show me one female politician with grey hair

[Mari333]

and I mean in the United States. someone well known.
I have not found one between the ages of 50 to 80.
Plenty of male politicians tho.
LOTS of them.
What a load of ageist misogynistic crap when not one woman in power allows herself to be her age.
and not ONE female journalist on TV either who is my age and has silver hair.
Plenty of men tho.

[wuushew]

1. Anne Richards?

:shrug:

[wuushew]

2. Pat Schroeder

[Mari333]

4. yes, god bless her. wish i knew of more. wish she was still around

cant think of any more.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

3. Donna Brazile.

[Mari333]

6. thank you i am marking them down

because i have an ongoing need to see women who are proud of who they are represent me.

[Captain Hilts]

20. She's got a good Indira Gandhi look goin' on. nt

[sohndrsmith]

73. Brazile is awesome, intelligent, bright... and she's beautiful. So is her hair. n/t

[charlie and algernon]

5. that was easy

[Mari333]

11. thank you!

now find some newscaster on one of the major MSM channels with grey hair who are over 50
(sorry, couldnt resist asking since you are so good at this)

[Bobbieo]

22. Madeline Albright - I think - just saw her tonight

[Mari333]

31. looks dyed

and you know shes grey.

[tekisui]

7. Kathleen Sebelius

[JerseygirlCT]

66. First person I thought of, too. nt

[saracat]

8. Janet Napolitano?

[Mari333]

14. beautiful thank you

[hlthe2b]

9. Janet Napolitano..

[mike_c]

10. it's the unsightly wrinkles that repel my vote....

:hide:

Just kidding! Really! :spank:

on edit-- I'm both gray AND wrinkled, so I speak with some dubious authority on the matter....

[aquart]

15. Batting 1000.

[polmaven]

151. But men are ALLOWED

to be both....I gives them "character", you see. Wimmins are just old.

[mike_c]

155. oh I understand....

I have character aplenty! :rofl:

I also have a crappy sense of humor that gets me in trouble more often than not!

[Uzybone]

12. Napolitano, she was on TV a lot today

you must not be paying attention.

[greenbriar]

13. revlon

nice and easy

[BoneDaddy]

16. Wow jump to conclusions why don't you

Plenty have silver hair, they just color it. Those evil men.

[Mari333]

17. coloring it sends me the message of self loathing

but i am glad so many people showed me proud women on here who have high opinions of who they are.

[Captain Hilts]

27. I feel that way about make-up. Young girls' self-esteem is so tied up wiht make-up.

If you don't wear it, you're ugly!

It can't help the self-esteem issues that young kids already have.

[kath]

105. I agree with you about makeup, also all the waxing, plucking, shaving, hair-straightening,

manicures/fake nails, etc, etc that women are expected to do (not to mention uncomfortable shoes and undergarments), whereas (at least until the past few years, when the corporations have had some success in marketing beauty products and Botoxto men) a guy can get up in the morning, shave his face(optional), brush his teeth and run a comb through his hair and he's good to go - his natural appearance is acceptable, where many women feel that they have to (or want to) alter nearly every part of their body/appearance.

[Liberal Veteran]

30. Possibly...or they could just not like the look of their hair being gray.

I think it has less to do with ageism and misogyny than vanity.

You ain't gonna convince me that Trent Lott, John Boehner, or Dennis Kucinich are giving us a completely natural look.

[Mari333]

37. yes,true enough. its theater i guess. n/t

[Quantess]

112. Remember Jim Trafficant and his wig?

[amandabeech]

114. I remember quite well, but I don't remember the little, screaming face!

I worked briefly on the Hill for a Texas congressman.

We'd all stop work when Trafficant went to the floor just to see the wig, and see if he would say something crazy.

It was clearly the laugh of the day, every day.

[annabanana]

129. (funny. . I see TWO little screaming faces). . . . . n/t

[timtom]

132. Now THAT's funny!

Thanx.

[RainDog]

39. bullshit. please stop the dime-store psychology

people throughout time and place have altered their appearances. tattoos. plates in the mouths. pierced ears. henna on hair. -- for a variety of reasons - and you have no knowledge of what those reasons might be - boredom can be one...

if you don't like to dye your hair then don't do it, but your obsession with this and the value judgments you are putting onto women who don't act and look just like you do really trivializes all women in positions of power.

do you really think that men don't do things to themselves for various reasons - like Kerry's botox - or Biden's hair plugs? Do you think those men hate themselves because they did those things? If not, you have a terrible double standard. If so - you're actually saying Kerry engaged in self-hatred b/c of botox?

or is it only women who qualify for your scorn?

[Mari333]

44. i dont scorn anyone

i just would like to see people , including men, not buy into the obsession with youth in america, if they are in powerful positions.
peace.

[Beaverhausen]

49. I color my hair because my natural color is boring

I like to give my boring brown a more auburn color. I am not obsessed with being young.

People do it for all sorts of reasons.

[CreekDog]

95. that's not what you said

something about having a high opinion of who they are and relating that back to hair coloring. :eyes:

it was dime store psychology you were doling out.

i guess you get what you pay for.

[BoneDaddy]

46. Thank you for some reason

I was beginning to think I was the only one who didnt entertain that childish OP. Where there is truth that we can have extremes in body altering but that does not conclude to self hatred. I would argue that the OP is on the opposite extreme, both ends being unbalanced.

[CreekDog]

96. The OP is judging people superficially

how ironic! :rofl:

[RainDog]

exactly.

who gives a fuck if someone has purple hair?

I want a politician who will deliver the goods - enough of this corporate government. If that politician wants to dress like Cher in Vegas, I could give a great big goddamn.

[AngryAmish]

134. Actually appearances say a lot about a person and who they think they are in a society

Back in the Middle ages it was a crime to wear clothes that one was not entitled to wear (I forget the name of the crime).

One of the way human's brains work is we categorize things. It is what makes us human. Most of what puts people in various categories is their appearance. You can get a guy from Holland and put him in American clothes and you can still tell he is not American even without hearing his voice. The pants ride at a different level, too many or too few buttons buttoned, haircut different et al. We notice small differences and categorize accordingly. (It actually was a survival mechanism when knowing who was in a group and who was not was very important to survival).

What I'm getting at is clothes and appearances are signalling devices to who you are in society. If you want to be a trial lawyer you better not have blue hair. If you want to be a rock star you don't wear Brooks Brothers suits. I would not vote of a politician who dressed in a way that signalled that they did not consider themselves a respectable member of society who cares what people think of them. I'm voting for them so I want them to care about what I think.

Ever notice that people who have "extreme" differences in clothing, hair, tattoos, piercing, etc. tend to hang around with other people like them? because in their group what they look like is more of the norm. Punk rockers are no different in styling choices than those fundamentalist Mormans in Texas with their goofy dresses.

[RainDog]

138. yes, I am well aware of these things

and it has nothing to do with my saying I could give a fuck if a woman colors her hair.

No doubt, if American society thought that only bald people should hold elected office, all the students at Yale law would be shaving their heads. If they deliver good govt, I could give a great big goddamn.

The joke, which you seem to have missed, is that, obviously, Cher could not dress as a Vegas freak show and be a politician. Even tho Sonny cleaned up real good, he had to leave the rhinestones at home.

[BoneDaddy]

43. Coloring sends a message of self loathing?

Are you serious? A woman cannot be proud of herself if she colors her hair? Isn't that totally extreme?

[Mari333]

45. to me it does. but i respect everyones right to do as they wish.

hugs

[BoneDaddy]

50. If it does for you, great

but you cant tell people they are self loathing and then say your respect their choice. Obviously you don't respect their choice if you have such strong negative opinions of women who may decide to color their hair.

[mondo joe]

102. It's not only right wingers who feel comfy judging women's personal choices.

Unfortunately.

[BoneDaddy]

141. Mondo, I have to be honest

I find many on the left to be as bad as those on the right. Each group has their extreme versions of how other people should live. This site scares me at times. Whether the issue is feminism,vegetarianism, animal rights, gay rights etc.. there is an element who think that the world should conform to there very wishes and if it doesn't, those who oppose them are "evil" or demonized to some extent.

[ecstatic]

62. This world would be really boring if women were forced to stick with one look

Sometimes I like jet black hair... sometimes auburn... sometimes dark brown. Changing the color of my hair has nothing to do with self loathing.

[blondeatlast]

152. I can't even remember what my original color was. I might be gray, I don't even know now!

And I do it because I like the variety.

I'm damn happy with myself.

[clspector]

74. Okay, bullshit --

>>coloring it sends me the message of self loathing<<

I'm fifty. I color my hair. It's chocolate brown, platinum and purple. That's right ducky. PURPLE! A rich plum, in fact.

While I am regularly complimented on my hair (it's gorgeous, fyi), I really don't give a rat's ass what ANYONE ELSE thinks of it. It's my hair and I'll do whatever I damn well want to it. Yeah, it doesn't look natural and I could most sincerely care less.

Coloring your hair is not de facto an act of self-loathing. How insulting and childish it is for you to assume that everyone thinks like you do. Or that everyone is motived by the same impulses. Yeesh. And if some women choose to color their hair, so what? Even assuming your paradigm, that women can only succeed by conforming to a narrow standard, how do explain successful women who don't fall into that category?

While I won't deny that there isn't a world of sexist shit out there, one of the great things about being my age is that I have discovered that the entire world can go hang. And I'd be willing to bet that plenty of other women my age have made a similar discovery and then have done the mental arithmetic about what they wanted to present to the world ALL BY THEMSELVES. And if they decided to dye their hair, so what? Really, what's it to you?

[Mari333]

83. you are right

and i am sure you are beautiful.
my point was that women as public figures often buy into the personae of trying not to look their age. and by doing that they do a great disservice to older people and the presentation of themselves as older people. when young people see older people trying to look young, the message is ' being old is bad'.
and it contributes to ageism which is prevalent in this country.
and yes, if one dyes their hair to look young, it is self loathing to me.
if they dye their hair for fun, it isnt self loathing to me.
:hug:

[elleng]

81. 'Loathing' bit of a strong word!

People's preferences differ, you might have noticed; how old are YOU?

[Mari333]

84. 57

and i will explain myself better.
if a woman or man dyes their hair because they hate looking old, then its self loathing to me.
if they do it for fun, it isnt.
sorry i wasnt defining that well enough.
:hug:

[elleng]

100. Thanks; I feel much better!

.

[POAS]

122. It might be vanity or another

reason, self loathing is only one of many possible reasons.

For YOU it might mean self loathing to prefer to not look old but you should not presume to speak to others motivations in such absolute terms.

I'll give you credit for attempting to hedge your original statement but your still projecting your own self awareness onto others.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

82. So your ultimate purpose with this thread was to flamebait. Lovely........

[Mari333]

91. my purpose was to speak about public figures

and the damage they do when they attempt to look young when they are not. i think it sends a message to young people that being old is a bad thing.
if they truly hate being old, and dye their hair because they hate being old, thats self loathing.
if people dye it for fun. green , yellow, pink. well, thats not self loathing. thats just fun.
sorry if i didnt explain it better.
:hug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

131. I don't think that women color their hair, politicians and non-politicians alike because they

loathe themselves. Loathing is a very harsh word. It's by definition a feeling of extreme hate. That's why I felt your point was to ignite flames here.

Where I live, the vast majority of women, No Matter What Age, color their hair.

I started at 15 because I thought it would be fun and honestly more flattering than my own very mousy brown that just didn't go with my skin tones.

I am now 57 and still color my hair. I don't like the gray that is coming in. It has nothing to do with looking older at all. I had an aunt whose grey was gorgeous on her and if I had that color, I'd say, let it rip!

To single out women politicians, no matter what your feelings are, IMHO patently silly. Women color their hair, period.

[CreekDog]

92. everyone is self loathing unless they are willing to look like this guy

everything else is just showing off. :eyes:

[otohara]

136. It Gives My Hair Body

otherwise it's fine and flat, flat, flat - I've been coloring for that reason only for years.

Never thought of it as self loathing, just another hair product.

Do you use any products?

[scheming daemons]

143. So .... do men who use "Just for Men" have self-loathing too?

Or do they just not like having gray hair?

[Shakespeare]

150. What complete and utter bullshit, Mari.

I'm really surprised to see this comment by you. I cover my few gray streaks because I damn well want to, and I don't think anybody who knows me would ever suggest I do so out of insecurity or self-loathing. I went through a phase where I died my (naturally) blonde hair a fabulous dark red, too--because it was fun and different.

And just how far does your odd judgment go? If I wear makeup, does that also indicate self-loathing? How's about jewelry? Certain styles of clothes? Well?

I prefer not to make judgments about someone based on her appearance--and what she chooses to do with that appearance. How's that?

[Captain Hilts]

18. Older women are seen as 'useless'. Folks here complained about HRC looking old.

And let's not forget that people make fun of men who aren't tall enough. That, too, is unfair.

[Mari333]

19. good point. i saw that also. older men dont hear that drivel

i wonder if thats why she dyes her hair. what a pity.
now , i wonder who is the oldest man who has ever served in congress and who is the oldest woman who has ever served? and whats the ratio i wonder?

[Liberal Veteran]

36. That is not entirely true. All my life, I have heard how much older the president looks...

....after completing office commenting on the gray hair, wrinkles, bags and all.

[Mari333]

41. yes, but they are still considered eligible and distinguished

whereas women seem to be 'tossed out' as non persons the minute they turn grey and get wrinkles.
at least in the media.
i have yet to see a woman over 50 or 60 as an anchorperson on any of the major media networks.
especially one with grey hair.
thank god for amy goodman.

[Jamastiene]

121. Barbara Walters is in that age range and has gray hair.

Your heart is in the right place, but there is a big difference between self loathing and someone just wanting to dye their hair. For the record, I started going gray at 18. I'm still going gray. I don't know anything about percentages, because it's more scattered throughout my hair and not in one place. I only ever dyed a purple streak in my hair once for fun. It would not dye though. A friend tried to bleach it blonde for me once. It didn't even lighten up more than one shade from black (and gray) to a lighter black (and gray). It all depends on a person's reasons for dying their hair. To each their own. :shrug:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

135. Barbara Walters is ash blonde.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Grey hair makes women look "old," and men look "distinguished." nt

[AllieB]

23. Barbara Boxer had grey hair, I think she dyed it recently.

[Mari333]

26. what a shame. n/t

[Beaverhausen]

52. according to you she hates herself and is obsessed with being young

:eyes:

[Mari333]

56. i would just like to see women represent their real age when they are public figures

thats all. it sends a positive message about being old.

[JerseygirlCT]

68. Why can't they look the way they choose to look?

That's just silly.

Plenty of people don't look their age, whatever the heck that would mean, anyway. Who is to say what the proper look is?

What about someone who has been coloring his or her hair since his or her 20s? A problem for you?

This is all very silly.

The measure of their worth isn't the color of their hair or whether they wear make-up.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

115. She's not running around in a midriff with a back tatt...

she's merely touching up her hair.

[AnOhioan]

24. I couldn't care less what color a woman politician's hair is....

As long as I can respect her votes and positions, that is all I ask for.

[Mari333]

28. i agree but if they resort to fitting society's description of what is considered electable

i have less respect for them.
because i think they have less respect for themselves.

[mondo joe]

42. Wanting to modify one's appearance is not a sign of not respecting oneself.

People do have their own desires with regard to their own appearance.

[blondeatlast]

153. By your definition or mine? What about when I colored my hair burgundy?

Ddoesn't matter what age I was then--or now--BECAUSE I'M NOT MAKING A POLITICAL STATEMENT.

Sorry, but you are being as judgmental as a beauty pageant judge--just in reverse.

[Demeter]

25. Margaret Chase Smith

[Captain Hilts]

35. And this girl...

[Mari333]

48. she was blasted for her looks

and it hurt her terribly.
but wow, what a woman she was.

[Captain Hilts]

54. Indeed she was.

And, to her credit, ballpark figures of her dimensions were released - six feet approx 165 pounds.

And she was completely honest about her age, which was pretty radical back then.

Kinda amazing how much she looks like Theodore:

[Beaverhausen]

29. there are plenty of male politicians and journalists who color their gray as well

for instance, I'm noticing Howard Fineman is growing in his gray that he probably has been coloring for years.

edited for horrible grammar. Sorry!

[Mari333]

33. I agree, but proportionately it seems the women are the ones

with the face jobs like pelosi and boxer and the dyed hair..including hillarys dye job..
whereas someone like sen byrd can be ancient and respected, could a woman his age in the congress garner the same respect
well, anyway, with some of these pictures i hope its changing

[wuushew]

40. don't forget these guys

[CreekDog]

99. Shut up!

that's their natural color isn't it??? :crazy:

and Reagan didn't wear makeup, remember? :dunce:

[Aqaba]

32. Here's one

Actually its green hair.

[depakid]

34. Here's a particularly nasty one

Fundy nutter congresswoman from North Carolina Virginia Foxx:

[FrenchieCat]

38. Janet Napolitano

[roody]

47. Show me one female anything with grey hair.

Only me!

[Mari333]

51. heh me too

but i am not a politician thank god

[roody]

55. Lovely, Mari.

Mine is in dazzling streaks that others have to pay big money for at the salon. Mine are free.

[AspenRose]

113. My husband has that and he's 38

I love how it looks, male or female.

That "Donna Brazille" thing. It's awesome :-)

[Ichingcarpenter]

53. Boy this went well didn't it?

You missed some important Democratic women
with this broad brush.

[Mari333]

60. and i forgot about katherine harris too

:hugs:

[Texasgal]

The QUEEN of silver hair:

May I present to you the lovely:

http://www.cleanandsobernotdead.com/Ann%20Richards.bmp

[Skittles]

120. in Austin my coworker's sister was her hairdresser

yes INDEED :D

[Blue Belle]

57. Patty Murray?

Although, those could be highlights...

[ccharles000]

58. Our new Gov in NC

Bev Perdue

[CRK7376]

59. Unfortunately

my Congressional representative is a Reug and has gray hair. Not that she is well known or powerful, but she does represent my district....NC 5th District Virginia Foxx...
http://www.foxx.house.gov/

[anigbrowl]

61. Kathleen Sibelius. This thread is an epic fail.

The ageist misogynistic crap appears to be entirely in the OP's imagination, as there are quite a few prominent female pols who are happy with going grey...just as I'm sure some of the male pols dye their hair.

[Mari333]

63. fail or not its helped me a lot

and i needed the input. thats why i posted it. be nice.
:hug:

[Ichingcarpenter]

64. OK...... but you were wrong and still don't admit it

I have no problem with using hair coloring in general except with
using it on corpses like Rupert Murdock.

[Mari333]

65. my premise was and still is

that when one is a public figure and a woman, it would be nice to see them represent themselves as actually being as old as they are.
and i will include men in that.
nonetheless, i completely support anything anyone wants to do to their body.
and heres a colored hair pic.older ladies in the senate.


:hug:

[Ichingcarpenter]

78. Still a great looking bunch of Gals!

I'm lucky as male I have those silver gray temples with light brown hair ,my
older brothers, one started coloring his hair in his thirties and the other
one loss his hair.

We all have batches of white hairs coming in to our eyebrows.
Do women get that too? I'm rather naive about that
but I thought it was dangerous to color your eyebrows.

How old are you anyway?

[Mari333]

80. 57

yes, hah. we get grey hair EVERYWHERE. eyebrows also. chin. nose hairs. the works.
the lovely thing about getting old is that you wake up and say
'what fresh new hell is this?'
you see, people prepare you for puberty. you take classes in school and learn all these new things that will happen to your body.
but there are no classes for what happens to you when you age.
odd things. things grow in odd places, odd colours appear, and you make odd noises and you dont know why.
i find it all immensely amusing.
huge :hug:

[Ichingcarpenter]

87. It is the most coherent case against Intelligent design

Butt hair, nose hair, and ear hair.

What hell is that about? Now you have to wipe your ass more?
You can't breath as well so you get more nose hairs? You can't hear as well
and you get ear hair?

No wonder they made the movie Logan's Run.

Anyway, I heard that eyebrow hair can't be tinted cause it causes brain damage.

[Mari333]

94. my sister dyes her hair red really weird red

and its so thin you can see her scalp. i think shes overdyed it too much, and she breaks out in weird rashes.
i think women use eyebrow pencils or something to keep their eyebrows a certain colour. i dont know. i dont trust the chemicals in any of that stuff, god only knows whats in it.
lol btw

[Hekate]

124. Jesus, Mari, have some sisterly sympathy why don't you? Your sis is going BALD...

In your photo you appear to have thick well-textured hair that would look good in any color including white. How do you think this makes your sister feel, knowing that you not only won the genetic lottery but that you project "self-loathing" on her for doing her best to keep up her personal appearance?

Perhaps her unflattering hair color is from trying to save money by doing it herself. A good hairdresser could mix her a color that would flatter her skin tone and make her thin hair less obvious. A good hairdresser could also cut and style her hair to make her hair loss less obvious. I don't know her finances, but it would be a chunk of money every month to keep it up and she might not think she can afford it.

Perhaps her "weird rashes" are not the result of "chemicals" but of an untreated medical condition. Has she seen a dermatologist or other doctor about it -- or do you not ask because you don't like how she looks anyway?

Madeleine Albright, incidentally, seems to have been using lady-Rogaine since she left office. Her hair, though still thin, is noticeably thicker than it was during the Clinton years, and you can no longer see her scalp right through it.

So you are not running for political office, facing cameras that accent every physical flaw. Yah?

You are not currently re-entering the job market and competing against thousands of younger men and women, who incidentally look fresh and vital, like they could work long hours and not use the company health-care benefits too much. Am I right?

You are secure in whatever arrangements you have in life (work, etc.) and your genetic good fortune is to look well-groomed with a minimum of effort. Have I got that right?

Sweetheart, cut the rest of us some slack. It's pride in oneself to want to be well-groomed, and it's a realistic assessment of the world as it is to try to stay youthful-looking and fit.

Nearly all those silver-haired women politicians pictured in this thread look like they've had a little eye-work, maybe a wee bit of Botox (not too much or you end up like the Doles), and a lot of them certainly diet and work out.

They also pretty much look like they can kick ass in Congress or the State House. I think they like themselves just fine.

Hekate

[CreekDog]

103. Who knew Dianne Feinstein was so tall?

5'10" apparently.

[Freddie Stubbs]

149. Vanity is a human trait, and not limited to females:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12760.html

[JonQ]

67. You don't see alot of bald

politicians either. They exist of course, but not as many as in the general population. Or ones with huge bushy beards, or horrible disfiguring scars, or wearing hawaiian shirts to congress.

Appearances matter alot in politics for both men and women.

[Ichingcarpenter]

89. America the enteral youth culture

Enteral
involving or passing through the intestine, either naturally via the mouth and esophagus, or through an artificial opening.

[JonQ]

104. ??

[Ichingcarpenter]

108. Metaphors but you don't really understand those do you?

Free Credit report. com

I hope that clears it up for you.


Psych!

[JonQ]

137. ??

?????????

[Breeze54]

69. Madeleine Korbel Albright

[sohndrsmith]

70. Janet Napolitano, Heather Wilson... so women choose to dye their hair

so do men - so what? It often looks more artificial on men - or at least we're less tolerant of it... I love grey hair, I wish I had some....

[Gwendolyn]

71. Are you serious? What male politician in his right mind would go gray?

What LOTS of them?

[Ilsa]

72. Rep. Heather Wilson, R - New Mexico

[KoKo]

75. Marci Kaptor, and Zoe Lofgren US House Reps

I'll think of a few more. Barbara Boxer was going gray until she got a "streaked thingy" and I believe Rep. Louise Slaughter is a blonde who has gone gray... Blondes have it good. A little "rinse" and that gray sort of becomes "ash blonde."

I understand what you say, though. For some reason I have a problem with our Congress Critters who care so much more about their appearance than their votes...it seems to me sometimes.

[JanMichael]

76. Olympia Snow

OK, OK, I am kidding. My wife dyes her hair, and has been told to keep doing it til she gets a job (academia) Stupid, eh.

[Mari333]

77. thats terrible.

thats my point i guess. too much hatred of being old in this country. i wish public figures would stop playing into that .

[JanMichael]

79. it is terrible.

she's in grad school and was told that by another female prof. Cool, eh.

[all.of.me]

110. Our society is anti-aging. It's ridiculous.

We are so far removed from anything natural.

I will be 55 next month. I have never dyed my hair and never will. It is getting very gray, and I like it. People used to think I was much younger than my age, but now they think I am older than my age. Isn't that absurd?!

I don't understand why people dye their hair to look younger. Sillier than anything is a natural, wrinkled face and fake black hair. Or red. Or blond. It looks a hundred times worse than wrinkles and gray hair to me.

What is wrong with aging?!?!? Nothing. But it makes a bunch of money for somebody!

[ima_sinnic]

127. that is Olympia Dukakis, not Olympia Snowe (nt)

[RainDog]

142. thank you. I didn't want to say anything

and it's surprising to me to hear someone who says how much she wants to empower women that this woman looks just awful.. why? because she has an expression on her face? I don't think she looks awful. But I don't think women have to look like fuck-me containers for everyone in the world in order to have worth.

Here's an old story... there was this really ugly woman... who knew she was ugly. Yet she had interesting lovers - she was ambitious - she did what she wanted in life. She changed her name for her work - from Mary Ann (or Marian) Evans to George Eliot - not out of self-loathing - tho some could chose to put that on her- that wasn't her reason. What Eliot loathed was the focus, among female writers, on the superficial.

After her decades-long lover died (he was married, but in an open marriage - his wife had already borne another man's kids) she took up with a man twenty years younger. She scandalized the decent folks not once, but twice. She was one of the greatest novelists of her era because she focused on social issues, not who would marry whom... not the "romantic story" sensibility that is still alive today.

She was a realist. She wrote about hypocrisy and the confines of a judgmental society. One of her novels is considered one of the major works of fiction of all time because of its technique, not just subject matter.

Here's what Henry James had to say about her: "Now in this vast ugliness resides a most powerful beauty which, in a very few minutes, steals forth and charms the mind, so that you end, as I ended, in falling in love with her."

Eliot very well knew society's attitudes toward females and did what she wanted to do. Who knows, she may have even put henna on her hair. I'd rather have her as a role model than anyone who would criticize her for the choices she made in her personal life.

[Erin Elizabeth]

85. Geez.

I'm 38 and I've been getting my hair colored since I was 33. I started going gray at 18. Do you know how odd that looks? It's hereditary and VERY premature and honestly at not even 40 years old, I'm simply not ready to be 50% gray (which is what I am with no coloring). My face looks not even 30 (which I'm thankful for) but my natural hair color looks like a woman in her 60s. It's WEIRD. It's not self-loathing, I happen to really like myself, thankyouverymuch! My hair stylist dyes it a very nice rich warm brown that's almost exactly my original haircolor before I started going gray.

I fully plan on letting it go totally gray once my face has caught up with my hair (no Botox or plastic surgery for me, thanks, I'm earning every wrinkle). But for now, I'm way too young to have half gray hair. It's not pretty silver, either, but a coarse flat gray.

It's not always self-loathing.

[Mari333]

88. I redefined what i meant by that a few threads up

i am sure you are very beautiful. i started growing grey at 16 and never dyed it. i loved it.
i was mainly speaking about public figures, who send a message to young people that being old is a bad thing by trying too hard to look young.
being old is wonderful.
:hug:

[mondo joe]

90. Even public figures have the right to do what they want with their own bodies.

It's a shame that you need to project self loathing on them.

[Mari333]

93. well of course they do

but if they dye their hair because they hate being old, then i consider it self loathing. why would anyone hate being old?
i support their right in every way, however, if they hate being old and wish to dye their hair.
hugs

[mondo joe]

98. Well, unless you want to plat Dr Frist the Psychistrist, you really don't know why anyone

does anything, much less how self loathing they are.

I think you are assumptions about others psychologies is as dumb as if a Freeper said women who get abortions are self loathing. As dumb, though less dangerous.

[Mari333]

101. love you anyway.

[RainDog]

156. this is what is so annoying about this thread

you make a global statement about others' psychological selves which is, obviously, nothing but your opinion. then you defend and defend your claim that anyone who chooses to do something other than what you do engages in "self-loathing."

then, when someone calls you on these statements, you try to mitigate the initial remark and you say, I love you anyway, or some other equivalent - in other words, the message is "you cannot find fault with me saying these things because I'm saying something nice to you." This is very manipulative.

The truth of the matter is that you decided not to color your hair and, because of your decision, you think everyone else should behave exactly as you do. Otherwise, you find fault with this other person. This is not a problem with the other person. This is your problem, that you are not accepting of others' decisions.

[KitchenWitch]

109. I do not see those women trying to look any younger than they are

They dress "appropriate" for their age. So they color their hair. So do I. At 44 I am almost 50% gray. I like a little salt and pepper thing going on, but my hair has way more than that going on, so I color it.

[Captain Hilts]

86. This girl ain't ashamed of the grey - she EARNED it!

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page3889.asp?GalleryID=1&ItemID=1700

[karynnj]

97. Sebelius

It might also be called silver though

[WillieW]

106. Madeline Albright has salt and pepper hair

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

107. Lynn Woolsey(n/m)

(n/m)

[Breeze54]

111. Found another one.. 'Gov. Jan Brewer' (AZ-R)- Gov. Napolitano's replacement

'Gov. Brewer' would shift power to conservatives
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/fromcomments/103932.php

[Terran]

116. Sufficiently embarrassed, are you?

I damn well hope so. Misogynistic crap indeed.

[Mari333]

117. nope I am not.

I asked for pics of women in public office who didnt hate showing they are old and I got some.
and that makes me very very very happy that some of the women are proud of being old and arent afraid to show it.
except for these ladies who would look a lot better with their real hair


hugs

[Terran]

140. I'm honestly glad so many have been identified

and that you're happy about it. But you have to admit, the tone of your OP was not that of someone merely seeking this knowledge...you were rejecting the possibilities in advance.

That said, clearly there is a double standard at work here, as in so many other areas between women and men. Is it misogyny? Personally I think that word is as over-used as 'homophobia'. It's not fair, but I don't see it as based in men's 'hatred' of women.

[vanderBeth]

145. They look fine

I bet they're happy with the way they look. :eyes:

[blondeatlast]

154. They wouldn't look better if they wanted to dye their hair and didn't

to fit your own standards.

You look fabulous with your grey hair and I admire you for wearing it. My grey makes me look dead unless I wear makeup--a LOT of makeup.

You just don't seem to be getting the point the rest of us are trying to make. I'm not trying to look younger; I'm trying to look ALIVE.

And besides, I love my own style--I couldn't care what you think or what anyone else does.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

139. Apparently not sufficient yet.

She'd rather dig a hole.

Btw, Kitty Piercy.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

118. I just saw a "Just for Men" ad

Two adorable little girls convince their single dad that he needs to cover his gray. Shift to the next scene where he's on a romantic date. Looks like the marketers are really amping up the pressure on men to be "youthful" and all I can say is, welcome to our world, fellas. ;)

[DangerousRhythm]

119. I think maybe her hair varies, but...

I've seen Jennifer Granholm's hair looking fairly gray at times. Whether blonde or gray, she rocks it. :)

http://tinyurl.com/6ftkhg

[TWiley]

123. Greek Style.

Some Greeks were trying to establish a patriarchal society and there were too many Goddesses in the way, so drama was used to pick them off.

Hercules fell in love with the young Isis, but by the end of the play, She had grown old and lived beyond her child-bearing years. Hercules began to ignore her, and took up with a young woman. Hercules had taken her power because she had aged, and he did not.

[TexasObserver]

125. dupe

[TexasObserver]

126. I greatly prefer hair the color nature made it.

There's a reason hair dye irritates the scalp. It's bad for it.

I like hair its natural color, whatever that is. Nature blends colors far more effectively than humans.


Same for the men. Any man who dyes his hair needs a gut check. (I'm not talking about young people, who can and should dye their hair strange colors, or entertainers who have a good reason for distinctive looks.) I'm talking about the run of the mill adult.

[Thothmes]

128. Better living through chemistry.

[timtom]

130. Does Margaret Chase Smith count?

Or does she have to be alive and a Democrat?

[PassingFair]

133. Here's my favorite female pol...

I think she dyes her hair when she has the time...but
I've seen it grow grey, too.

I'd love her BALD!

[scheming daemons]

144. show me one male politician with a bald head

This works both ways.

[deaniac21]

147. Jessie Ventura

[deaniac21]

146. I call, Indiri Ghandi....

[madokie]

148. Have to pull their panties down to see

:-)