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Boyle and the Invisible Women
Zuma Press / Newscom
Why Susan's joyous little jig spoke for millions of women we haven't heard from since Hillary Clinton's triumph in Ohio.
Will Susan Boyle’s epic moment last week on Britain’s Got Talent (not a BBC show) turn out to be a choreographed piece of TV manipulation? Probably. But that’ll just mean that something false gave rise to something true.
Captain Richard Phillips of the good ship Maersk Alabama—and Sully Sullenberger splashing down his crippled airliner in the Hudson River—broke through the poisonous smog of economic depression and Wall Street skullduggery with a reminder that pure individual heroism is a daily occurrence if we know where to look for it. Susan Boyle is another avatar of global yearning.
It's only a matter of months before Susan Boyle's eyebrows get a pluck job—and a new wave of reality television co-opts "authenticity" as the fake new thing.
The YouTube clip of Susan's angel voice soaring from the unkissed mouth of that scrunchy-faced, eyebrow-enforested, unprepossessingly dumpy representative of anonymous humanity was the third irresistible message to us all to get over ourselves. Until things get better, we will all go on being unusually receptive to such epiphanies from the news. They remind us what uncomplicated strength of character looks like.
The surge for Boyle reinforces the point again: We’re all getting sick of being bullied by bad values. Sick of disappearing everyone who’s plain or strange or not one of the cool crowd. This hero was no Captain Courageous. She just had to fight against being plain and a bit odd from mild early brain damage.
There is a passionate desire from Ms. Boyle’s new fans all over the blogosphere not to see her subjected to the seemingly inevitable show business makeover. Keep that frumpy little dress! Don’t let some mincing beautician-to-the-stars rip out those exploding eyebrows!
Among the many underdog groups Boyle scored with was that universally dismissed demographic—Invisible Women: the unbeautiful 47 year-olds who don't rate a second look and never get a chance to make their point in the meeting. There are so many aging women who feel dissed by popular culture and employers alike. Much of Hillary Clinton's strength in the 2008 campaign was built on this overlooked demographic. Unwanted by TV shows, advertisers, movies, and corporate recruiters, Invisible Women feel that their experience—often holding families together while doing the work that puts bigger egos in the corner office—goes not just unrewarded but unrecognized. Can’t they at least see me? goes the voice in their heads. Especially after all those wasted hours trying to look younger, slimmer, and better dressed just to get their rightful desserts.
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Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
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Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
In just mentioning Hillary's elite education, stellar career, and years in the WH, you forgot some of the reasons she appeals so much to women of a certain age.
She was derided by her own mother-in-law because she was not pretty enough, short-circuited her own career when she went to AK with Bill, was publicly humiliated by Bill's philandering, and subject to cruel jibes about her looks, dress, and mannerisms during her years in the WH and when she ran for President. Yet she kept on keeping on, worked hard, stayed with her husband, and raised a lovely child.
It's interesting that in the week that Grey Gardens aired about Edie Beale, a beautiful women with little talent and social standing who devoted her life to her mother, we have Susan Boyle, a plain but very talented woman from a working class background who also devoted her life to her mother. Yet in both cases, they kept their spirit alive, believed things would be better and they would be "discovered.".
( "If it was an illusion, at least it was our illusion." )
The voice was no illusion unless it's some cruel
Milli Vanilli - like lipsynching joke.
Looks like that "Bucket" woman from
British reruns "Keeping Up Appearances"
Boyle's an aberration, not your ordinary 47 year old woman.
Tina, I hate to say it, but you're not one of Us. (Invisible middle-aged women.) Thanks for the expression of solidarity nevertheless.
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It was fleeting indeed. There's already an item on CNN.com today how she was upstaged somewhere by a 12-year old boy wonder. All is well with the world again, a 'boy' took over the spotlight. Just the way it is supposed to be.
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feminist paranoia taken to new heights here.
Oh, it's definitely not 'feminist paranoia,' whatever that is. For a moment, I recognized the awe-inspiring, even transcendant beauty of Susan Boyle's voice. Then I felt profound sadness about the great talents never to be seen or heard because they fall outside the demographic established by the small and the narrow. We're being fed ersatz talent and are thankful. Perhaps that's the paranoia you reference.
i heard somewhere that they are just using the boy so that people don't give up on the show altogether, since they already know who the winner will be. boyle!
Right Tina!
And your Messiah, Barack Obama took cold hearted advantage of that attitude during the campaign.
And he continues the sexism with pushing his wife into being this model First Lady a title that in itself is mired in old sexist attitudes.
Michelle Obama is an accomplished attorney, probably capable of being a better President than her husband. Why the Jackie O crap? Let her be more like my hero, Hillary Clinton!!
You are estimating Michelle Obama if you think Pres Obama pushed his wife into being the model first lady...as you yourself say, she is very accomplished person so I doubt he had to do anything for her to be herself. Stop being such a bitter person...the election is over and the people have decided.
From an "invisible middle aged woman"
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opedanderson
Is there nothing you can't turn into an anti-Obama rant. GAFL
Good Grief.....this conservsation is about Susan Boyle and somehow you turn it around to President Obama! Get over the election, "your side" lost, move on.
As I watched the uTube clip, I new the great voice was coming. What moved me to tears was that I still get surprised by the hidden specialness of ordinary people. I should know better by now- I've been surprised by beauty so many times. Yet each time I re-learn it I am uplifted and my cynicism evaporates. And thanl God for that.
I don't think it is inauthentic of her that Susan Boyle may want to look her best, and seek some advice about how to do that from experts. Perhaps get some help with how to bring out some of her more attractive features - which do exsist; nice cheek bones, the sparkle in her eye. Maybe put the dames from the cable show "How Do I Look? in charge for some practical advise for a look that will reflect her personality!
Is it just me that feels that she is being treated as something of a simplton, even now? A social savant? Re: "uncomplicated charecter" as quoted from Tina's generous article. I'm more interested to see if her handlers bully her into not growing and changing with her success; she said she wanted to be like Elaine Page - I bet Elaine Page plucks her eyebrows.
As usual it is weird to see "the media" get in a cannibalistic frenzy to see what "the media" is going to do to someone that will surely upset the public. When what at it is really about is to see what they won't let her do. We would see how the paradigm has shifted if her legion of middle aged women and the public in general stick with her should she decide to pluck and cut. We root for the fictional "Ugly Betty" to get prettier and invite a kiss - why not the real life Ugly Betty?
An insightful piece, Tina. I, like just about everybody else had to wipe away a tear from my eye, when that angelic voice emerged from Miss Frumpy.
That it may all been part of an elaborately staged act, actually never occurred to me. But, reconsidering the dropped jaw on the pretty blonde face, and the smooth following remarks from the sarcastic guy who recently drove one unfortunate contestant to commit suicide, well it probably was all staged.
But, there is no denying the truth behind the beauty of her voice. True, her voice faltered in the low registers, but soared again when she was in her element. This faltering, too, was another reminder that we are all just human, and that each of us may have a special gift to share.
I was moved to tears. It had as much to do with remembering my sainted permanently bad-hair day'd mother, who came to NY and bought tickets and we saw Les Miz together. Mom was also a forgotten woman, who was devoted to the church, her prayer group and doing everything for her husband and children. The best joke is on all the media hungry boring, deeply untalented people who boast their 7000 YouTube views getting blown out of the water by 33, 000,000 YouTube views for this unpolished underdog. Susan, long may you reign.
love susan boyle! and as estee lauder said, "There are no ugly women - only women who don't care or who don't believe they're attractive" - and we are ALL attractive, none of us are invisible or should let anyone treat us as invisible women.
The woman can sing! Her courage to face what is an extremely trying series of auditions is a welcome bonus. If you have never gone through such a process, yoiu haven't a clue how intimidating and downright terrifying an audition process can be. And then, up on a stage on big-time television, with no less that Simon Crowell judging her efforts, she opened her mouth and sage like that!
What she looks like, excpet as how it reflects on how she feels about herself, is irrelevant. I wish more people understood that her shining enthusiasm and courage, and that beautiful voice are all that really matters.
Hang on just a minute there..you were at the helm of a major beautiful people drench fest magazine, so hope you are talking to your buddies in the industry to work on their obsession with pretty... Got awfully tired of mag rags with beautiful power players (Ponzers??) schmoozing and being blathered upon. with hand over heart I did enjoy this article, however, and your writing though most of us living in the real world already know this stuff Tina!
What if Susan Boyle didn't have that voice?
The world can now overlook Boyle's frumpiness and ordinariness because she has an exceptional talent.
But what about all the other ordinary women, the invisible women, who don't have an exceptional talent but are capable, competent, interesting, loving, caring individuals?
Suddenly Susan isn't invisible anymore, but I'm not sure the world's captivation with her overcomes the problem of 'ordinary'.
jefchez,
Tina may not have started out as one of us (invisible), but as she ages, she too is beginning to feel the effects of aging in her industry - especially for women. All women eventually become invisible - and some, like Tina, have further to fall. What a sad society we have created.
Actually Hillary Clinton represented millions of women, not always invisible--beautiful women, abused women, famous women, poor women, immigrant women, etc., because she was a woman who understood and empathized with them. Period. And 40% of Hillary Clinton supporters were men. It's silly to suggest Clinton's "base" was the frumpy, "Invisible Women". Clinton's base was a hodge podge of some of the most authentic, down-to-earth people in this country.
I agree. I think this article, while well-written, attempts to make too big of a leap in order to seem insightful. Susan Boyle doesn't have much to do with Hilary Clinton. In my opinion, she really isn't a representation of "the Invisible Woman" either. The invisible woman blends in more easily.
However, I do think that Tina was right on point with certain passages:
"Until things get better, we will all go on being unusually receptive to such epiphanies from the news. They remind us what uncomplicated strength of character looks like."
People are looking for hope and are drawn to the situation where such a surprising package can produce such beauty.
Beautiful article. I really think you nailed it!
My take on Susan Boyle is that she really IS authentic. Maybe, just maybe, media co-option won't take that away from her. I think what she wants to do is to sing. Being able to sing like that must be its own reward and now, having the venue and the recognition to be able to do just that, maybe get the training to go even further, is what will give her joy--not a makeover and her name in lights. (I loved it when the two little boys in her neighborhood wanted her autograph on post-it notes and she said, Look boys, you've known my name all your lives!)
Tina...just a note of appreciation for your word portrait of Susan's "angel voice soaring from the unkissed mouth of [a] scrunchy-faced, eyebrow-enforested, unprepossessingly dumpy representative of anonymous humanity". Mizz Brown, you never just phone it in...you work to make your columns a parfait for word lovers.
Tina, I rather think men give you the once-over and start discussing "cougars", but thanks for acknowledging that some of us have been "invisible" for our entire lives. that being the case, the only men that give us a second look are "invisible" men. That's okay though, because all of us are well-hidden gems!
Susan Boyle may have been upstaged by a
12 year old boy with his incredible performance,
and he's got the " it factor " charm, looks, smile.
Maybe they can do a duet.
Kid's performance is on youtube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXzppwvnt4g&feature=related
I watched it twice and I couldn't tell if it was NOT a lip sink. There are MANY cameras on that show, able to shoot from many different angles, but when that kid was singing the only camera that was selected was the one that was straight in front, allowing the microphone to obscure his mouth.
That program is heavily edited later and then broadcast, so the decision to go with only that camera was a post-show production decision.
I wonder why?...
I'm not familiar with this show, but from what I can gather so far, it is VERY manipulated.
Maybe Joymars said that right, but she is still a hypocrite, look at her nasty comments about me writing, because I chose not to stay invisible.
That is what makes a hero a hero. A person has a challenge, and they try to overcome it, so they can live their dreams. That is why Susan Boyle is elite and Joymars hides under a silly name.
I never would have associated Hillary with Susan. Wow, Tina must be pretty pissed about Hillary's loosing to be nursing it into this story!
The irony of this piece, and probably of Tina's own mind, is her use of the word "anonymous." A person is anonymous because she is NOT in the media?? Excuse me?? Isn't Tina arguing WITH pop culture here? Isn't she agreeing 200% with them?
I'm sorry, but I'm not in the news or in show business, but I am NOT anonymous.
Later in this blog Tina uses another word: "invisible." Now THERE'S a word! The old, the plain, the short, the pudgy -- are ALL invisible in this culture. It's a cultural tyranny that is not gender-specific, but does fall most heavily on OLDER women. A worthy topic in and of itself.
I have my doubts about how much of a surprise Susan was to those 3 actor/judges. And I do share Tina's assessment that there will be horrendous copycat productions of this one moment when it seemed that lightning was caught in a bottle.
Well articulated joymars, lightening caught indeed!
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This is the best description yet of Susan Boyle. It reads like poetry. Well done.
I so resent critics calling Susan Boyle "ugly." . She just looks like any ordinary 47-year-old nice lady who hasn't spent money on face lifts, hair styling, waxing, or fancy clothes. And as that, she looks pretty good with a rather nice figure, pretty curly hair, simple dress and a fair complexion. It's not a sin, you know.
I was in the room in Ohio on March 4th, 2008 when Hillary won a huge victory. It was an amazing event I will never forget. I worked on the campaign. Ohio LOVES Hillary! It was also a collective FU to the media who promoted Obama 24/7 while deriding Hillary. Obama outspent Hillary 4 to 1 in Ohio and yet he won only 4 out of 88 counties in Ohio. Hillary should be our President today. Obama is a major disappointment. Remember that over 16% of Hillary's supporters did not vote for Obama. The DNC, the media and fellow females betrayed Hillary. Missed opportunities indeed.
Hillary's supporters were not "old and frumpy". Hillary had and continues to have supporters from all categories, including the many Republican women and men and Independent women and men who voted for her and respect her. The Democratic base wanted Hillary to be the nominee. Hillary won ALL of the large, must win states in the primaries. ALL of them. Obama stacked up "caucus" wins by cheating the process. It was the DNC betrayal and very undemocratic process and media 24/7 Obama promotion and the left that got suckered by believing Obama's lies about "ending the war (he's actually escalating) and ending the Patriot Act and illegal wiretapping (he's actually expanding it) etc. that brought us Obama as President.
As for Susan Boyle, I wish her well. Her voice is that of an angel. May God bless her. Her devotion to her mother and her Catholic faith is very inspirational and to be commended.
Let it go, TK. Let it go.
Hillary lost. For lots of reasons. I've never seen so many sore losers in one election in my life!
So true. The media reaction to Obama was unlike anything I have seen in years of following politics. I will never forget (or ever watch him again) Chris Matthews' endless dissing of Hillary.
Tina,
You deserve credit for being one hell of an eclectic, enigmatic woman. From Suzy Welch to Susan Boyle, in the same week no less, you know how to strike archetypal nerves. I challenged you on Suzy Welch, not because I disrespect her. On the contrary, she is a very intelligent and powerful woman and is in a unique position to influence much needed change in corporate institutions as well as the institution of marriage. Susan Boyle, on the other hand, hails from the opposite end of the spectrum and will most likely fade from digital consciousness, with or without a makeover. Nevertheless, in this strange, surreal digital universe, you have succeeded at making humanity more visible.
Well done.
Thank you.
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