Katie Ledecky has become the most decorated swimmer in the history of Olympics. I looked at her photograph, and she looked great. Here is a woman who is both tomboyish and feminine. She shows that there needs to be no contradiction between the two.
Julia Mancuso won an Olympic gold in skiing while wearing a tiara. She caught a lot of flack for it from other tomboys, but she beat them at their own game. Here, again, was someone who was both tomboyish and feminine. Being feminine did not keep her from being strong.
The women who are against beauty think that they own strength and intelligence in women. They do not. Russian women are stronger and smarter than they are, and they are beautiful. So are Katie Ledecky and Julia Mancuso.
I was with a woman named Julia, who was both a magnificent artist and a champion swimmer. One did not interfere with the other. She had the use of both modalities. Many people were ugly to her; but she inspired me to write a poetry book for her, which does not happen to every woman. Here was someone who successfully achieved excellence in many aspects. And that is a virtue that deserves to be celebrated, whether in a woman or in a man.
Both beauty and achievement are forms of excellence. Excellence is not a patriarchal concept; it is a concept that cuts across cultures and influences both women and men. Both athletic and professional achievement and beauty – both of body and of soul – are aspects of excellence. And people who successfully pursue it – both men and women – have my respect.
Now there can be many ways in which one can achieve excellence. Some are more natural to men, and others are more natural to women. The real problem has been that the areas of women’s superiority to men have been devalued, leading many women to suppress their areas of superiority and try to be like men. I seek to correct that state of affairs. I do it by celebrating the feminine. Women can do what no man can do and bear children; they are also, for the most part, naturally kinder and prettier than men. I want to see these virtues celebrated and rewarded. That way, more women will find it viable to be feminine, and the world will be a kinder and more beautiful place.
There are two major social phenomena that have been making misandrists not as credible now as they have been formerly. One is the attack by Muslims. Misandrists for a long time claimed the Western civilization to be the root of oppression of women; and here are men who are not the Western civilization who are much bigger pigs to women than anyone in the West. The other is influx of women from Eastern Europe. Here are women who are at least as smart and strong as the misandrists, who are also beautiful and family-oriented. These put a lie to the claim of misandrists that they own strength and intelligence in women.
Katie Ledecky and Julia Mancuso have achieved excellence in both achievement and appearance. They should be respected for that. As for other women: Being feminine and being strong do not have to be things contradictory to one another. Here are women who are both. And they set a shining example for other women of how they can excel as well.