Hillary Clinton "au naturale" is no Kate Middleton. Is that OK?
This just in from the hard hitting journalism department:听, US Secretary of State 鈥� you know, the person fourth in line to the presidency, responsible for the foreign policy of our country, who over the past month has visited China, Bangladesh, India, Columbia, Brazil, Belgium, and France 鈥� sometimes doesn鈥檛 wear makeup!
The horror.
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Forget 鈥渟mart power,鈥� little girls. This is the real lesson about women in the public sphere.
Sigh.
Another big sigh.
C鈥檓on people.
The latest How-Does-Hilary-Look flap began heating up this week with a photo posted by the Drudge Report Monday showing the Secretary of State wearing glasses and just a little bit of lipstick, with the headline 鈥淗illary au Naturale.鈥� (sic)听 This, on top of an aide鈥檚 worries 鈥� quoted in a women鈥檚 magazine 鈥� about Ms. Clinton鈥檚 penchant for pulling her hair back in a ponytail and securing it with a scrunchy, got the media鈥檚 tongues a-wagging.
Not that there鈥檚 ever a makeup-free day over here, mind you. Oh no.听 And hair in a ponytail?听 Never. We鈥檙e all Kate Middleton on this side of the computer. Cross my heart.
And we鈥檙e even fancy when we travel.听 I call it vagabond chic.
Really, I feel lucky when I brush my teeth on international flights. And Clinton has traveled 778,157 miles as Secretary of State, visiting 96 countries and logging 1,691.25 hours of travel time, according to the State Department website. I鈥檓 impressed the woman can even find her lipstick.
But that鈥檚 not the point, of course.
To her credit, Clinton laughed off the issue in a CNN interview earlier this week.
鈥淚f I want to wear my glasses, I鈥檓 wearing my glasses,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I want to wear my hair back I鈥檓 pulling my hair back. You know at some point it鈥檚 just not something that deserves a lot of time and attention.鈥�
She鈥檚 right of course, but...听 if only.听 The continued focus on women鈥檚 appearance is just depressing for parents听trying to teach their little ones that smarts and kindness and achievement matter more than an outfit or hairdo.
Because it鈥檚 not just that we focus more on makeup than, say, delicate negotiations with India or China. We blatantly equate appearance to substance.听 Take this comment, for instance, from the UK鈥檚 Daily Mail:
鈥淭he Democrat has appeared stylish and demure at recent events, toning down her once-gaudy coloured trouser suits and scrunchie combinations 鈥� also perhaps signalling that she is winding down.鈥�
Huh?
Turns out you can pick friends based on appearance, as well.
Ms. Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, shows through her outfits (and she decidedly does wear makeup) that she is a 鈥済irl you want to go sit down with and talk to and hang out with,鈥� celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe said on 鈥�Good Morning America.鈥澨�
Even with that high-slit dress that also got the internet community buzzing this week.
Again, a sigh.
Secretary of State versus princess.
We certainly show our girls which one we think they should emulate.
听
