Six Women Who Deserve A Better Reputation

Thought Pages (2)

President Clinton has a bad reputation for various reasons, but was impeached for actions arising from a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Though his extramarital sexual relationships had a long and well publicized history (even if many basically wanted to not think about it, perhaps rightly given privacy concerns), this relationship was seen as particularly shocking. Actually, for many, the relationship itself was as or more shocking than the questionable methods President Clinton used to cover it up. For instance, Ann Coulter (conservative critic) spent much of her spleen talking about Lewinsky's "presidential kneepads" or some variety of how the President was a slime ball (if not using the word, the sentiment was the same). His adultery was even used as a primary reason the fairly liberal candidate for the vice presidency in "The Contender" supported his impeachment. Furthermore, Lewinsky herself was generally look upon poorly throughout, either as a victim or some kind of presidential bimbo (e.g. for keeping the semen soaked dress).

This negative portrayal of one of Clinton's affairs was par for the course, and not just by his supporters, and suggested to many that he wasn't really guilty of much. This crude treatment of women downplays the fact that the guy involved actually went out of his way to pick a certain type (by the way, not all of the women he was involved with fit the stereotype), though I guess the point is that cheating with "trash" is not really a problem. The typical madonna/whore dichotomy is a tried and true concept in society, so we accept Clinton's behavior with a wink and a nod as long as it involves "whores." Of course, the so called "trailer trash" Clinton were involved are on closer observation often much more complex than first impressions might offer. The fact they appealed to President Clinton's lower class "bubba" roots with the big hair, perhaps chunky look, and perhaps somewhat naive does not mean they are somehow uniquely worthy of our disdain. Nonetheless, the norm tended to be to accept President Clinton and his faults, but look down on the woman he was involved with and all too often treated shabbily.

For instance, Clinton as governor is involved in a shady incident with a low grade government employee (Paula Jones) in a hotel room that the balance of the evidence seems to suggest was upsetting to her (if not just plain undesired physical exposure), and she is ridiculed for feeling violated by it. Jones, a happily married daughter of a preacher (who allegedly was, shockingly, sexually active before marriage), is seen as a dupe of conservatives, and Clinton the real victim. Even if one wants to see President Clinton as a victim of conservative critics, Jones also was clearly a victim, and one much less a public figure at the time the original events (events she had much less control over) occurred. Furthermore, if we had fun with her physical attributes, note that Clinton chose her, so what does that tell us about him? Finally, a look at her spread* in Penthouse (that lawsuit did not ultimately make her that much money) shows she is not bad looking at all, especially for a mother of children.

Monica Lewinsky was treated a bit better overall, though not by much. Why she should on first impression be held in low regard is unclear. Lewinsky was a young, but still consenting adult (May/December relationships of this nature is surely not a rare occurrence for the rich and famous), who became lovelorn with the President of the United States. Since women have forever fell hard for some unsavory men, her relationship (one she wished was more emotionally satisfying) with a man of his stature is far from surprising, including her pining for him after he wanted to break off the relationship. Furthermore, even after he made it known he wanted to break things off, she remained loyal, even when it was not in her best interests. Finally, as many later saw (e.g. on the Tom Green Show and even during questioning by members of Congress), Lewinsky is a pretty fun loving and appealing women in various ways. I do not know how smart and business savvy she is (handbags? well, apparently she made some good money off them), but she is not bad girlfriend material, surely better than one might assume given the way she has been treated.**

Monica Lewinsky was stereotyped not only as a fat loser (some complained that Clinton should have picked a better woman to be impeached over), but also as a victim. Both parts of this stereotype are not in bad taste, but simplistic and in many ways just plain wrong. She might not be a "good catch" in some ways, but as noted, Clinton had some good reasons in choosing a fun loving young woman with whom to have a relationship, except assuming she would treat it as disposal as he did. Furthermore, it denigrates women a tad much to imply they cannot voluntarily have sexual relationships with older men, be it a professor, movie star, rich older man, or President of the United States. Such lovers of the rich and powerful has a long and often distinguished tradition, especially when the men have marriages (in various ways) in name only. The power imbalance might cause problems, as it might be seen here (though she benefited from it in various ways and would not have been hurt as much if the guy involved was not such a jerk), but such relationships often are mutually beneficial. Again, things are more complex than they appear, especially to those with stereotypical views of relations between the sexes in society.

The way President Clinton's latest "women" were treated is but a reflection of the negative stereotypes women in society generally must suffer. It also can be seen in other women who have come to be seen as objects of disdain in the public eye, though upon reflection, do deserve much of the abuse they must endure. For instance, many love to hate Kathy Lee Gifford for her going on and on about her (not so) wonderful family, as well as trying to extend her career in ways she does not quite have the aptitude for (e.g. singing). This disdain is clearly partly deserved, but her popularity suggests that many do love her all the same, as well as showing (as even some critics of her at times are forced to admit) she really does have some talent and reason to get so much approval. After all, the idealization of things that turn out to be just a flawed as everything else is in this imperfect world has been a standard practice for quite awhile. Why we tend to accept that fact in some cases (e.g. Clinton) and not others tends just to turn out to be not so pretty stereotypes and other things we rather not think about.

This is shown by looking at two other women (now largely forgotten) that on the whole are rather flawed individuals. First, we have Amy Fisher, a teen lover of a loser from Long Island, who was driven to shoot his wife in a twisted attempt to keep him. One just has to feel sorry for a young woman, even someone who attempted homicide, when she does something so drastic for such a loser. We clearly do not root for teens who shoot people, but the older guy should know better, though many might cheer him on for having an affair with an attractive sixteen year old. Nonetheless, let it be known Fisher suffered via a jail sentence, while the guy did not even lose his wife. Also, what must her life have been like for Fisher to take such drastic means to run from it? We can see how bad she had it, and still denounce her act. The true object of pity is the wife, though it is kind of hard to support a woman that staid with the loser.

The last woman I would like to briefly discuss is the skater Tonya Harding, whose life long attempt to be succeed without totally escaping from her humble trailer park roots showed its ugly side in the attack of her opponent, Nancy Kerrigan. It remains controversial just how guilty she was in the attack, though it all becomes more understandable when we note Harding's roots and tough girl persona. Kerrigan, prissy rich girl she was, is the symbol of all Tonya was not. The distaste of her that Harding must have felt is far from surprising, even if how it was expressed is seen as totally wrong. Furthermore, Harding still retains many admirers for her tough girl ways, and her fight to live her life by her own rules is commendable. It also was a big source of conflict in her skating career, giving the accepted norm leaned more toward Nancy Kerrigan type skaters. In the final analysis, it is sad Harding could not be successful and retain her independence and toughness, just as the other women discussed here got bit by not fitting in the acceptable norms of society as they knew it.***