High School Cheerleadiing Coach Fired for Racey Photos

A high school cheerleading coach was recently fired after it was discovered that she had posed for Playboy. While some parents defended her, others did not.

A strong argument could be made for either side of the issue of whether or not the coach should have been fired. Instead, I would like to focus on the underlying question: why are so many women contributing their images to an industry that degrades women?

It continues to amaze me that so many young women are getting into this field of work. Obviously, the money must be good. But why don't the young women understand that many other women suffer because of their contribution to this industry? Why do we continue to agree that men need to have their magazines? Don't women understand those photos will haunt them forever, and cause men to treat them differently?

A case in point: if you watch the T.V. show Celebrity Apprentice, you know that Donald Trump often makes comments to the women on his show which, in the workplace, would be considered harrassment. This season, there is a former "bunny" on his show which he has blantantly flirted with, in front of his daughter Ivanka. That's just not pretty! Watching the face of the woman on the show, you can see how uncomfortable she is when this happens. She has been forced to give up an important part of herself to have the fame of being a "bunny." Is it worth it?

At minimum, the cheerleading coach probably should have thought about being a role-model to cheerleaders who could later be facing a decision about whether or not to pose for similar photos without realizing the consequences to themselves and other women.

Miss California on Gay Marriage: Just not that pretty?

After coming in second in the Miss USA pageant, supposedly for expressing her opinion on gay marriage, Miss California is now on a mission to "protect traditional marriage."


The subject of beauty pageants and their role in propagating a certain image of women is another topic for this blog at another time.


Miss California expressed an opinion and has the right to do so under the first amendment. This country was founded partly on freedom of religion. But was Miss California's opinion an expression of hate toward gay and lesbian people wrapped in pretty words?


In America, religion plays a significant role in the meaning of marriage to some couples. When couples want to marry in their church, under the rules of a particular faith, they have the right to do that. Many faiths have specific rules about what is required of couples who marry. For example, in the Catholic church, a couple must agree to raise their children as Catholics in order to receive the full endorsement of the church. If the couple divorces, they must also receive an annulment from the church if they wish to remarry in the Catholic church. Each religion and their followers have the right to make those rules - for themselves.


What they don't have the right to do is to create laws that apply to all people in America. And that is where the subject of marriage has gone awry. In fact, if all of the religions represented in this country had to agree on which dogma people had to follow in order to marry - they could never agree.


Marriage by law is a completely different subject. It is a legally binding contract between two individuals designed to outline the requirements of the couple when it comes to sharing property, and dividing that property if they split up. The contract can only be broken through a court proceeding. Any spiritual or other meaning of marriage between people is between those two people. Therefore, it does not matter if those two people are of the same sex or not.

Furthermore, there are no laws that dictate who can marry and who cannot, and the American people don't get to vote on couples "up for marraige." Something tells me there would be a lot less marriages if this was the case.


Miss USA is supposed to represent America without hate words. By defending "traditional marriage," Miss California is propegating hate against gay and lesbian people. That is not an opinion, and that is just not that pretty.

Perez Hilton also contributed words that were not pretty when he called Miss California the B word. If we are ever going to get past this "debate," it has to be done intelligently. He should have presented a better argument.


It is important for young women to realize from this event that ugly words coming out of a pretty face are still ugly words.

Introductory Post

Recent news events prompted me to start this blog to dialogue about issues facing women. Specifically, I want to highlight issues that impact the image, true beauty, self-image, and inner strength of women in our society. I want this blog to reflect how many things in our society are affecting the self-esteem of women, espeically young women, by talking about women who may or may not be role models for other women.

I encourage you to voice your opinions - even if they are counter to mine. I am not a "women's libber" - but I do have very strong and specific views in this area. If you disagree, I encourage you to say why. All I ask is that you say it respectfully and thoughtfully.