When Will The Dingbats Stop Telling Women What We CAN'T Wear?

Fire-Eating Reader!

Dear E. Jean:

Is it uncool to wear short skirts at my age? I'm beginning to notice other women giving me these up-and-down looks and glancing at me rather nastily when I walk to work in my short skirts. If they knew how messed up my hormones are (I just entered perimenopause), they wouldn't be trying this crap!—Not Over the Hill

Not, My Nymph:

Oh, please. Fashion is art. If you don't occasionally shock a fellow woman on a walk to work, you're missing one of the joys of life.

I received that letter 20 or 30 years ago.

Now, of course, no woman would write a letter like that to Ask E. Jean. It’s 2023, for Gawd’s sakes! We’re all amazing! We’re all ❤️💪🔥👑⭐️🎖😍👍💄💋🧠👏🏼⚡️🥂🏋🏼‍♂️🏆‼️ We’re all 🥳🥰😻👊🏻🧜🏼‍♀️💃✨🤸🏽‍♀️🦊🔔‼️ We’re all awesome, fabulous, brilliant, powerful, gorgeous—————-no woman would dare….. uh . . . that is, I don’t know……..we’re all awesome, fabulous, brilliant, powerful, and gorgeous EXCEPT for Katie Phang, the MSNBC anchor of The Katie Phang Show. Look at this note sent to Katie:

Here’s a photo of Katie:

Here’s what Katie wears on a typical show:

The Katie Phang Show @katiephangshow

"A dangerous and dramatic escalation" : @KatiePhang shares the latest on the new reporting that China is considering sending military aid to Russia. #KatiePhangShow

Here’s another typical Katie Phang outfit:

The Katie Phang Show @katiephangshow

TUNE IN: @KatiePhang breaks down the latest as new health concerns could pose long-term risks to the residents of East Palestine, Ohio three weeks after a train derailed #KatiePhangShow

And here’s what Katie’s wearing when she interviews Mary on the broadcast which so bothers the viewer:

The Katie Phang Show @katiephangshow

"[Nikki Haley] needs to walk a very fine line, right. She can't be too anti-Donald and she has to sort of toe the GOP line. So, I think we're going to see a campaign that's sort of replete with Republicanisms" @MaryLTrump on Nikki Haley's candidacy for president #KatiePhangShow

Mary, of course, wears just about the same thing every time she’s on television, but Katie changes it up. Immediately following this broadcast, Katie texted our little friend group and sent us the comment which I printed above. (I’ve redacted the sender’s name which included a glamorous “PhD Psychologist” with it.)

Katie Phang: Geez. You can’t win these days. 🙄 I mean, it’s always a woman who wants to explain how I should dress and look. Wtf? And she really wanted to make sure that I knew I am no role model for her children. Geez. 

Marissa Rothkopf: I’m glad she’s not my psychologist. Sounds like she has some issues of her own. And should mind her own business. Also: Has she met anyone under the age of 30 today? Because they all dress sexy/beautiful FOR THEMSELVES. It’s like the thing they do. Get with it, PhD.

Katie Phang: The fact people take the time to send that is just nuts to me.

Marissa Rothkopf: Please only dress in a sensible blue serge suit. And orthopedic shoes. 

Katie Phang: I should maybe do a segment about how women are always the target of this kind of criticism. I doubt the PhD Psychologist emails the male anchors/hosts at the network about their choice of clothing. 

Mary Trump: Love this idea.

E. Jean: Why didn’t she dissect what Mary was wearing?

Katie Phang:  Because Mary looked hot. And she sounded smart and intelligent. I, on the other hand, did not because of…my dress 🙄

Jen Taub: My non-binary teen loves how Katie dresses.

Katie Phang: I am beyond flattered.

Joyce Vance: I’m guessing our PhD Psychologist is an incel who lives in Mom’s basement.

😂🤣😎

Jen Taub:Or she’s a mom with an incel living in her basement.

🤪😹😽

Katie Phang: In the interest of full disclosure, both my mom and my husband don’t like the dress for different reasons. But definitely not because it’s too “sexy.”

Five hours later, Marissa Rothkopf returns from the journalism class she teaches:

Marissa Rothkopf: In other news, I talked to my class about Dr. Crank, PhD’s letter and you would be heartened by their response. They believe that woman had her own issues she was foisting on you. And not only that, but felt she was a big hypocrite calling you out for looking sexy and not being able to see beyond that. 

Katie Phang: Brilliant class with an even more brilliant professor❤️

Marissa Rothkopf: And when I revealed your dress to the class, the entire class burst out laughing. They couldn’t believe she was complaining about that dress. One boy snarked: “She should watch some Brazilian TV news.” 

Peerless Reader!

Alas! Developing news stories prevented Katie from doing the special segment. So, as the total crap women have to put up with is going unabated, and as women are sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick of being shamed for what we wear, the other day when I was on the phone with Katie, I asked her if I could “run that dingbat’s comment about your dress, cuz Ask E. Jean readers just LOVE hearing about a serious, intelligent woman being ripped apart over what she’s wearing!”

“Go ahead,” said Katie.

“Good,” I said. “The Conflab is going to go ballistic.”

Beauteous and Fiery Reader, I should have published this sooner. Because look at this! Katie’s in the middle of doing her show a few days ago, and a “Jungian Psychotherapist” (I kid you not, we looked her up!) blasts the following note to Katie: