Michelle Obama

I've been meaning to blog about Michelle Obama for a while. Jezebel ran an interesting article today that was just the inspiration I needed.

The author mentions seeing Michelle stand next to Barack and Oprah and feeling that her presence as an "unplasticized, uncontoured, undeniably black wife" is revolutionary to women of color who--like herself--are bombarded by Caucasian ideals of beauty. She praises the way Michelle bucks the trend of successful black man having lighter skinned wives as trophies.


Damn right Michelle is no trophy. See that picture above? I love it. I don't know how great it must feel to have a woman that looks like you about to be half a groundbreaking presidential couple. But as a woman I respond strongly to her fierce confidence and wit and intellect and power. Here are some things that make me love her:

She is his equal. She sometimes gripes about the fact that Barack "leaves out the butter" and is "just a man." Oh, Barack's a man alright. My ovaries have noticed. But I understand she still expects him to make their family a priority and participate in the household. That she never plays the deferential wife makes them both awesome.

She is smart. She went to Harvard Law School and until recently, served as Vice President of Community and Medical Affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center. South Side activists praise her program for moving low-income patients from the emergency room into primary care elsewhere.

She is sassy. She may or may not have joked to Salon that Barack gets "morning wood."

She's a cool mom. She once took her daughters on a scary amusement park ride and now they don't trust her judgment. She's also been quoted saying her daughters jump into bed with her some morning and they talk about stuff like, you know, menstuation and what kind of dog the family should get.

She is funny. The Salon article says: "Talk turns to the quality of the Hardee's. This is a Mc-Donald's loyal group, but everyone is impressed. They like the curly fries; they like the table service; they like the Hawaiian chicken sandwich. Michelle surveys the table and hoists her eyebrows to dry perfection, appraising her charges-slash-baby sitters with unhidden amusement, and says 'In summary, I think we can safety say that we are all very pleased with our Hardee's experience.'"

She is hot. Look at the picture! She can rock a coral halter dress and still look badass. She seems to have sensuality and humor to spare and I bet she can crush asshole conservatives with one wry arch of that eyebrow.