

Then again, I am not really surprised. Anyone remember this? :

That was a "liberal" blog, the DailyKos, really failing to understand the nuances of irony.

Heads up to white dudez: if you think the appropriate manner to object to bigots on the right is to be a leftist racist, on the name of "humor", kindly get the fuck out of my political party.

(Cross-posted)

Racism and sexism are quite alive

I wrote a little while ago about Michelle Obama being blamed for the "Jeremiah Wright fiasco." Amelia commented about her worries about unnecessary attacks on Michelle Obama and illusorytenant replied, "Oh, I'm with you 100% on that. But that's going to happen anyway. Just wait until the general election!"

It's already begun, friends.

First up, from our ever-loving, ever-tolerant friends at Fox News, Michelle Obama is now a "baby momma."

Whoever writes titlecards for Fox should get fired immediately, as well as anyone who approved it and allowed it to air.

Jack and Jill Politics writes:

If this incident generates a lot of outrage, and it should, it will only be a matter of time before it becomes a referendum on Hip-hop and how black people use the word "bitch" a lot, so it's really our fault to begin with that Fox can't be bothered to treat black people like human beings. And of course people will say that the Obamas are "playing the race card" if they object to this kind of coverage.

There's a lot of other blogger reactions here.

Next up, an art installation in an attempt to critique the media:


That picture literally makes me sick to my stomach.

Even better? The art exhibit is titled "The Assassination of Barack Obama" and the artist wanted to "raise dialogue and conversation about substantive things."

When did we start attacking children?

Keep up to date on the latest in election racism and sexism at michelleobamawatch.com.

h/t to What About Our Daughters who run the Michelle Obama watch.