Tuesday 10 February 2009

Handbags At Dawn


What is it with all the criticism of women..... by other women? I can't open a magazine or newspaper lately without having to witness yet another scathing attack on a female by a female! Seriously ladies, have we still not left the hair pulling and name calling behind? 

I for one couldn't wait to get the hell out of my school playground due to the amount of bitching and cat fighting that existed. At least in those days it was only because you had on knee socks as opposed to ankle ones or your hair wasn't sprayed and backcombed in the right direction!  

It seems we now judge each other on what kind of mum we are, whether we are a mum or not, blogging about being a mum, blogging full stop, being too fat, being too skinny, returning to work, staying at home and just about everything else in between. Why are we always pitting ourselves against each other and looking down our noses if we happen to disagree with another woman's choices? I personally feel lucky that we live in an era where we have so many options... and with the added bonus of writing about them in cyberspace! So poke that in your hard drive Carol Midgley and Rachel Cooke! And thanks to fellow bloggers, Nappy Valley Girl and Dotterel for bringing the above articles to my attention; although Ms Cooke might be amazed that I actually have enough brain capacity to read them seeing as I own a Bugaboo!

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate thought provoking journalism and freedom of speech as much as the next person and realise that articles such as these above make good tabloid fodder. But if we keep on going in this direction, they'll have us slogging it out in a paddling pool full of mud next; though I'm pretty sure there are some who might be willing to pay good money to see that!  

So if nobody minds, I'm going to get down off my high horse (cos I'm getting a bit saddle sore!), take my average sized arse off to bath my daughter who I sometimes blog about and then later I might read some more blogs written by women (and men), some of whom are not considered to be "proper writers" but who entertain me nonetheless. 

And if you still wear knee high socks that's fine with me; in fact you are very on trend in a Carrie Bradshaw kind of way! See what I did there.... that's the sound of a woman complimenting another women!

9 comments:

auntiegwen said...

Women do seem to be much harder on other women, don't they ?

I detest all these nasty magazines who glory in "celebrities" using the term loosely there but in their misfortunes and their bad hair days, and their cellulite and bad choice of outfit etc etc etc

Why ?

Jean said...

I was reading about that RAchel Cooke one today in the Times....how dare she? Anyway, good on yer That Girl. And by the way you're looking particularly lovely today. (Compliment)

Anonymous said...

Good Call 39+
What is it with the pitting us against each other? I thought Observer Woman was supposed to be FOR women, not incite us to gendercide. Ugh.
It's coming to the point, very swiftly, where I just can't bear to read any more of that kind of crap. I actually don't care what any woman (or man)'s priority in life is but there is no need to make yourself feel big by making the others feel small. Isn't that supposed to be the 'patriarchal' game? And yet it's been a long time - never actually - since a man tried to make me feel like crap for being a mother.

Robin M Anderson said...

I couldn't agree with you more and for that mother hating woman who wrote that horrific article I'm glad she doesn't have kids because she CLEARLY doesn't get it.

Nothing gets me more pissed than when people pass judgment on those who they don't know.

I will make it a point to be nice to all my "sisters" out there just to try to suck back some of the negativity that these two people are putting out there!

xoxo
ym (your bugaboo loving sister!)

TheOnlineStylist said...

Auntie G - Wouldn't it be refreshing if they published pictures and said Hey, look at so and so.... she looks great today. I guess compliments don't sell!
NSM - Why thank you... and you're looking pretty darn good yourself! I hope Rachel isn't finding this all too much....
Mothership - You hit the nail on the head! Imagine a womens publication where they supported each other's choices. Surely we have a right to choose and sometimes even talk about our priorities? You know how she said that she glazes over when her "friends' talk about their kids.. well I do the same when I have to read crap!
YM - If she had kids and decided that Mothers were "all wrong" then fair enough but she lacks one crucial thing in her article.... experience! I respect anyones choice not to have kids but I expect them to respect mine in return. Hopefully she'll be tripped up by a Bugaboo wielding harassed mother in due course! x

Anonymous said...

Where has my comment gone!
It wasn't that bad was it?
Tsk. The crux of it was, that journo is trash, I don't give a sniff what she thinks and I'll go on boring anyone who will listen and I'll gladly listen to them bore me about work/boyfriends/handbag fetishes.

Oh and I also said that you got your date wrong on your post so it shows up that you wrote this nearly a week ago

TheOnlineStylist said...

Tara - This is your first comment I've seen on this one - must have been lost in (cyber) space! You're right... it is trash and I'm glad you don't mind being bored by someone's fetish's... you need to be able to put up with my shoe obsession! And what is going on with my post date or have I just been a complete techno spaz this week?

nappy valley girl said...

Well said, that girl. There's quite enough bitchiness in the media world without the 'quality' press mudslinging as well.

sallymandy said...

Amen, sister. Great point. Who in the world needs women more than women? We need each other. Non-women are great and fine, but we need to stick together.

Thanks. Just found your blog.