I’m posting this for three reasons, the first being the most important – if we’re going to encourage running and spending a gang of time out in the sun doing so, we should at least encourage proper skin care. Get sunscreen.
Secondly, the ad’s kinda awesome. Women of varying figure shapes, colors and sizes coming together – albeit appearing nude, but obviously to go hand in hand with the “don’t go naked” theme – to promote one primary cause, and that’s protecting ourselves against skin cancer.
Here’s the ad below:
The last thing kind of ties into this ongoing body image thing we’ve been addressing, here. Last time we discussed a right-wing radio shock jock commenting on a woman’s body and insinuating that she was “too fat,” we all agreed that he was being an attention hungry jerk. My personal mistake, was assuming that it was because the woman and man were ideological opposites of one another.
Apparently not.
After the launch of the skin cancer ad, Glenn Beck took it upon himself to discuss the ad – complete with sounds of gagging and vomiting in regards to Meghan McCain’s body. (You’d have to recall that Meghan is the daughter of former Presidential candidate John McCain, also Republican.) You might not like her politics, but damn if she didn’t lay the smack down in regards to Beck’s comments:
Dear Mr. Beck,
I am writing to thank you for helping me spread the word about a serious condition.
A few months ago, I filmed a PSA for skin-cancer awareness where I posed in a strapless Juicy dress to appear “naked,” as a metaphor for the dangers of going out in the sun without sunscreen. I thought that pretending to be naked (even if I only disrobed to my collar bone) would hopefully call attention to skin cancer, a disease that both my parents have suffered from.
I don’t know if you know this, Mr. Beck, but that scar on the side of my father’s face is from a melanoma he had removed when I was in middle school. Did you know melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer? Did you also know that between 40 and 50 percent of Americans who live to be 65 will have either basal-cell carcinoma or squamous-cell carcinoma skin cancer? And that there are more than 2 million cases of skin cancer discovered in the United States every year? It’s pretty scary, Glenn, and something everyone in America should be made aware of.
But the thing is, Glenn, I wasn’t really naked, and I know the idea of me being naked caused you to vomit on your radio show for 10 minutes. You suggested I should wear a burqa, since you believe that’s probably the only clothing that could possibly fit me. By the way, you should really see a doctor because it isn’t normal to vomit for that long.
While you’re at the doctor’s office, why not get checked for moles on your skin to make sure you don’t have any signs of skin cancer? Skincancer.org suggests, “Throughout the year, you should examine your skin head to toe once a month, looking for any suspicious lesions. Self-exams can help you identify potential skin cancers early, when they can almost always be completely cured.”
While we’re on the subject of you vomiting on air, maybe we should have a little talk. Clearly you have a problem with me, and possibly women in general, but the truth is, it’s 2011 and I heard your show on Fox was canceled. Isn’t that an indication that the era of the shock-jock pundit is over? Don’t you think that’s a sign you should be pulling it back a little? I mean, if you’re too conservative and outrageous for Fox, that should tell you something. There really is no need to make something like my participation in a skin-cancer PSA into a sexist rant about my weight and physical appearance, because I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Glenn: you are the only one who looks bad in this scenario, and at the end of the day you have helped me generate publicity for my skin-cancer PSA, a cause that I feel quite passionate about.
You’re a full-grown man with teenage daughters who are probably dealing with the sexist, body-obsessed media environment that is difficult for all women. Is this really the legacy you want to be leaving for yourself?
As a person who is known for his hot body, you must find it easy to judge the weight fluctuations of others, especially young women. If any of your daughters are ever faced with some kind of criticism of their physical appearance or weight, they should call me, because women’s body image is another issue I feel passionate about, and have become accustomed to dealing with and speaking with young women about on my college tours.
So thanks for spreading the word, Glenn. And next time, instead of jumping straight to the “Meghan McCain fat jokes,” maybe try out some new material. Because the fat-joke thing, it’s been done so many times, I know a creative intellect such as yourself can do better than that.
Love,
Meghan
Who knew Meghan was so snarky? If I could high-five her and hug her, I swear I would.
Public smackdowns of people trying to tell women how they’re supposed to look? These are constant wins for me.
18 comments
My favorite part:
As a person who is known for his hot body, you must find it easy to judge the weight fluctuations of others,
Hee! I do appreciate sarcasm. Nicely done, Meghan.
Also……Topanga!
I’ve never been into her dimply because
I’m not into politics. I definitely see her as more than McCain’s daughter.She really showed herself to be a highly intelligent and classy lady. I love her response!
Love the way she got at his neck and was still classy about it. The psa does have me reconsidering my disdain for sunscreen, I begrudgingly make my son wear it while we are at the beach, however I hate the idea of putting chemicals on my skin to block something natural. In NY we have barely had a Spring but I run all year long and I already have tan lines, my face is even noticeably darker. While I am a dark skin chick and love the idea of being darker I have always hated the idea of sunblock even knowing the dangers. I am going to think long and hard about going naked especially as I am currently training for a marathon and run atleast 30 miles a week.
I agree with you – feeling some kinda way about needing to block something natural – but the reality is that even the most skeptical of us shouldn’t risk it until we have more information to understand the actual danger levels of sun exposure, what in sunlight causes cancer (if it’s more along the lines of chemicals in our food causing rapid cell growth or what), and the best way to protect ourselves from this disease altogether if it isn’t sunscreen. Y’know?
Oh, and shoutout to that runner’s tan. I’ve got two giant straps – one from my tank and one from my sports bra – across my chest, and a head twice as dark as my body. ROFL
Those chemicals kinda freak me out, I don’t like that strange sheen you end up with. I think that stuff is bad for your skin. I’ll be trying this natural stuff and let you know how it works!
http://frugallysustainable.com/2012/03/a-recipe-for-natural-homemade-sunscreen/
Tina I also love what the sun does to my woefully pale legs as soon as I can reveal them to spring but I’ve learned about the not so serious but still annoying effects of too much sun the hard way. My dermatologist made me switch to a daily moisturizer and foundation with spf15 in it years ago because constant exposure to the sun was only causing my acne scars to darken, not fade. Mineral foundations all have sun protection if those jive more with you than using other chemicals. Also, though I’m probably slam in the middle of our color spectrum, I burn fairly easily. The peeling is gross but I can get over that. It’s the deep pain that comes with a sunburn that makes me miserable. That being said, I probably reapply less on my legs than my shoulders, arms, chest, face when I’m outside for a long time, because I do love having my legs eventually match my arms.
Lol, I worry about toxic sunscreen just like you do! I’ve been wearing it everytime I go outside, especially to run, but I always feel like I’m replacing one danger with another when I rub a chemical mix onto my skin…
I recently found this website. It explains not only the dangers of your average sunscreen, but also gives you lists of which sunscreens are safer than others. You can also type in the name of the suncreen that you use, and it’ll give you a rating of how harmful it may be. Here’s the link: http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/
Shoutout to Meghan for the way she took Beck down!
I haven’t been a fan of Meghan, but big kudos to her for standing up to that jerk. This did help me to realize that I do need to change my habit of going outside naked. I only use sunscreen when I go to the beach. I know now that sunscreen not just for the time that I spend trying to get my legs to match the rest of my body. 🙂
Great post. I suffer from alopecia and barely have fuzz on the top of my head. I learned the hard way that even though I’m Black, I still have to wear some type of protection: a hat, a wrap, something. Nothing quite like a sunburn over your entire scalp to bring that home! LOL! I also use a natural shea/cocao butter based body cream to cover the rest of my skin. I do love my sunburnished skin in the summer, but sunburned once was enough for me!
I loved the ad! It’s nice to see women just have a bit of fun, geesh! And a huge high five to MM for laying a serious well-deserved smackdown on GB!
Totally enjoyed Meghan’s response. Like you Erika, I wish I could give her a hug.
“I mean, if you’re too conservative and outrageous for Fox, that should tell you something”
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
i love it 🙂
I seriously doubt she composed that letter herself, but it was still awesome.
Unfortunately blacks are more likely to die from or suffer with other diseases that have been linked to Vitamin D deficiency (Vitamin D is produced in the skin with exposure to sunlight) such as diabetes and other auto immune disease, colon cancer, breast and breast cancers, depression, etc. More and more research are linking Vitamin D deficiency to a plethora of illnesses that just so happen to be more common in African Americans. The melanin, or pigment in our skin, acts as a barrier to the UV rays from the sun. This both lowers our risk of getting skin cancer and wrinkles (yea!) but increases our risk of vitamin D deficiency and illnesse related to it (boo!)
And yes, black folks can get skin cancer, but its very. How many of us know someone black with the disease? OK now raise your hand if you know somebody black with diabetes or cancer? Yep..
I actually use a sunscreen that is natural Original Sprout: Face + Body Sunscreen SPF24. So instead of buying the store chemical products I use this. I never thought of using sunscreen, or blocks until I got older but we need it too.
I love the letter…of Meghan because she kept it real and still didn’t take away from the orignal message which is awareness of skin cancer. But she let him have it…some people have their nerve. I’m sure he isn’t flawless just because you dont see flaws on the outstide doesnt mean there isn’t any!
Here is a link where you can buy this product: http://naturallythestore.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=17
Thank you for posting this!! 🙂
Wait, he figure looks fine to me, I mean if she isn’t happy then she can workout and eat healthy or whatever, but she looks beautiful to me.
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