OPINION
Page 6
The Michigan Daily
Tuesday, May 10, 1983
Glamour girls of the '80s
By Barbara Misle
The ideal woman' of the '80s is supposed to be
cosmopolitan, chic, assertive and independent. The pages
of Glamour, Vogue and Cosmopolitan magazine each mon-
th reinforce this unattainable stereotype. Not only are
many women expected by friends, family and coworkers to
fit this mold, but they unfairly demand it of themselves.
Just pick up any of these so-called women's magazines
and you can read about "dressing for success." The
philosophy is that if you don't know what you're talking
about you can at least look good. The modern dogma tells
women not to send mixed messages to their male
coworkers. This guarantees they'll be taken seriously.
For example, at a job interview or an executive lunch
with the boss, women should wear a conservative blue suit,
making certain the skirt doesn't have a slit, and for
heaven's sake, no perfume. When a woman is on the job she
should divorce herself from her femininity.
The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCIII, No. 3-S
93 Years of Editorial Freedom
Managed and Edited by students of
The University of Michigan
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the
Daily Editorial Board
Dear diary ..
NOW THAT the infamous Hitler "diaries"
have turned out to be bogus, what new and
important historical discovery can the world
look forward to hearing about?
Perhaps a video taped recording of a jovial
Henry VIII claiming he only had one wife? That
ought to be worth at least five million on
today's market. Or how about a letter from
Richard Nixon to J. Edgar Hoover telling the
F.B.I. boss to leave his good friend, John Len-
non alone?
In today's news-hungry society, it is under-
standable how journalists and historians in-
volved with the case jumped the gun when
presenting their findings to the public. By
treating the "diaries" with just a little more
care, however, and by being more conservative
before pronouncing them authentic, a great
deal of trouble could have been avoided.
What's more disturbing, however, is the im-
portance the media placed on the "finding" to
begin with. What if the diaries were authentic?
Are we to believe that just because Hitler pen-
ned the words himself they are the truth? Since
when has it been proven that people who keep
diaries only write in them truths? If this were
true, then why do we look at Nixon's memoirs
skeptically?
Moreover, although there would be some
value in knowing more about Hitler the person,
the most important thing we should remember
about him is what he did.
No new historical discovery can change the
fact that Hitler and his henchmen nearly
destroyed the Jewish people; nearly destroyed
Europe; and nearly destroyed the free world as
we know it.
Diary or no diary, the civilized world ought
not to forget that.
The woman of the '80s, according to the magazines, is
also supposed to be unafraid to move ahead in her
career, but daring enough to be soft and feminine af-
ter five.
Television commercials and magazines have
finally given up the image of a woman who is
possessed by fears that the toilet paper shade she
chooses will clash with the color of the bathroom tile.
The days are long gone when women worried if they
could find a multi-purpose cleaner to shine windows,
floors, and countertops while leaving a fresh lemon
scent.
A trend has started, however, that is just as
unrealistic as the anti-dirt crusader of the '70s. Com-
mercials now portray a superwoman who has it all;
career, family, loving husband, and spare time to
pursue her interests.
Today's woman is the one in the Aviance perfume
commercial. Home from work at 5:30 p.m., she rips
off her blue business suit and slides into a slinky
evening gown. She throws dinner in the oven, gives
her body a quick sprav of perfume, and opens the
door to find a flower-bearing-six-foot god, who was
busy modeling bikini underwear all day.
After the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated
and Phyllis Schlaffley and her crew went home to
contentedly pick up their husband's dirty socks, women
were left with undefined roles. Many women are now
torn between being traditional suburban
housewives and bold, single-minded career women,
fending for themselves.
Despite all the proclaimed freedom career-women
have now, many are still struggling with the attitudes
and ideas they learned when they were children. In
elementary school, girls and boys lined up separately
to march out to recess. In junior high, girls are sum-
moned secretively to the auditorium to see the big
film on the wonderful feat their ovaries will soon per-
form. They are taught to feel ashamed or em-
barrassed about their bodies.
Even in college, when it is supposedly acceptable
for women to call men to go out on a date, there are
still very, unspoken limits our past experience tells
us we should obey.
Many women fear that if they are too assertive
other men or women will consider them to be bitchy
or overly ambitious.
Other women fear their femininity or more
traditional ideas about being a housewife will label
them as dependent or even a failure.
But whether women are housewives or career-
minded, there are too many afraid to speak out in
even the most simple situations.
When women are scared to be responsible for
themselves and express what they want or need from
other people, many resort to childish tactics such as
crying, nagging or acting helpless.
There are more alternatives available than the two
extremes of acting helpless or being a superwoman.
Most women fall in between the two, but many feel
inadequate for not living up to their own unrealistic
expectations.
In the struggle to be someone a magazine or com-
mercial tells them to, women sacrifice finding and
developing their own identity, which will far surpass
any superficial rewards of being a glamour girl of the
'80s.
Misle is the Daily's Editor-in-Chief.
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