So President Obama thinks California’s Kamala Harris is “by far the best-looking attorney general in the country.” But does he deserve all the grief he’s getting for saying that out loud?
Well, does a white person deserve any grief for referring to Obama himself as “the most articulate, the least lazy, and the least uppity Chicago politician of all”?
Is it OK to praise a Jewish attorney general for being “by far the least greedy”?
Is it OK to gush that a Muslim attorney general is “by far the least interested in terrorism”?
Is it OK to exclaim “and he is not even an alcoholic!” when referring to an Irish politician?
Whatever group you belong to, find the most annoying stereotype attached to it and ask yourself how you would feel if it were used to describe you in a professional context.
If you can’t see the professional behind the stereotype, yes, I think you deserve grief.
P.S. During the election campaign, everybody was insisting that Obama was a phenomenal husband (like it should matter.) I just want to observe that my husband knows that the best-looking attorney general in the country is me. Even though I’m not an attorney general. So Obama should get grief from his wife, too.
Clarissa's Blog 
Maybe Uncle Tom OSama thinks that the most beautiful attorney general should be his wife….
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I think it is totally ridiculous and extremist that the President had to apologize for his “sexist” comment about a woman that he has been friends with for some time now. This is what he said during a Democratic National Committee fundraising lunch in Silicon Valley.
“She’s brilliant and she’s dedicated, she’s tough. … She also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general,” Obama said. “It’s true, c’mon.”
As a woman, I find a sign of gentlemanliness and elegance that a man, in praising a woman, includes among other qualities an appreciation for her physical appearance. I personally would do it when describing a man too.
I hate extremisms and putting things and facts out of context.
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“a man, in praising a woman”
– I don’t see any men and women here. I see a president discussing an attorney general.
“As a woman, I find a sign of gentlemanliness and elegance that a man,”
– At work, I don’t have any gentlemen or women. I only have bosses, co-workers, and students. The shape of their genitals never occurs to me as something I should dwell on.
“I personally would do it when describing a man too.”
– Even if he is your boss / student / colleague? Why would you feel the need to do something like that in a professional context??
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Listen Clarissa, It was not at work. It was in an open environment doing a fundraising type of activity. Is that the job of the attorney general?. It is true that he is her boss but what difference does it make in the context that his remark took place?. I personally feel as if there is a sort of hidden perversion, not to say jealousy, in interpreting this as sexist. In my view it was spontaneous, natural way, no double meaning, of indicating that she is a remarkable woman in every aspect.
Not all women and men are remarkable in every aspect and that’s life. And when that happens it is to celebrate it. That’s all. Sorry that I disagree with you.
Clarissa, I have the good sense and judgment to recognize when and where a remark is to be made. From my view point the President did too. Period.
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” I personally feel as if there is a sort of hidden perversion, not to say jealousy, in interpreting this as sexist.”
– Wow, that’s such a sexist statement that I’m sure you must have misspoken. It is the belief of every sexist that women who don’t want their appearance to be a subject of public discussion are jealous. Jeez.
“Not all women and men are remarkable in every aspect and that’s life. And when that happens it is to celebrate it.”
– This is getting creepier and creepier. You think it’s the job of a president to “celebrate” the physical appearance of attorney generals?
“Clarissa, I have the good sense and judgment to recognize when and where a remark is to be made. ”
– So do I.
“From my view point the President did too. Period.”
– Is this some sort of a command for me to stop expressing my opinions?
“Oops and yes the president never mentioned anything about her genitals, maybe you are a little obssessed about certain body parts and not others.”
– You are the one who kept repeating the words “men” and “women” in your comment. So the obsession is all yours.
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The jendah obsession.
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Oops and yes the president never mentioned anything about her genitals, maybe you are a little obssessed about certain body parts and not others.
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So why he didn’t discuss about how well Injustice Scala is looking?
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“So why he didn’t discuss about how well Injustice Scala is looking?”
– I guess he should be totally OK with all the crap people have been saying and writing about his wife’s appearance.
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You may come up with a different classification of human beings other than women and men. Whichever you choose, a body will be in all of them. Your remark alluding to “genitals” is intentionally selective. The President remarks alluded to her entire persona.
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WTF?
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“You may come up with a different classification of human beings other than women and men. Whichever you choose, a body will be in all of them. ”
– Here you go: president and attorney general.
” The President remarks alluded to her entire persona.”
– So if he discussed how great she is in bed, that would be appropriate, too? That’s part of her “persona” for sure, so why not, right?
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Fuck you Clarissa!. You’re not for an open honest discussion. Just to intimidate people with your brilliance argumentation. Fuck youuuuuuuuu!
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No, thanks. 🙂
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Intimidate with brilliance?
Clarissa, this should remind you something…
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Unicorns are socialists, Santa Klaus is worse than Hitler and capitalism is worse than North Korea!
Hummm, my idiocy begins to be intimidating! 😉
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I now understand that Kelly was trying to be facetious, too.
I’ve been grading for too long and my sense of humor is dead.
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Still not sure what was going on with you and Kelly… but apparently she was kidding? I hope :)’
You are plenty aware that obama is not my best friend… (:) ) but… in this case my initial reaction is get over it.. not a big deal. My reason for feeling that way is people do make similar comments like this… when the male is overly attractive. Don’t have the sources.. but UNTOLD number of comments were made about Scott Brown’s appearance when he ran for Congress. Also, I can easiily rememeber similar comments being made about male colleagues at work.. (not me.. i have to hopefully rely on my brain power … lol).. So, in that regard, this specfiic incident I do think is blown out of proportion.
HOWEVER, the reason why maybe this is a big issue is because of the broader culture where in all honesty physical beauty and “womenly” characteristics is too prevelant. What really bugged me the other day was how the obituary of Yvonee Brill completed diminished her accomplishments. This incident, combined with Obama’s statement has really clarified the situation alot for me. I think fundamentally there is a patriarchal environment which exists.. easily evidenced by the obituary about Brill. At the same time, due to this environment that exists, when Obama makes a mildly inappropriate comment it gets blown out of portion. The problem is most people see either both as “no big deal” or “highly offensive”.
Somehow bridging this gap is important more broadly… for both feminists AND people like me who would not identify as that..idk.. i know I have rambled.. and also written a whole blog in this comment.. but wanted to share my thoughts.
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“You are plenty aware that obama is not my best friend… (:) ) but… in this case my initial reaction is get over it..”
– Nothing is easier than getting over insults that were not addressed at you. I can so easily get over everybody else’s problems, you know. 🙂 🙂
“What really bugged me the other day was how the obituary of Yvonee Brill completed diminished her accomplishments. ”
– Yes, that was a very sad piece of writing.
“At the same time, due to this environment that exists, when Obama makes a mildly inappropriate comment it gets blown out of portion. ”
– The problem is, this is far from being the only comment of this kind he has made. I it were the only one, people wouldn’t mind that much. But he keeps coming out with these bizarre statements. The people who voted for him (twice) are still waiting for him to deliver something of what he kept promising. We are not seeing anything of the kind. So when he makes such comments on top, people’s frustration just boils over. I have no doubt that if he had been delivering on his campaign promises, the outrage about this single comment would have been much much milder. But when you support somebody for years and he keeps disappointing, there is always one last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
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Matt,
I just read the article on Yvonne Brill at the NYT and am under the impression that her professional accomplishments have not been diminished but rather it is a quite comprehensive account on her life as inventor, colleague, wife and mother. No doubt that there is a patriarchal environment that we need to correct. And correct it without the need for losing spontaneity and genuine appreciation of anyone’s gifts, including human beauty, in our human interactions.
And by the way, human beauty can be viewed as a compendium of human qualities ( corporeal and mind) and not restricted to the so-called Hollywood sex-appeal.
Take care.
kelly
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“And correct it without the need for losing spontaneity and genuine appreciation of anyone’s gifts, including human beauty, in our human interactions.”
– Yes, knowing how to give good head is an amazing and rare skill. Let’s totally make it part of professional evaluations and discussions in the workplace. I can just imagine your boss saying, “Kelly is a great professional, wonderful mother, she has the best ass of anybody in this company, and I hear that she is a pro at oral sex!” I mean, these are all important gifts. Let’s totally celebrate them loudly and publicly.
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Sex is a taboo subject, including references to more sexual body parts. However, complimenting beauty in general isn’t so.
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In the workplace in a civilized country? Yes, it REALLY is. I don’t even want to imagine what I would do to my Chair if he said “Clarissa is a talented scholar and a beautiful woman” at one of our meetings. I would have to go into therapy just to deal with the humiliation and rage.
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“I don’t even want to imagine what I would do to my Chair if he said “Clarissa is a talented scholar and a beautiful woman” at one of our meetings”….. Don’t worry Clarissa, that’s never going to happen!.
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Of course, not! My Chair is completely healthy and has no reason to degrade his female colleagues like that.
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Russia probably intends to enforce school uniform:
http://news.mail.ru/society/12626673/
As one person commented, “21 century and still only skirts for girls”.
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At least, there are no more aprons.
And the goal here is very good: the Russians are trying to prevent the fundamentalist Muslims from shrouding the girls. This is a noble goal for which I’d personally wear a potato sack. 🙂
The radicalization of certain areas in Russia is horrible. And given intense migration from one area to another, enormous problems arise. The numbers of rapes and assaults on women who dress and look in civilized ways just in Moscow has sky-rocketed. There is such a big wave of migration of men from areas where women are completely downtrodden that they have no idea how to process the clothes and the appearance of women like you and me.
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Ah, now I do see a girl in trousers on a photo. Interestingly, there uniform seems to be partly advanced because of hijabs too.
Wonder whether all families will be able to afford 3000-3500 for 1 complex of the uniform.
A funny comment:
“Встречное предложение ввести форму для депутатов, министров и прочих чинуш и заставлять их покупать эту форму у российских производителей, из отечественных материалов, которые обеспечат «экономичность, эргономичность и безопасность» при изготовлении”
And why not? 🙂
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