Posted on 03/01/2009 3:46:20 PM PST by presidio9
Why do we -- men and women, gay and straight -- find Rachel Maddow sexy? Daphne Merkin's "Butch Fatale" about the newly minted MSNBC icon, hidden among the overpriced handbag porn and fluffy profiles of last weekend's New York Times T style magazine, is more complicated than it appears.
As Merkin writes, it isn't often that mainstream culture celebrates the attractiveness of butch lesbians. Sure, we admire femmes like Portia de Rossi and Lindsay Lohan. But for the most part, lesbians who wear suits, cut their hair short or otherwise don't conform to traditional standards of beauty -- the Ellen DeGenereses and Rosie O'Donnells of the world -- have to remain culturally neutered in order to participate in public life. Though we find classic representations of gay male beauty in the films of Luchino Visconti and the writings of Oscar Wilde and Thomas Mann, says Merkin, "It's much harder to envision a lesbian icon without coming up against Fran Lebowitz, looking surly and bored."
The problem with lesbian archetypes, according to Merkin, is that "both categories -- butch and femme -- borrow from gender-influenced dichotomies of beauty." And this is where Rachel Maddow, supposedly, is a revelation. "She may not be one of Hefner's Girls Next Door, exactly, but she is no bare-faced, unstylish dyke either, however she chooses to characterize herself," says Merkin, going on to coo over the way Maddow combines a light dusting of makeup with "Poindexter glasses, Jil Sander pantsuits and Converse sneakers" and concludes that "she's willing to prettify her image sufficiently to endear her to male viewers."
Here's where I disagree with Merkin: I don't think Maddow's TV appearance is particularly calculated to attract male viewers. The makeover doesn't seem like a ploy to sex up Maddow; rather, it's a concession to appearing on television, where everyone has to wear makeup and dress like a professional. According to a New York magazine profile, Maddow's partner, Susan Mikula, is responsible for her wearing makeup: "Without it, 'she looked like a dead person,'" Mikula said. And as for the designer suits, it's not as if MSNBC was going to let Maddow -- or Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews, for that matter -- go on the air in a ratty button-down and carpenter jeans. Meanwhile, Maddow makes no effort to hide her casual, butch off-screen appearance, either. In this pre-New Year's video, also for New York magazine, a bare-faced, hoodie-clad Maddow gives a lesson in mixology.
It's true that while the butch-femme dichotomy has already broken down among many younger lesbians -- I'm hard-pressed to categorize any of my mid-20s lesbian friends as either -- Maddow is still a butch in my book (and her own). And besides, I think Merkin misses something major about what makes Maddow sexy: the nerdiness! From the "Poindexter glasses" to the Oxford Ph.D. to her perfectly crafted sarcasm, Maddow is as geek-chic as she is lesbian-chic.
Unlike Merkin, I believe Maddow when she says "she has no interest in the issue of physical appearance -- her own or anyone else's." And as much as I would love her to herald a new age of lesbian beauty, it seems to me that viewers respond more to Maddow's non-physical qualities -- intelligence, charm and, above all, authenticity -- than to her looks. But I'm interested to hear Broadsheet readers' take, too. What do you think makes Rachel Maddow sexy?
Fershure, Viagra wouldn't have to put up that "Four hour erection" disclaimer. Personally, my weenie looks like Saddam's neck after scrolling this thread....limp and totally bloodless.
Why do liberal journalists alwasy start articles with ficticious assumptions?
4? That is massive grade inflation.
Negative ten.
Thirty years in prison, my eyes gouged out, my hearing gone, 200 doses of viagra and a case of Glenfarclas, I’ll be still saying NO!
"Freepers discuss Maddow"--how bizarre, like saying "hyenas discuss Voltaire." nt
I can't help but wonder when Maddow's program became confused with something highbrow. I'll be the first to admit that Bill O'Reilly is a self-absorbed jackass, and that I had gym coaches who were obviously smarter than Sean O'Reilly. That being said, I have actually lingered on Maddow's program on a few occasions. Sure, she likes to sound pedantic with the occasional SAT word, but I certainly haven't heard her make a point that hasn't already been made by someone like Ram Emmanuel. And she seems to have a lot of trouble keeping her facts straight. And somebody needs to tell her that George Bush and Dick Cheney are retired. Constantly bringing their names up to a liberal audience is equivalent to pornography. I hereby challenge any DU lurker on this thread to sign up for an account here and prove me wrong that she Rachel Maddow can not go thirty minutes in tomorrow night's telecast without mentioning Bush's name.
Even though I am a conservative, there are a lot of liberal commentators that I enjoy hearing from, including Juan Williams, Bob Beckel, and even Carville. To that same DU lurker, I challenge you to name even one conservative that you will occasionally listen to. Bear in mind that Pat Buchannan in neither Republican nor Conservative, and that eunuchs like David Gergin don't count.
Couldn’t say fer sure, just something I heard, it’s all pank in the middle.
Oh, and I’ve been reading and posting to FR for over ten years. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen some here post a thread about “look at what they’re saying now on DU.” Meanwhile, those sorts of threads are a daily (or even several times daily) occurance on that other site.
So, liberal lurkers, just what do you think that says about you? Can your lives possibly be that lame?
Butt ugly, and a dike to boot. WOW! The total liberal package.
Ewww. That’s her?
I have no plans to watch the food channel anytime soon.
I think it used to be a boy and is now a girl, or at least is in the transition phase.
Conservatives have Laura Ingrahm, Liberals have Racheal Maddow.
Conservatives have Condi Rice, Liberals have Michelle Obama
Conservatives have Sarah Palin, Liberals have Hillary Clinton.
Moral of the story:
We have the hotter chicks and they don’t have any mood disorders.
sexy? no, horrifying. she is a controlling bulldozer, like nancy pelosi! her way or the highway!! the tolerance she demands from conservatives, she has NONE of. she is the most intolerant, her way only, control freak i have ever seen. how can she stay on tv?
my house begins to shake and crumble when her bombastic against-Christ intolerant opinions are blasted into/allowed into the room. in terror of spiritual death to everything in sight, i turn the station as fast as i can. i believe in evil spirits, and my Christian home can’t take a second of her un-Godly blasting into it.
no wonder our country is crumbling morally and spiritually with someone like her allowed to blast into our airwaves. could we start a “get rid of racheal maddow/save america” group?
Condi Rice is no conservative.
This guy’s name is Rachael.
Right.
Does anyone else think Maddow looks a little bit like Rich Lowry of NRO?
For which gender?
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