Michelle Obama's Shoes

A few weeks ago, I blogged an update on the plans for Barack and Michelle's UK visit (which starts tomorrow!), and a commenter took the time to provide some political analysis in the comments, writing:

This time I hope the Obamas do not embarass Americans again with a tackey gift and inappropriate social manners. Michelle will, no doubt, wear outfits that are hidious, inappropriate for a royal visitation. No doubt, her shoes will be a color that absolutely do not match or fight the shade of her outfit. There is no hope for this woman! 

Now, I've defended the President and First Lady on a number of occasions - but I have to admit to  defeat here. If I'm truthful, I would probably have to confess that my own shoes frequently fight with the shade of my outfit. It's a shame I have had to live with. As for Michelle's, in fairness I think I should fully disclose the horror and embarrassment that the First Lady's shoes have wrought upon this nation.

Shining a silverly light upon this scandal. Shoegate. 

 What I didn't realise was that there I have been unwittingly overlooking a major undercurrent of the American debate. It turns out that there is a raging national dialogue taking place on the important topic of how very ugly some commentators believe Michelle to be.

You see, startled by the intensity of my commenter's shoe-related disgust, I tried to remember what terrible shoe faux pas Michelle might have made, so did a quick Google search looking for some pictures.

You know that feeling when you turn inoccently overturn a rock and find scurrying, repellent creatures beneath? Well, that's what it's like when you click through on some of these sites - to which I will not link. Because... ew.

But I did find one commentator, referring to Michelle, saying: "She is the ugliest woman in the world bar none!"


Really? 

The ugliest women in the world, bar none? Someone, somewhere actually thinks that?

I don't know. Personally, I take the view that the physical appearance of people in general and women in particular is made too important - outside of fashion modelling there's no profession where being beautiful should be a mandatory  part of the job. I think Michelle herself would be the first to agree that loving your family, caring for your community, working hard at your job are all more important than just looking amazing in a pair of Jimmy Choos.

On display in the Smithsonian: Our national shame?

But on the plus side, my brief ugly foray into the hate-filled world of Michelle-Is-Ugly-ism (a theory that I find about as implausible as the theory that Barack was secretly born in Kenya) did give me the opportunity to read what I now regard as possible the Stupidest Thing Ever Written On the Internet. And this is not an accolade that I bestow lightly.

Objecting to Michelle's observation that Barack understand the issues that women face in their lives, this blogger writes:

What kind of women is Michelle talking about? Her black sisters? Certainly what she says does not apply to Scandinavian-American women. We have no “issues to face”, we live our lives and try not to create any issues for our community.

OK then! "Scandinavian-American" woman have NO issues to face. They earn equal pay for work, don't have any difficulty in balancing work and child-rearing, never need to fear rape and sexual violence, and always have easy access to quality and affordable health care. Oh, to be a Scandinavian-American woman, but I guess as an Anglo Saxon woman, I'll just have to struggle on.

Michelle beside Carla Bruni. Are we surrendering to France?

On the bright side, not everyone thinks that Michelle is a physically repellent fashion disaster. Googling the phrase "Michelle Obama style icon" returns over 2 million hits - most of them pages gushing about the First Lady's elegant but relatable style.

Personally, I'm just glad she works so hard to encourage kids to eat healthy and live active lifestyles, that she tries to give something back to the families of wounded serviceman and woman, and that she tries to be a role model to young women. I'm not really going to make a judgement on the shoes.

Casually destroying our global reputation with her sneakers?