More than her clothes

This morning sitting in the Jacksonville airport with the ubiquitous CNN broadcast surrounding us on monitors, Sally Quinn said of Michelle Obama, “Look. She’s an extraordinary woman who is going to do extraordinary things, and she’s going to look good doing it.”

And there it is. A simple statement to justify our talk and attention to how our new First Lady is dressing, quieting feminists fears that it doesn’t do justice to the woman’s abilities and potential. I admit to a certain kneejerk reaction to easy discussions about fashion, style, and designers when it comes to great people, particularly when their accompishments are not well known. When Robin Givhan wrote about Condoleeza Rice, as I’ve discussed here before, it seemed interesting and not an issue because Rice’s role, her work, her mighty background, talents and intelligence preceeded such discussion.

But who Michelle Obama is, though vetted to some extent through the campaign, is less well known. Mostly we see pictures of her with her husband and children, or alone talking about her husband, becase that is the current role she is playing in her life. The flurry of media attention to what she is wearing is wince-worthy because we don’t want her known only for her clothes. And because of the public view of First wives in the past. Lots of photo ops, interviews, and a community service project. I probably don’t have enough appreciation for the role that is First Lady. But personally I’ve been waiting for Eleanor Roosevelt to reappear in the job.

What makes media attention to what women are wearing an empty thing I think, is the lack of context given about who else the woman is beyond how she dresses. Take Cindy McCain, for instance. She was an easy target for the cost of her clothing, to me anyway, because so little else was shared about her. Sarah Palin’s clothing became an immediate though cautious point for discussion because she seemingly came out of nowhere. The media informed us about WHO she was while they also were talking about WHAT she looked like.

Most powerful women rarely receive public attention. They are doing their wonderful things and making change and demonstrating their abilities and winning awards and having careers. If they do something media worthy, their background precedes them, so the media lead with THAT rather than how they are dressed (think women CEOs like Meg Whitman or legislators, like Nancy Pelosi). To talk about how these women are dressed when they enter the media spotlight would seem odd, let alone be meaningless.

But like it or not, there are certain women who our society look to for their fashion. Movie stars. President’s wives. When the media focus (criticize) what they dress like we balance that with our value for who they are. Paris Hilton? Fashion focus is high; person focus is low. Meryl Streep? Fashion focus is low; person focus is high. Rip away at what Meryl wears to the Oscars, she is SO much more to us than a dress. And that is what Michelle Obama will be for us as well.

~ by modelmom on January 25, 2009.