My last post was a little “feminista” and this one will be, as well. I haven’t planned this; it’s just that the newspapers keep handing me interesting stories about women and I feel compelled to share.

My latest source of lady entertainment involves a bit of a media “dust-up” between two Norwegians, artist Marianne Aulie and journalist Hella Vaagland. It all started when American actress Demi Moore posted that bikini photo of herself on Twitter a couple of weeks ago:



Demi is lookin’ good, no question, and I guess she spurred other “mature” women with hot bods to Twitter bikini pics of themselves. First was American actress Lisa Rinna, who embarrassingly sited Demi Moore as her “hero.” Seriously? Of all the women in the world one could think of to admire, she chose Demi? But I digress. Here in Norway, it was artist Aulie who posted this snap of herself online:



All of this “look-at-me-I’m-over-40-but-still-so-freaking-fabulous-in-my-bikini” Twittering must have been more than Vaagland could bear, as she apparently ran to the toilets at the NRK studio, tore off her clothes, and let this photo rip to the whole world:


I LOVE IT!! Good on ya, darlin’! For anyone too thick to understand the message she was trying to send, Vaagland went out of her way to explain that she was merely exposing (!) a bit of truth about what some women’s bodies look like, especially after they have had children but not cosmetic surgery. She said she worries about the constant beam of perfect bodies (a la Demi) people see in the media and the negative effect that can have on girls and women who feel compelled to compare themselves to what is often an unnaturally enhanced, airbrushed ideal. Bless you, Helle, for your efforts and, most of all, your amazing nerve.

The dust-up I referred to earlier occurred when reporters contacted Aulie for her comments about Vaagland’s obvious rebuttal to her skin shot. Clearly, Aulie wasn’t pleased, and was willing to meet Vaagland for a bit of a “face-to-face” to discuss the matter. The meeting---posted here, in Norwegian---was more unpleasant that I assumed it would be, but also very interesting.

I give Aulie points for sticking up for herself and saying that, whatever anyone’s “ideal” of physical perfection might be, she is perfectly entitled to think of herself as beautiful and not worry that she’s offending anyone by showing off her body when posing nearly naked or, quite often, naked. The most important thing, she said, is to love yourself. And to eat right. (Yes, she really said that.) Vaagland countered with her opinion that most women’s bodies do not look like Aulie’s or Demi’s and the media could support that fact more often and she was only trying to show another side of the debate.

Something I really, really like about Norway is how this story appeared on the front page of the newspaper one day and then was gone the next day. I like that because even though I think this is an important discussion, it’s so refreshing to me that an NRK employee---someone who works for the state---can take a picture of herself standing half-naked in a toilet at work, post it on the internet, have it appear on the front pages of several different newspapers, and then disappear back into her normal work life. Back home, I’m fairly certain she would be fired for such a stunt. Here, she’s reporting that she’s received mostly very supportive feedback and has just landed a new job as boss at the National Gallery. Lookin’ good, Vaagland!

I think she might be my new hero.