This week’s Heroes and Zeros features two actresses of different generations who represent two very views on issues related to women.
Hero – Meghan Markle
I don’t know about other people, but I am in love with Meghan Markle. Yes, she is an American poised to become a member of the Royal family, and yes, her racial background makes it all the more exciting for me, but Markle is more than just Prince Harry’s soon-to-be bride. She is this week’s hero for embodying the kind of spirit that global leadership needs right now.
Meghan has not just all of a sudden become the person she is, and I am sure her love for people and her humanitarian work around the world are reasons that Harry fell in love with her. But I am a firm believer in divine order and when you place yourself in a position to make a difference, at the right time your efforts and everything you stand for will get the praise it deserves. I am beyond inspired by her. She is the perfect example of what preparation, authenticity, and humility are all about because, at the given time, she was elevated and now holds an even greater platform to affect so many more lives.
Since public knowledge of her relationship with Harry, she has endured so much hate from racists whose ignorance leads their actions. She has navigated it so gracefully because she’s been dealing with it all of her life. Thank God because other mixed-race girls and women who embrace both sides of their genetic make-up need to understand that that’s okay.
Everyone has something to say about her upcoming nuptials, and the comments are all over the place. But for a woman like Markel to be in the position that she’s in, it speaks volumes about the person she has been this whole time. I for one, am ecstatic that a woman with her resume is going to be in a position to have such a great impact on women everywhere. She is an encourager and a fighter for women’s rights globally.
For being the embodiment of so much good, Meghan Markle is a hero.
Zero – Angela Lansbury
It always blows my mind how some women blame other women for the bad behaviors of men. In the current climate as it concerns sexual misconduct and the men who perpetrate such behaviors, the last thing women need is for those of the older generations to show just how out of touch they are with the world around them by saying, “Women must sometimes take blame” for the sexual harassment they experience. Veteran actress Angela Lansbury is this week’s zero because of that very statement she made regarding the outing of Hollywood sexual predators.
The entertainment industry is grappling with insurmountable allegations that make their way to the light daily. Lansbury, who is 92-years-old and has been around for decades, should know better. The Murder, She Wrote star insists that women share the responsibility for predators’ actions and she is dead ass wrong. She said,
“There are two sides to this coin… We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us — and this is where we are today…We must sometimes take blame, women… I really do think that. Although it’s awful to say we can’t make ourselves look as attractive as possible without being knocked down and raped.”
Lansbury’s thinking on the subject of sexual harassment is damaging, to say the least. And although she goes on to further say, “Should women be prepared for this? No, they shouldn’t have to be,” her words are misguided. Because when it comes down to it, a woman cannot control a predator’s lust to abuse whomever he can get his hands on. The notion is not, “women need to be more responsible,” it is men need to understand that their power and position does not give them the right to do whatever they want. A man rapes, abuses commits sexual harassment, etc. not based on looks (some don’t care about that at all). It’s a domination, power, entitlement thing and no woman can stop a man who encompasses those things.
I don’t know if it’s because she is older and comes from a different time that she feels this way about men and women’s roles when it comes to sexual assault, but Angela Lansbury is a zero no less for her lack of clear thinking on this pressing subject.
Editor’s Note: Angela Lansbury claims that her comments were taken out of context after being surprised at how quickly Twitter can backlash and added this to her original statement:
“There is no excuse whatsoever for men to harass women in an abusive sexual manner,” she said. “And, I am devastated that anyone should deem me capable of thinking otherwise. Those who have known the quality of my work and the many public statements I have made over the course of my life, must know, that I am a strong supporter of Women’s Rights.”
She added that she was taken aback by the speed at which people commented negatively on her words. “Lastly, I would like to add that I am troubled by how quickly and brutishly some have taken my comments out of context and attempted to blame my generation, my age, or my mindset, without having read the entirety of what I said.”