The right to bare arms
For the past two weeks I’ve either been on my way to work, at work, on my way home from work or asleep, so the news I’ve gotten has been in bits and pieces. Along with stories about the economy, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Chris Brown and Rihanna, First Lady Michelle Obama’s arms keep making the cut–so to speak.
I wrote previously that the media’s obsession with the first lady is creepy, but Mrs. Obama is showing herself to be at least a mild exhibitionist.
Why does she bare her arms as often as she does? This isn’t the same as asking why she’s distinguished herself as a fashionable first lady. Having seen her at a few events in Chicago, I can say that she didn’t wait until she moved to Washington to develop a sense of style, but the Mrs. Obama I saw occasionally from 2003 to 2005 was noticeably more conservative than she is today.
It’s obvious that Mrs. Obama is fit and I don’t begrudge her for showing off a toned physique, but her sense of timing and occasion when flashing her guns is difficult to make sense of.
Is it me or isn’t February a bit too soon to come out of the house wearing anything sleeveless? I’m in Chicago, which won’t see a sustained thawing until Memorial Day, so I may be biased. But Mrs. Obama is from Chicago. She should know better.
I also wonder if a sleeveless dress is appropriate to wear to a presidential speech to Congress, even if the president happens to be your husband.
The reviews of Mrs. Obama’s fashion sense and arms, in the mainstream media anyway, have been for the most part glowing. Soul Sista Numba One Maureen Dowd effused in a New York Times op-ed piece:
Let’s face it: The only bracing symbol of American strength right now is the image of Michelle Obama’s sculpted biceps. Her husband urges bold action, but it is Michelle who looks as though she could easily wind up and punch out Rush Limbaugh, Bernie Madoff and all the corporate creeps who ripped off America.
I most often agree with Dowd but I’ve got to flag her for excessive jocking. The only bracing symbol of American strength right now is the image of Michelle Obama’s sculpted biceps? Really?
And though I’m sure she meant well –because limousine liberals always do– Dowd pushed the hyper-aggressive black woman meme. She was bound to, because there’s only so much intelligent conversation that can come from objectifying someone. No matter what anyone thinks of Obama’s appearance, there’s much more to her than the way she looks.
It’s time to move on.