Call it tall, thin, white, blond privilege.

[kwassa]

Robin Givhan is a fashion writer for the Post who has won a Pulitzer and moved on to being a very interesting cultural commentator. After all else that has been said about the Salahis .... and this relates to Tiger's fixation, as well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120400051_pf.html


Why they got in: They looked like they belonged

By Robin Givhan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 6, 2009

excerpts:

Few of the stories that have been written and produced about Michaele and Tareq Salahi have failed to mention Michaele's platinum blond locks and her reed-thin figure. She is, indeed, a striking woman who maintains a shade of blond that typically isn't seen on anyone over the age of 2. She also has the kind of lean body that, while not voluptuous or curvy in a va-va-voom way, is reminiscent of a model's. She has chiseled cheekbones and an enormous smile. And while one could debate whether she is attractive -- to each their own, after all -- she conforms to the cultural standards of what a wealthy, privileged, important person is assumed to look like.

Call it tall, thin, white, blond privilege.

...............

As much as people hate to admit that decisions about who belongs where, who is important and who should be believed without question are based on appearance, it happens all the time. The fact that we make instant judgments because of the way people look has allowed the fashion industry to thrive, the cosmetics business to profit and the plastic surgery world to offer facelifts on credit.

Appearance trumped caution, skepticism and safety, that drizzly night of the state dinner. The Salahis weren't on the guest list. But instead of turning them away, the Secret Service waved them in. Would they have been so gullible if it had been a young black man in a tuxedo or a short, squat, gray-haired woman in a modest black dress standing out there in the mist insisting that they were on the guest list? Maybe. But probably not. Rain be damned.

.............

Yet the privileges of pretty come in handy precisely because of the stereotypes that come to mind. Arm-candy, socialite and airhead are all insulting characterizations. Yet these assumptions can work wonders to break down barricades. Owners of a nightclub with aspirations of exclusivity will tell you that they manage their crowd for just the right mix of characters. So the pretty, flighty blonde gets to circumvent the velvet rope with a wink and a winning smile because what club owner doesn't want some lovely young thing decorating his bar? Joe Security Guard gives her a pass because her sunny gratitude makes this muscle-bound worker bee feel important and chivalrous. She is the archetype for so many of the cultural touchstones of male-female interactions. The damsel in distress is not typically depicted as a dark-haired, middle-aged woman, after all. The Bergdorf blonde -- that high-maintenance prima donna -- still wins the wealthy prince. Why? Because even with her demanding, narcissistic ways, she's still the epitome of the trophy wife. He who has her wins.

.............

[Number23]

1. Good read. And Robin Givhan is exactly right

I call it the Gwyneth Syndrome.

I mean, look at this woman.

I see girls at the grocery store that are every bit as pretty (if not much, much prettier) than this woman is. Her movies usually bomb at the box office; she seems so full of herself and not particularly bright, and there are massive numbers of people who have no idea how in the world she ever got that Oscar.

And yet, I could not even begin to count the number of magazine covers and cosmetic endorsements she has. She has made millions based on the way that she looks, and the fact that her looks are average (or even below average) is completely secondary to the fact that she is tall, thin, white and blonde. Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston and more than a few others fall into this category too. If these girls' hair color was anything other than yellow, we'd probably have never heard of them.

[omega minimo]

2. Please remember people who have these attributes by birth and are not stereotypes

[bliss_eternal]

3. Excellent point, omega...

...thank you for making it.

[Karenina]

4. Yes, we are ALL "put under the thumb" by them.