Not-so-quick ramble: "uncultured bitches"

"Uncultured bitches!" was how Jay described the friends with whom he watched the opening ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics. I didn't see the ceremonies, so I can't speak specifically to those, but that description has emerged as a refrain for me as I've come across Russia coverage over the last few weeks especially.  I recently called out a Washington Post writer's coverage of Russian food  (along the lines of, ew, none of these foods look like breakfast), but I'll do it again here: look, sparky, there's no such thing as a universal concept of breakfast. What you think of as breakfast may well be confounding to other countries (see Exhibit A). If you can't handle the concept of breakfast being different in other places, don't leave the country. I'm not saying you can't notice or describe what's different; I'm saying, try not to be a dipshit about it. See how Julia Ioffe wrote about Russian food.  

It's not just food; there's a right way and a wrong way to write about other countries--even about the things that are very different in other countries. The right way is to approach cultural diffences with open-mindedness, fascination, and curiosity; the wrong way is to approach them with condescension and bewilderment that anyone would do things differently.

And a very common theme for American condescension toward Russian culture is... beauty. Remember that recent Times article about Gorky Park?

Asked why they were taking pictures, the two young women hesitated as if the question were so dumb it might be a trick.

“We are pretty,” Ms. Ignatova said.

Isn't that... refreshing? Considering the hang-ups that plague American women around admitting the same? It came up again week or so ago, on the topic of the lingerie modeling: Russian women just don't see what all the fuss is about. I've written about beauty (as a sociocultural phenomenon) a lot, and there are multiple links embedded in the above links.

I guess I wouldn't take issue with Americans' horror at the exploitation of those poor, lingeried athletes if our own relationship with beauty (and nudity) weren't so f*ed up. But as it were, I do see the Russian version as an improvement: there, women are allowed to own their beauty. It's not something they have to be ashamed of until it's officially bestowed upon them externally. It's like, "I look good, so either join me in revelling in my beauty or eat it, bitch," rather than, "oh, really? you think I may not be hideous? you're so kind to say that." And then, there's the pervasive "idea" that women can't be attractive and smart and competent (and the associated idea that a woman who dares to be attractive is looking for attention). In one of those inner-linked posts, I talked about the backlash against Kate Upton, who somehow thought she'd get to maintain her humanity even as she worked as a model.

There are lots of things about Russian culture I don't care to defend--and I'm not even talking about foreign and domestic policy, which is a distinct thing; even just culture. But I will defend the culture, as a whole, against uncultured bitches.