I have opinions. Let me share them.

[gfrancie]

I have been thinking about that Samantha Brick woman who wrote that deeply entertaining article about how women hate her because she is beautiful and some feel threatened by her. Now I think it is great she thinks she is beautiful because not many women feel that way about themselves. I think where I took pause was her opinion about other women. Now women can envy other women for their looks -which is perfectly natural but I also recognize that women can also admire another woman's beauty. I think of tumblr and how many accounts (many of which owned by women) that are devoted to the beauty of ladies. They admire someone's look and hope to emulate it. I think of all of the beauty/fashion magazines with fawning articles about some woman who is considered gorgeous. And when a woman is seen to have a great personality/intellect it seems to add to her awesomeness. Everyone wishes that so and so could their BFF. So I don't quite feel that that is the case for this woman. Maybe her personality rubs people the wrong way so that while she may be attractive by some, she loses lustre with her attitude.

She also has mentioned several times about her living in France and how she will run across people she knows and how they snub her or something. That struck me because of things I have read about life in France, is that people aren't exactly leaping over the fence with the welcome wagon. It isn't that the French are trying to be rude (unless you are in Monoprix) but there is a sense of formality -even if you have lived some place for some time. It would be considered intrusive to ask many questions or presume familiarity. My own experience in being in France is limited but I found people to be polite and helpful but there isn't the same "how ya'doing let me tell you my life story" attitude that you might run across in America or even in England. It is just different. Yes the men are going to be friendlier/flirty if you are a woman but that is also part of the culture. Maybe she is confused by that?

To kind of segue on the discussion of personality... Last night I watched a program on PBS about Kevin Clash who is the puppeteer/voice of Elmo on Sesame Street. It was a really heart-felt program and the thing I took away from it was what generosity, love, and support can bring to so many. As a child he discovered the muppets and knew he wanted to do it and he began to make his own puppets. His parents were incredibly supportive of him and what he wanted to do. His Mom was so enthusiastic about her son's talents. He began to do shows for kids in the neighborhood and in town and in schools and eventually he was noticed and employed on a local children's show. (while he was still a teenager) Again his talents were supported and cultivated. Eventually it lead him to getting to know Kermit Love (who worked with Jim Henson and helped construct many muppets and puppets) who was obviously a rare and special mentor. The people with whom he worked on the local tv show made it possible for Clash to move to the national stage. (they told Captain Kangaroo about him) They didn't hold him back, they helped him with his audition. Eventually all these steps lead him to working with Jim Henson on Sesame Street and one of the things that Clash mentioned was Henson's generosity with other people, his worth ethic and belief in other people -which obviously influenced the stuff that Clash does now. (He talks to kids who have an interest in working with muppets, he will bring Elmo to dying kids, mentoring other puppeteers, etc) It was just so up-lifting about what can happen when you share some part of yourself with others and inspire them to do great and creative things.

Comments

[bliss-street.livejournal.com]

I saw the Kevin Clash movie, too, and was really moved by it - especially by the unconditional love, support, and encouragement he got from his parents. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I had cut up one of my father's coats to make a puppet. And I also have to ask myself what I would have done if my daughter had done that to one of mine.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The damn thing had me in tears half of the time.
It was really inspirational and gives me a lot of good things to think about when it comes to my kids.

[thiscantbesoy.livejournal.com]

I LOVED Being Elmo.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Did it make you a verklempt mess?

[thiscantbesoy.livejournal.com]

p. much.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Okay good. I swear I was a MESS. OMG and when they got to the stuff about Jim Henson's death? I needed kleenex. Even thinking about it now has me verklempt.

[kirinqueen.livejournal.com]

Dude. For real. I was openly weeping at that part. <3 YOU JIM DON'T GO

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

Thanks for writing about Kevin Clash. I am going to watch for that show.

I hadn't heard of the woman you wrote about but it does sound like she's got a few chips on her shoulders.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Definitely worth watching. The documentary is just a pile of LOVE.

[kake]

This is one of the best things I have read about the whole Samantha Brick debacle, by a very long way.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I watched an interview with her and people would try and tell her their perspective/opinion and she wouldn't/couldn't listen and what I took from it was someone who was incredibly insecure.
When I first read her article I thought, "is this an April Fool's joke?" Because it was so over the top. I don't care much about people who comment on her looks because that is neither here nor there. It is her perspective about other women that bothered me quite a bit. Because it just didn't quite jive.

I will concede that women who are considered beautiful by cultural standards likely have some things easier because people tend to be nicer to them. (at least upon initial interaction to them) BUT it isn't the end all and be all of things. (especially if a person turns out to be unpleasant)

[the-sybil.livejournal.com]

You've got to wonder whether it isn't actually her personality that makes people react to her the way they do. And then she blames it on her looks, because it's easier to cope with that way.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

See that is what I was inclined to believe. In the interview there was a psychologist there speaking and she said, "You know if you you find that you keep having these kinds of interactions... maybe it might be you."

And you might be right. Blaming it on something/someone else.

[cigale.livejournal.com]

I watched the documentary too (I may have cried, I don't know I was on pain meds...). The weird thing is, it never occured to me that Elmo had only one puppeteer. Kevin Clash looks like an awesome fellow though, amazingly dedicated to his craft.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

He is such a talent. (blame those pain meds) It was really interesting to see how he works and just how he has such an instinct with puppets.

[crankyisgood.livejournal.com]

Interesting tale about this Brick woman.

I hadn't seen the documentary before either. Seth and I watched it together so it was extra sweet. "He's just so damn good at what he does," he said. It is a really great story.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

YES. He is. It was so wonderful to get this side of his personality.

[gracefruit.livejournal.com]

I don't think she's hated because she's beautiful, because she clearly isn't very pretty. People probably don't like her because she's a giant narcissist. But at lease she's not alone. :)

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I thought that piece was a scream. It was a pretty clever response.
By our cultural standards she is probably about average (which is all right, it's a pretty good place to be) and like I said, I have no problem with the fact that she thinks she is hot stuff, but her attitude toward other women is horrible.

[needlediva.livejournal.com]

i had never heard of this samantha brick person, so i went and found the original article. From the perspective of middle age and chubby (my new favorite word to describe my body shape), this woman does not seem to be particularly attractive, and she has mean little eyes. if women dont like her, my guess is that it is because she is a major bitch. One of my dearest friends is a woman who I frequently refer to as the most beautiful woman i have ever personally known(bessie lou schwartz). If I can go out and have drinks with bessie lou, i'm obviously not intimidated. This HAS to be an april fool's joke.

As for the Elmo documentary--i have been avoiding it, knowing that i will cry all the way through.
(i dont know about letting one of you cut up my good coat, but i DID let tom dig up the back yard for his war movie re-enactments.)

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Having read Brick's other articles she seems to be a professional troll and I ran across someone who worked for Brick and apparently the woman is bat-shit mental.

Right. You love Bessie Lou because she has a terrific personality and hey she is also beautiful as hell but you don't hate on her, which proves my point. Lots of women know other women who are considered beautiful by the set standards of our culture and they don't feel threatened by them.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Of course. OF COURSE. (there are so many unspeakable acts depending on where you are from)
And it will break their heart in two to find out that neither is the case.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Must be fun to be so delusional. Reminds me of an experience with an Italian/Greek man who had a wife, a mistress, and a girlfriend...

[claritapita.livejournal.com]

Can't wait to watch that documentary! I have loved Elmo since he was introduced in the nineties and have heard a bit about Kevin's story.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

It is a wonderful documentary.