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.