WaPo's Givhan Still Givin' Medals to Marion -- For Feminist Fashion Sense

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Sure, Michael Vick has admitted involvement in dogfighting. But did you see how sharp he looked in that suit on the way to the courthouse? And yes, Mark McGwire bombed at those congressional hearings with his "I don't want to talk about the past" skate on steroids, but he's the epitome of what a XXXL Abercrombie & Fitch guy can be.

Inane as those comments are, they at least have the merit of being made by me in jest. But what is Robin Givhan's excuse for her similarly silly glorification of the fashion sense of another disgraced athlete, Marion Jones? For that's exactly what the Washington Post's style maven does in her column of this morning, "Marion Jones, a Success On the Glamour Track, Too".

"Too"? Givhan's might believe that Jones was a "success" on the running track, but her legacy there is that of a liar and a cheat.

But after an opening acknowledgement of Jones's off-track travails, the rest of the column is an ode to the runner's fashion sense. In particular, Givhan celebrates Jones for reinforcing the author's feminist view, which she sums up by referring to the notion that women should look good while doing sports as "nonsense." Excerpts:

• [S]he was also an exemplar of the beauty inherent in female strength
• She could be both a gritty competitor and a glamourpuss -- but separately. She did not have to be a pretty athlete, a sexy sprinter or a stylish runner. She didn't glam-up her performance in the sports arena
• It's not often that athletes such as Jones are celebrated for their beauty and grace in glossy magazines.
• Jones's beauty registered amidst the grunting and sweating as she sprinted across the finish line without glitter makeup, a thousand hair barrettes or a costume designed by Vera Wang.
• Jones was fascinating because she was a celebrated female athlete who showed that toughness on the track did not have to be tempered by a nod to traditional femininity.

As far as Givhan is concerned, the fact that Jones was a fraud is just a minor detail. For supporting her view of the world, the WaPo author is happy to award the disgraced athlete a gold medal for feminist fashion sense.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

WaPo Still Awarding Marion medals. Ping to Today show list.

[driftless2]

When the journalistic doors were flung open in the seventies for “minorities” and women, the overwhelming majority of those “womyn” given immediate positions in the lib rags were far-left feminist ideologues. Givhan is one of them. More of a ninny than a leftist, but a leftist anyway. But this is what you get when people are hired by quota. Of course the Post still has stupifyingly stupid writers like E.J. Dionne, so Givhan must feel right at home.

[Godwin1]

Givhan is a lightweight affirmative action hire. The very existence of her column is one more piece of evidence highlighting the terminal decline of the main stream media.

[csvset]

From the article.

Jones was fascinating because she was a celebrated female athlete who showed that toughness on the track did not have to be tempered by a nod to traditional femininity.

Perhaps it was the 'roids that made her so tough?

[pigsmith]

Parallel reality never meets real life - not even in space.

...and there it is, folks, a simple explanation of why liberals are always so angry - what they know in their hearts (real life) never coincides with the parallel reality they believe in their heads.