Oprah Winfrey, You're Not for Me!

As feminists, we can talk forever about achieving equal rights with men and demanding gay, lesbian and transgender people fundamental freedoms. But until we stop accepting the systematic oppression of women in popular culture, we won’t get anywhere. There is a demonic presence sweeping across this nation today. This presence is an unflappable, funny, honest multi-multi-millionaire by the name of Oprah Winfrey.

I know what you’re thinking. Oprah! Not her! She is the darling of most American women, regardless of race, class or dress size. We have supported her in her struggles with weight loss and cried with her when she lost those battles. We think of her as “our Oprah”. Her shared life experiences and “you go, girl” matter-of-fact slang bring us closer to her each day during her talk show.

But over the past few years I have detected a change in her. I think she first fell out of favor after the movie “Michael” came out in 1996. There was Oprah, dancing onstage with star John Travolta, and going on and on about what a “wonderful movie this is” and how “y’all have to go see it”. Prior to the TV show taping, her entire audience was treated to a screening of this film about the Archangel Michael, who falls back to earth to do some good deeds and live a little life with a couple of reporters. The audience was as ecstatic as the host, beaming at Travolta and praising his work. Surely Oprah Winfrey wouldn’t steer me wrong about the quality of a movie. Well, naturally, I had to head to my local Cineplex and check it out.

What a piece of garbage! I nearly walked out of the film about half way through when I realized that it wasn’t going to get any better! I was infuriated at myself for wasting my good money on this formulaic Hollywood pabulum. I was even madder at Oprah for conning me into going to see it. How could she think so little of the intelligence of her audience to think that we would enjoy this? And, this wasn’t the last time she has showered praise on a mediocre Hollywood product. Just last year, I fell for it again when she had most of the cast of “Ocean’s 12” on for an interview. Now, granted I loved the original, “Ocean’s 11” and have seen it about 10 times. But when I went (on opening day) to see the sequel, I nearly fell asleep. All of the camaraderie the cast expressed on Oprah’s show must have been left off-screen. I had been duped again.

The latest trend that I notice (when happening on the show while channel-surfing) is how much Oprah has fallen into the trap of women and gendered identity. She has always had “makeover” shows, where a frumpy audience member is transformed into a high-fashion hottie. But now she is making me uncomfortable. Just recently, two British women from the TV show “What Not to Wear” were guests. Women from the audience were asking their ‘expert’ opinions on fashion. They went too far for me when they started discussing shoes. All the women who inquired about what kind of footwear to buy were asked to hike up their pant legs and expose their ankles. If the woman had a thin ankle, then she was advised to wear delicate shoes. If she had larger ankles, then “chunky soled” shoes were recommended. My first thought was “What about comfort? What about protecting your knees and spine?” Oprah lifted up her pant leg to reveal three inch stilettos on her feet. I hope she didn’t have to walk far or run, for that matter, in those masochistic devices. How can the most powerful woman in the entertainment business be that independent and successful and still be forced to teeter around on unreasonable, pointy-toed shoes? Why, as women, are we accepting this trap? Why do so many women consider themselves shoe junkies? We’ll never be able to keep up with men if we can’t walk as fast as them. Maybe that’s the point.

I see Oprah Winfrey subscribing to the gendered trap of reducing ourselves to a series of body parts, regardless of our whole being. I’ve seen her ‘dis’ her butt, thighs and stomach. I’ve watched her praise other women, like supermodel Tyra Banks, on their physically perfect faces and figures. This isn’t liberation. It is a sisterly bonding ritual that women have perfected, to keep ourselves in line for the patriarchy.

Oprah Winfrey could redeem her demonic presence to me by portraying more of the inner qualities of women as desirable, as opposed to just the outer package. I know she has her “Angel Network” that rewards the good deeds of schoolteachers, nurses, social workers and the like and perhaps this is meant to be a balance to the superficiality often portrayed on her program. But, the focus of her show always goes back to reinforcing the Beauty Myth (to quote Naomi Wolfe) and the gendered expectations that women have for themselves. Think of the powerful force she could be for most of us if she just became the “real girlfriend” she is professed to be. A real girlfriend, to me, would encourage my strengths, be concerned about my comfort and health and support my intellectual growth, not tell me what idiotic movies to see and what shoes look best, despite their comfort. When she becomes that kind of friend, maybe I’ll watch again. Until that time, Oprah Winfrey, you’re not for me!