Writer Vixen Explains It All

Thought for the day, every day.

Lauren Hutton Has Always Been Totally Bad-Ass

In the course of her interview with Michael Kors for the September issue of Interview magazine, Lauren Hutton shares the story of how she was sexually harassed by a bunch of Mad Men at a 1965 casting call:

KORS: I know you’re not a  television person at all, Lauren, but have you ever seen Mad Men?

HUTTON: Yes!

KORS: What’s your reaction? It’s set around when you started modeling.

HUTTON: It’s like when I very first started going to ad agencies and things in ’65. They’ve done a very good job of capturing that moment with that show. Everyone was that square. And that male-dominant madness . . . I remember one time going on an appointment at an agency and I went into this conference room, and there were 35 or 40 men and 2 women lined up all around this long table. So I walk in and one of the guys says, “We need to see your legs.” And I just flipped. I was just furious that they would take a person and bring them into a situation with all these people and everybody is staring at you. It was something that I found so deeply offensive. So I jumped up on the table, which was a very fine, expensive table . . .

KORS: A serious conference table.

HUTTON: And I had high heels on, and I jumped up and said, “Sure, I’ll show you my legs.” And I strolled up and down with my heels along the table. I mean, they told me to wear heels beforehand, so I was already mad going in. I walked up and down their conference table showing them my legs and they’re all gasping in silence, and I’m smiling a real smile, looking side to side at each of these guys. Then I jump off and I said, “Will that be all?” and split. [both laugh] I actually got the job, but turned it down because it was for cigarettes.

via Jezebel

This is What Feminism's All About

Share

Fantastic! Poster available from CrimethInc. Download a PDF.

You're Also Given Who You Are

Remember how your parents and teachers always said, "Just be yourself and you'll be fine"? You probably wished that were true, while shaking your head at getting such bad advice from people who really ought to know better.

One of the keys to personal happiness (and to having fun) is being truly, deeply, flagrantly ourselves. In fact, liberating the best and truest version of ourselves in every moment. The struggle is that we're constantly tempted to adjust who we are—if not sacrifice it altogether—to obtain the approval of others.

This is always a colossal waste of time and energy. Not only is it impossible to please everyone else (or sometimes, to please anyone) but it's a kind of casual self-betrayal that accumulates and accrues over a lifetime.

It's true: The greatest gift we can give ourselves, and the world, is just to relax and be who we are—no negotiation, no regrets. Just be yourself and you'll be fine.

Cindi breaks it down:

I always have to remind myself:  You're not just given a good voice. You're not just given the ability to articulate what you feel.

You're also given who you are. And who you are is part of your instrument. 

And the people who raise you, they're part of your instrument. And your surroundings are also your gift and your muse.

It took me a long time to realize all of that.

—  Cyndi Lauper, 2007, Live . . . at Last

_______________________________

Twittering vixenish things @WriterVixen

"I Have a Dream": Speaking from the Heart

Long weekends are awesome. Even when they're rainy, cold and dreary (hello Bay Area!) they still rock.

Martin Luther King is now remembered as much for giving us the first holiday of the new year (don't quibble with me over New Year's Day) as for his humanity. But thanks to the early days of television, we can still witness the passion and conviction that were the hallmarks of his short life. 

I'm a collector of fabulous speeches (there aren't many, so don't be too impressed—or, you know, too horrified) and they don't get much better than this one. Dr. King was a master of oratory. In an age where people gas on endlessly about every boring thing, King's "I Have a Dream" speech reminds us of the power of speaking truly, simply, and clearly from the deepest places of our hearts.

EXCERPT:

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

_______________________________

Twittering vixenish things @WriterVixen