(no subject)

[theweaselking]

Homeless woman hauling suitcases full of paperwork around Washington for years claims the government owes her $100,000 - and she's right.

(And, of course, it wouldn't be a story written by a man about a woman if it didn't remark, over and over, on how little she smiles.)

Comments

[ashbet]

Petula Dvorak is a woman.

But I agree, the focus on Ms. Witter'a expression and manner comes across as weird and victim-blamey -- like she could have gotten a job, or gotten help years ago, if she had been more traditionally feminine and helpless in her presentation.

And, yeah, it really is THAT HARD to deal with Social Security sometimes.

-- A <3

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

My bad. Still.

[ashbet]

It helps that I lived in the DC area for 17 years and therefore vaguely recognized her name.

I agree, though, that it *felt* like the kind of thing that men so often write about women -- and it seems like Ms. Dvorak is expressing some internalized misogyny in the article.

-- A <3

[rose-cat.livejournal.com]

I'm not inclined to blame her for not smiling, not after sixteen years of that crap. I might not feel like smiling yet either. Or relaxing.