The Value of an Independent Mind

French Vogue is often a breath of fresh air. Unlike America, where political correctness reigns supreme, France remains a hotbed of irreverent behavior. Francophiles probably wish for the ‘good ‘ol days’ and consider today’s France tepid and totally bourgeois.

Yet French Vogue walks where angels dare not tread, into irreverant swipes at organized religion and in this month’s issue, a half-curtsey to the Middle East.

Unlike me, who is prone to digital temper tantrums, French Vogue speaks through photos.

Lara Stone’s Sexy Body Debate Gets Religious

Always cool and above the crowds, French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld has her ‘say’ through the camera lens, styling not only the clothes but mood, gestures, the lasting impressions of her editorial vision.

Roitfeld is a social provocateur in a country that regularly mixes fashion and politics. Yes, clothes or jewels or skin bronzers are the focus of the printed pages. We explore how they are styled; what is ‘the look’. But there’s usually a larger, bolder statement beneath the surface. The pages ask us to move beyond the obvious, exploring the settings, the gestures, the facial expressions that also help define the editorial vision.

In America, digging beneath the gloss is rarely fruitful. In fact we frown on intellectualism as a sign of snobbery and false pretenses. Only slackers think about the meaning of events, while doers get in line — a very straight line, I might add.

Don’t be fooled by tea parties. That party line is very straight, even if the traffic lights appear chaotic this minute.

For all our talk of freedom, we Americans like marching orders. Not since the late 60s, have significant numbers of Communist-inspired Bolsheviks stepped in disarray, grassed-out with irreverance for the current order. Oh yes, I know about Internet anarchy, but when Twitter and Facebook, are must-dos for all, aren’t we just walking another line?

Tavi in ParisWriting these words, a vision of Tavi at the recent Dior show drifted through my mind. It’s safe to say that blogger sensation Tavi marches to her own drum, even if at age 13-14 she’s squired around the fashion world by adults.

Wearing her headresses are a marvelous sign of a young woman who hopefully won’t suffer from problems of body imaging of commiting suicide over dreadfully horrible text messages from upscale girl gangs.

Nope, one more look at Tavi in Paris, and I’d say she’s good to go. Adults are writing about what she’ll be when Tavi grows up and if she a one-shot wonder. I find that fact amusing and believe that Roitfeld understands my rather scornful amusement.

Whatever Tavi does with her life, she will hopefully retain the upper hand, in that classic French woman’s sense of individuality and personal expression that American girls only dream about.

Back to Roitfeld and her Feb 2010 pret a porter vision. I’m skipping the stye, with fashionistas hipper than I am better able to interpret the trends

I’m caught up in France burqa debate and Lubna Hussein’s trouser showdown in Sudan. If you told me a year ago that I’d be deeply involved in international women’s rights today, I’d say ‘how?” Writing? No way.

A simple article on French fashion and burqas set my life on an entirely new path in bad economic times.

Unlike Tavi, I spent too many years not marching to my own desires and instincts, although both Victoria’s Secret and consulting clients would roll their eyes over that statement. Perhaps this is why I see Tavi’s magic. Midwesterners rarely become as jaded as Easterners, no matter how many years we live in Manhattan.

Let me pitch French Vogue Feb 2010 fashion favs from a different perspective today. These pics from Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin literally remind me of popular articles about the Middle East, and the push pull between Western and Middle Eastern social mores. You can view the rest at Voyons Voir.

Neither French Vogue nor I wants to suggest that the real cultures of West and Middle East aren’t hybrids. Plenty of American women find me scandalous beyond repair, and feminists in the Middle East say ‘don’t stop, we’re translating your writing.’

As for you, dear readers, please take a lead from Tavi: grab a collage book, phone camera or keyboard and start expressing yourself.

Follow your own convictions, no matter how crazy. With so little money in the pipeline, it’s a great time to choose creativity. What do you have to lose? Self-identity is the big gain, so try being more like a French woman. Promise me … especially if you’re over 35 and set in your ways.

You have high-caliber Woman Rebel potential. Anne

Anne’s Journals

June 28, 2009

While the World Debates Burqas, Fashion Designers Show Beautiful Abayas at Paris’s George V Hotel

Anne’s Journals

Sept. 5, 2009

Beyond the Veil: The Intersection of Sensuality, Culturally Appropriate & Women’s Rights

Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin for French Vogue Feb 2010Anne’s Journals

July 29, 2009

A Somewhat Decadent but Fundamentally Good Group of Lubna Ahmed Hussein Lovers Hear Her Calm, Steady Voice: “I Want to Change This Law’

Inez van Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin for French Vogue Feb 2010Anne’s Journals

Aug. 24, 2009

Controlling Women’s Bodies Is a Fight to the Finish

Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin for French Vogue Feb 2010Anne’s Journal

August 12, 2009

Saying ‘No’ To the Growing Erosion of Women’s Rights in the Name of Any Man’s Religion

If you’re a regular reader, you know this video — my inspiration for believing.

Ironically, as of this week, NASA is no longer part of the American budget. Let’s hope that Richard Branson can deliver, because I believe in this video and the civilization of humankind.

Simply stated, we must save it and each other and not allow the naysayers who discourage thinking blow it up. Intelligence is good, when properly used and especially when based on fundamental feminine principles, which are also being corrupted in the name of violence and orthodoxy.