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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
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Ronda Rousey’s Exhortation to Women Deserves Support

Many athletes and sports champions are pretty keen on endorsing products in the media today — LeBron James with Sprite, Tiger Woods with Rolex, etc. The most exceptional endorsement I have ever witnessed, however, is Ronda Rousey’s promotion for women to make their own decisions and stop waiting for “Mr. Right.”

A few months ago, Rousey, a UFC fighter, put out a video explaining her disdain for a specific breed of human she rightly dubs “Do-Nothing Bitches.” As you can see from the video, Rousey describes these people as women who try to look pretty and wait for someone else to pay for their lifestyles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6EgVD9-ypc

Since then, the #DoNothingBitches hashtag and campaign have become a major topic of discussion for several online mediums, including Instagram and YouTuber Nicole Arbour’s comedy account. Some would be appalled at the bluntness of Rousey’s statement — she does not sugarcoat her opinion of these women, as well as pretty much stereotyping anyone who relies on another person for their income. Normally, I would be appalled at her use of the term “bitch.” In this case, however, I think it is probably a fitting word for the situation. While other connotations of the word “bitch,” mainly sexist and related to a woman’s attitude, do exist, I tend to focus on the reliability aspect. Rousey is almost justified in using the word “bitch” because by playing into the idea of it, one is merely refusing to eradicate it.

By calling out females who pose on social media, using their bodies for attention with only likes and reposts to show for it, rather than monetary compensation by, say, an accredited modeling agency, Rousey brings light to a huge issue in today’s society — social media runs most of our lives. By letting that get in the way of our careers, we are only taking ourselves back in time, losing respect collectively from those around us. Why cheapen your self-worth by succumbing to the societal expectation that women are only sexy if they completely expose their bodies? How much brain power does one person have to use to take a selfie in a tiny outfit, post it to Instagram and wait for the likes to roll in?

I do believe that this issue stems from both sexes. While there are girls on the Internet posing for popularity, there are plenty of males doing the exact same thing. However, which sex is still lagging in the general level of respect from society? In my research for this article, I came across an interesting contrast — as I Googled Rousey and found her articles and videos, multiple thumbnails came up from her interview with Conan O’Brien. The titles of these thumbnails ranged from “Ronda Rousey’s Ideal Man,” to “Ronda Rousey: Sex Before Matches,” to “Ronda Rousey’s Biggest Fear.” When I looked up videos for other UFC Champions, such as Brock Lesnar and Anthony Johnson, all I could find were videos of their fights or behind-the-scenes vlogs. What does it tell you about society’s values when this highly empowered female fighter is questioned mainly about her sex habits and fears? What image does that send to the young girls of our generation?

So before deciding that Rousey is coming off as too masculine, too harsh or too blunt, take a second to look at the reality of the situation, and ask yourself, male or female, what category you fall into: Are you going to make a name for yourself, work hard and become successful based on your work ethic, or are you going to be a Do-Nothing Bitch, and wait for the world to hand you what others out there are fighting towards every day?

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