Dear Women of The View,
In a recent Hot Topics segment, following the Miss USA pageant, something happened on your show that needs to be addressed. Something that, as women, should not be tolerated in our society. All of you, including your guest host Michelle Collins, mocked the courageous talent that Miss Colorado presented to her panel of judges, a large audience, and almost 1 million television viewers.
I realize that Miss USA pageants, as a whole, have often been mocked for their anti-feminist categories – “who looks better in a bikini?” – and the famous answer of “encouraging world peace”, but don’t you think it is about time we start celebrating our gender rather than continuing to put US down? As the talent category began, Miss Colorado presented her talent – nursing – delivering a monologue based upon interactions she had with an Alzheimer patient, about how much of a positive impact she had on his life and the impact he had on hers.
Different? Yes. Inspirational? Absolutely.
The following day, your guest Michelle and longtime co-host Joy Behar engaged in a conversation of mockery surrounding her choice of talent. You said what she presented was NOT a talent. That as a nurse she didn’t deserve the same respect that, perhaps, a doctor should receive. In a world where women are shamed, often publicly, for their thoughts and actions it would seem only natural that four strong, independent women – such as yourselves – would applaud this woman for her talent. Applaud her for going against the grain of society’s expectations when it comes to female talent in beauty pageants. Shame on you for not recognizing this as a pivotal moment to encourage positivity towards women amongst your millions of viewers.
The dictionary defines talent as “a natural aptitude or skill”, something that one individual can typically do better than another individual. Myself, along with many other people around the world, know someone suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. To me – to us – the nurses, personal support workers, and doctors that take care of our loved ones are angels. They care for, protect, and nurture our loved ones when we are not able to be with them. Being a nurse is not a talent that everyone possesses, especially when you are caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. You are often met with unpleasant situations, emotional patients and family members, and death – every single day! These nurses, female or male, deserve to be applauded every day – not mocked.
As women we need to take the opportunity, when presented to us, to build up our fellow women. When we make negative or crude comments towards our own gender, we make it okay for others to do the same. We give them permission to mock us, make jokes about us, and bring us down.
I hope that you are able to see the error in your ways and in the comments you made during that Hot Topics segment. I hope that you begin using positive speech when discussing women in today’s society. I hope that you recognize your high position in popular culture and use it to create change, much like your fellow female television host Ellen DeGeneres.
Sincerely,
A Former Viewer of The View
