Obsession

 

Many Marilyn Monroe fans were up in arms about a month ago when Lady Gaga tweeted this fake quote in an effort to inspire body confidence in young women (and to detract from the naysayers remarking on her recent weight gain).

I go back and forth about this quote. When it pops up on social media sites, I can’t help sighing as I roll my eyes at the screen. Yet, it’s the erroneous attribution that aggravates me, not the content of the quote. And we have to ask ourselves if it’s really worth it to dismantle an illusion that might inspire a heightened sense of self-esteem in others.

I don’t have an answer. Of course I hate to see young girls measuring their worth by their waistlines. But how helpful can a fake quote really be? It’s a sad state when the entire foundation of a person’s confidence is built on the faulty notion that a woman who lived half a century ago wore a size 14(and she did…by 1950s standards).

BBC News published an article in 2010 titled “Is Our Obsession with Size Zero Damaging Health?” In short, yes it is (no surprise there). However, I would venture to suggest that size obsession isn’t as dangerous as body obsession in general. Indeed, in discussing female role models, the writer says, “Young women seeking a sense of self-esteem, self-identity and confident femininity are more vulnerable to society's seductive messages suggesting that in order to be worthy, sexy, successful, powerful and happy they must pursue the perfect body at all costs.”

What is “the perfect body?” Though the article as a whole implies that the ideal body is thin, the writer doesn’t explicitly define the parameters. Couldn’t it be just as damaging for a “size zero” wearer to wish she wore a 14 to look like Monroe?

The point is that, size notwithstanding, all women (and perhaps men, for that matter) are apt to feel worthless in a society that values them for their bodies rather than for their intelligence, ideas and compassion—their humanity. More than 50 years after her death, people are still under the entirely misguided (and infuriating) impression that Marilyn Monroe was a “dumb blonde who couldn’t act,” but everyone has a comment to make about her dress size.

The above quote is a testament to this, and the most maddening part of it all is that it gets passed off as empowering.

Patriarchy at its finest…

Let me know how you feel about it!

 

 

"Famous quotes need famous mouths." -Ralph Keyes

This recently appeared on my Facebook feed. As my mind absorbed the words, my fake quote senses went wild. Sure enough, there exists no legitimate source connecting any part of this to President Abraham Lincoln. According to Snopes.com, the quote was actually penned by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. William John Henry Boetcker as the “Industrial Decalogue” (among other titles).

Interestingly, many believe the quote came to be attributed to Lincoln in the same way last week’s Jessica Dovey quote came to be the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr. This is yet another case of a simple mistake attaching itself to historical legend, destined to be forever romanticized and propagated by those with contemporary agendas.

It’s no surprise that this quote resurfaced today of all days—four days after the 2012 election. Currently, it’s making its way around social media sites as the new favorite quote of disgruntled Mitt Romney supporters. I’m not quite sure how Obama’s philosophy that “the wealthiest Americans pay a little more” is akin to “destroying the rich,” but you guys can think what you will about that…

The point, though, is that Abraham Lincoln did not think this way (at least as far as we can prove).

Thoughts? How come so many people find it difficult to own their ideas without a quote by a historical figure?

Jessica Dovey: a lie that revealed truth

 

 “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”

Sound familiar? Some of you might remember this Martin Luther King Jr. quote that circulated the Internet after Osama Bin Laden’s death in 2011. Like many others, I’m a fan of this particular fake quote. Indeed, it resonated with so many people that the Atlantic ran an article in May of that year in which the writer traced the quote’s journey to cyber-fame. English teacher Jessica Dovey had written it as her Facebook status, which she concluded with a legitimate King quote:

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

At some point, her quote fused with King’s quote, and she was called (quite poignantly, I think) “the woman whose words accidently became Martin Luther King’s.”

So, what is a fake quote-debunker to think of this? Dovey’s is not the story of a woman who maliciously tried to deceive the world. She expressed her thoughts, and thousands agreed with her. King or Dovey, the idea is the same. And isn’t it uplifting to know that the words of a 24-year-old schoolteacher can have the same impact as if they were uttered by one of the most revered human rights activists in history? The man who gave what many claim to be the greatest speech of all time—he could have been anyone.

As much as I push for the proper attribution of quotes, I see this particular mistake as a testament to the power of the human voice. I’d like to think that Dovey’s quote could have gotten around on its own. At any rate, it should have, considering the degree to which it obviously echoed the view of many. I have a theory that several fake quotes originate with people afraid of the “anonymous” attribution. Collectively, we need to abandon the notion that only celebrities possess ideas worth disseminating.

Any suggestions?