Sunday, March 15, 2009

WV news

West Virginia got hit a couple of times in the media recently. One hit involved a study that placed the state dead last among the happiest states in the country. Another hit came when a West Virginia legislator from Lincoln County, Jeff Eldridge, introduced legislation to ban the sell of Barbies in WV.

My mom tipped me off that our hometown newspaper wrote a good editorial in rebuttal to the stupid assertion that West Virginians are the unhappiest people in the U.S.

I did an independent study recently and determined that studies like the one showing WV is the unhappiest state in the U.S. are a waste of time.

Some people in Lincoln County think that Jeff Eldridge is wasting time by introducing the bill to ban Barbie. According to a quote from the Lincoln Online Journal, he's just interested in making sure girls know there's more to life than a pretty face.

“It isn’t just Barbie,” he said this week. “It is the idea that all a girl has to do to succeed is look pretty. I wanted to emphasize the need for education to succeed in life.”

It looks like he's getting more than he bargained for, what with Jay Leno using the opportunity to make fun of WV and David Letterman wanting him on his show.

The Lincoln Online Journal reports Eldridge won't be going on David Letterman, but I wish he would.

I've thought a lot about this story and I'd like to know what the argument is. Are those giving him such a hard time saying there is no negative impact by allowing our young daughters to emulate Barbie? Of course there is. Young girls suffer from self esteem problems now more than ever. Unfortunately, it's just the tip of the iceberg.

I played with Barbies growing up, but I was surrounded by strong women who looked nothing like the stereotype. Plus, I wasn't bombarded with the perfect body from every magazine cover and television show. I didn't see the waifs all over the movie screen or dancing in videos like young girls see today. And not every woman in my life was obsessed with diet and looks. They had other things to do like live their life.

All of these things have an impact on young girls. Dove built an entire campaign around the problem.

I think Eldridge was making an honest attempt to address the issue. Maybe he could have found a better proposal. Maybe he should have suggested a mentoring program for young WV girls so they could be exposed to real women contributing and making a difference. Maybe he could have helped start a sports program aimed at getting young girls active and keeping them healthy. Maybe going after Barbie wasn't the best thing, but he took a shot.

What bothers me most about this story isn't the fact that Eldridge introduced the legislation, but that the mainstream media used it as another way to take potshots at West Virginia.

Other states have their shares of legislation that seems a little odd or unimportant. A while back a GA lawmaker introduced legislation to make it illegal not to serve sweetened iced tea in a restaurant that is already serving iced tea. (I actually supported that legislation. Unsweetened tea? What's the point?)

WV is an easy target for people and that really makes me angry. Leno went too far. He didn't just take aim at the lawmaker, he took aim at the whole state.

His exact words: "Last week, a West Virginia lawmaker named Jeff Eldridge introduced a bill that would ban the state of West Virginia from selling Barbie dolls. They want to make it illegal to sell Barbie dolls in West Virginia cause they say the dolls give girls unreal expectations. See, apparently in West Virginia, dolls that have all of their teeth are not considered realistic."

That's taking a hit at every West Virginian and promoting a stereotype that hurts the state in more ways than one. Proud West Virginians don't want to be belittled. Teens in the state don't want to be made fun of. This pervasive idea that the state is filled with toothless hillbillies hurts people and can prevent much needed industry from coming into the state.

But what can you expect when the state's own governor takes potshots at his constituents?

Mr. Eldridge, go ahead and rethink the Barbie ban. Seems like people in your area aren't interested. Replace it instead with something more useful.

Ban the transmission of Jay Leno's Tonight Show from coming into the state's TV stations.

Now there's some useful legislation.


** Thanks, A., for the heads up!

4 comments:

A. said...

You know I adore you but I respectfully disagree. I believe it was a waste of time to propose such a bill. I believe Mr Eldridge is using it to get his 15 minutes of fame. Spiderman and Superman are unrealistic body types for men but are not under fire. Is he implying an attractive girl can't be smart? His whole assertion that he wants to draw attention to the fact that girls can be more than a pretty face rings false. If that were the case he would go after every magazine, TV show and radio pop star.

I do not think this country needs more government control in our lives. Ban Barbie? What would be next? Legos?

If he wants to do something for the girls in West Virginia, give them better schools, better roads, more job opportunities after college and a real chance to succeed. Show them the world is a big place full of opportunities for them.

I think Mr. Eldridge should be ashamed for wasting legislature's time and resources on such a silly bill. There are so many more worthy problems he could use his influence to address. Time and money will be wasted on this and that is a horrible shame.

Amy

Evil Twin's Wife said...

I agree with A. here. I mean, he had to have known that even mentioning such an outlandish bill would bring jeers and scrutiny to a state that already has enough image problems.

But, I totally agree with you on banning Jay Leno! The dude is clearly boring and not funny at all.

Tina said...

I didn't think the banning Barbie idea was the best solution, nor did I think it would happen. My words from my post:

"I think Eldridge was making an honest attempt to address the issue. Maybe he could have found a better proposal. Maybe he should have suggested a mentoring program for young WV girls so they could be exposed to real women contributing and making a difference. Maybe he could have helped start a sports program aimed at getting young girls active and keeping them healthy. Maybe going after Barbie wasn't the best thing, but he took a shot."

Sometimes you do things that aren't possible to bring attention to a growing problem. I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Check out the studies I linked to. There are countless others just like them that show the same things with regards to young girls today.

http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/how_raise_girls_healthy_selfesteem

http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/sexualization_girls_mental_health_problems_there_connection

Young men have their own issues they are facing today, but they are not about body type, normally. Boys and girls are treated differently in today's society. They have different expectations placed upon them.

I have read comments from both of you regarding this issue, so I wasn't expecting agreement from my two most dependable commenters. I stand by my opinion, however.

Only Mr. Eldridge knows his intentions and his heart.

A. said...

I did want to take a moment and comment on the "West Virginians are miserable" survey. I think that survey assumes an awful lot. I read the whole thing and found many of the questions to be about if you like your job, home and how secure you feel monetarily. Also, much of it was about how many "services" are available to the people as a whole.(overly simplified by me)

And while I understand unhappiness in a job or about where you live can have a LOT of effect on your life as a whole, I do not believe you have to be unhappy. Maybe a better term would have been "dissatisfied." And as for services and such, WV is a rural state. It is in her nature to have less access to certain things. That doesn't make a person unhappy.

I think that survey made an awful lot of assumptions about what makes people happy. While I'm certain it was well-intentioned, I don't think it really measured "happiness."

That's just my 2-cents on that!!! I'm sure you just NEEDED another opinion from ME!