Melissa Leo Controversy

When Melissa Leo won the Oscar on Sunday for Best Supporting Actress, she gave probably one of the most honest reactions anyone could ask for. She said "fuck."

Yes, it's an offensive word but if I won an Oscar, I'd react the same way.

We were discussing the scandalous moment in my Arts Criticism class yesterday and one girl couldn't believe that a 50 year old woman would use such language and was disappointed that Leo couldn't get it together and, "act like a lady."

My inner feminist became my outer feminist. I groaned and said in my head, "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" Only, it wasn't just in my head. The whole class stopped and turned and waited for an explanation.

After taking a breath, I responded, "If I just won an Oscar - which just so happens to be the highest prize for my profession, the last thing I would be concerned with is acting like a lady, whatever that means. Age, class, gender, race, I don't care who you are but you are probably going to react like a human being first and foremost. She's no less feminine because she said fuck, definitely more human, but no less feminine. Telling her to 'act like a lady' is far more offensive to me than her using the word fuck.'"

I may have officially become a feminist in that moment.

Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I'm still blown away. Portia De Rossi wrote this autobiography to chronicle the darkest days of her life. She boldly exposes her battles with her self-image, self-loathing, and her paralyzing fear that someone would out her as a lesbian and her career  (and life) would come crashing down around her. 

She began abusing her body through eating disorders at the age of 12 when she decided to become a model to prove to others that she was beautiful (even if she didn't believe it herself.) She talks about her days obsessing over her eating rituals, her obsessive workout routines and manic episodes. Every costume fitting for her on the set of Ally McBeal (which I watched religiously as a kid) was a battle always ending in either victory or defeat. 

She writes so beautifully that when she reaches 82lbs, it feels as though you're holding her entire weight (via the book) in your hands.