{"id":2338,"date":"2015-07-06T06:13:58","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=2338"},"modified":"2015-07-06T06:25:08","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T12:25:08","slug":"from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations to the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team — and yet (plus: “from the library”)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This started out as a \u201cfrom the library\u201d style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?<\/em>, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there were important connections to the Women\u2019s World Cup tournament as it finished yesterday, so please bear with me to the second half of the post.<\/p>\n

*******************<\/p>\n

The book is subtitled:\u00a0 How the Famous Sell Us Elixirs of Health, Beauty, and Happiness, but it\u2019s really divided into two parts:\u00a0 the first discusses the quack diets, facial treatments, cleanses, etc., that celebrities endorse, with no scientific basis; the second discusses the ever-increasing degree to which Americans aspire to be famous.<\/p>\n

The content isn\u2019t anything earth-shattering, and the writing style is \u201cmeh\u201d.\u00a0 With respect to the first half \u2014 well, we all know that Hollywood stars promote remedies of various kinds that are no more effective than the patent medicines of the past.\u00a0 Caulfield, as \u201cresearch\u201d, undertakes the Paltrow-endorsed \u201ccleanse\u201d and finds that the weight lost by the severe calorie restriction over a couple weeks is quickly regained; in addition, of course, he speaks to experts who say that claims that toxins build up in our bodies fail to understand that the function of our kidneys is exactly this, to cleanse us of toxins.\u00a0 He goes to a high-end skin-care clinic, purchases and undertakes their regimen, then goes elsewhere as a test, to learn that the second expert evaluates his skin as just as bad.\u00a0 He cites statistics on cosmetic surgery, the fact that actresses are treated as \u201cwashed-up\u201d at ages which are objectively still rather young, because aging male actors are readily paired with much younger female leads.\u00a0 But you knew all this.\u00a0 (Though perhaps not the bit about plastic surgery in one\u2019s nether regions, of a sort that\u2019s not that different, in a sense, than FGM.)<\/p>\n

The second half:\u00a0 well, again, there isn\u2019t that much that\u2019s new, except that I hadn\u2019t given it much thought before.\u00a0 The key idea is this (going from memory and a bit of a further skim):\u00a0 Americans, especially children and young adults, increasingly aspire specifically to be famous, and to seriously overestimate their chances of success.\u00a0 With respect to music, acting, sports \u2014 hopefuls buy into the notion of \u201cfollowing your dream\u201d and fail to comprehend, statistically, how utterly improbable it is that any one individual\u2019ll succeed.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice I used the word \u201cimprobable\u201d rather than \u201cimpossible\u201d \u2014 because there are actual famous people out there, just as there are lottery winners, and the very fact that some have achieved this goal has given the masses reason to believe it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

Caulfield also cites the \u201c10,000 hours\u201d notion from Malcolm Gladwell\u2019s Outliers<\/em>,\u00a0 only to say that practice\/skill\/talent is a necessary ingredient (except for [fill in the blank talentless celebrity], but luck plays a much, much larger role, and no one can will luck to happen.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just musicians who get a lucky break, or actors (and he cites interviews with well-connected people who say that these top celebrities are well aware of this); he cites sports stars whose lucky break was replacing a would-be star who was injured.\u00a0 Of course, politicians experience a great deal of luck in their quest to rise to the top (Obama\u2019s rise is an endless recitation of \u201clucky breaks) as well.<\/p>\n

Ironically, those individuals who have achieved fame and celebrity aren\u2019t, by and large, better off for it \u2014 though we may be jealous of their riches, and think we\u2019d enjoy life so much more if we could travel to Tuscany at the drop of a hat, they are actually not any happier, as a whole, than the rest of us.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, here\u2019s Caulfield\u2019s bottom line (though it\u2019s speculative and mostly in the form of a \u201cwhy does this matter?\u201d conclusion:<\/p>\n

It seems that we are caught in a big, self-perpetuating, celebrity-fueled cycle that goes something like this:\u00a0 Declining social mobility and diminishing life options lead to increasing dreams of celebrity fame and fortune.\u00a0 This, in turn, enhances the power and allure of celebrity, which causes a focus (perhaps with an ever-increasing narcissistic resolve) on extrinsic aspirations that lead to less happiness and distract us (and society more generally) from actions that may enhance social mobility, such as education and advocacy for social change (p. 214).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*******************<\/p>\n

I\u2019d had this book sitting on my desk for a while, waiting to go back to the library, but was finally prodded to blog about it by a Chicago Tribune article from Sunday morning\u2019s paper: \u00a0\u201cU.S. girls, women\u2019s soccer thriving \u2014 but pro team owner says media lagging<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s the online headline. \u00a0In the paper, it reads, \u201cAs women\u2019s soccer thrives, pro game has goals to go; The sport has never been more popular in U.S. high schools and colleges, but lack of media love limits progress of the professional ranks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the article has the same lament you\u2019ve surely read before:\u00a0 the media is failing to devote the correct amount of attention to women\u2019s soccer at the collegiate or professional level, which is hindering their goal of growing women\u2019s soccer as a professional sport.\u00a0 Audiences are small, TV coverage is scant.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m not much of one for spectator sports, but I\u2019m told, and believe, that women\u2019s soccer, even at the highest levels, is just not as interesting to watch, in terms of its entertainment value, based on the skill and strength\u00a0of the players, as a men\u2019s team multiple notches below.\u00a0 Now, of course, people watch plenty of spectator sports that aren\u2019t very \u201centertaining\u201d \u2014 when you have a loyalty to one team or another, such as a high school or college team, or you kid\u2019s pee wee soccer team \u2014 but to insist that Americans\u00a0 have a \u201cduty\u201d to watch women\u2019s sports with as much interest as men\u2019s seems to be missing an understanding of why people watch sports in the first place.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, the individuals cited in the article seem to think of the media as driving spectator interest, rather than recognizing that broadcasters do need to attain viewers in order to find paying-customer advertisers.\u00a0 (Unless their approach is that cable companies should broadcast women\u2019s sports, and customers be required to pay for it, as a sort of \u201cpublic interest\u201d programming?)<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the disturbing connection between the book and the article:\u00a0 according to women\u2019s soccer promoters, girls need to see professional women\u2019s soccer players, and need to have the dream of one day playing soccer professionally, in order to be motivated to play soccer themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important for girls to have professional sports to be inspired to play for,\u201d said defender Taryn Hemmings, who also plays in Denmark and Australia. \u201cThe more we can get women\u2019s soccer out there, the better. It helps young girls have dreams, be inspired.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plus:<\/p>\n

Both coaches [two high school coaches interviewed for the article] said the World Cup contributes to kids\u2019 interest in the sport, but the lack of a high-paying professional system causes some talented players and their parents to put a limit on their ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt becomes more of an issue when they\u2019re deciding whether to play college or not, because some players recognize you can\u2019t make a career of soccer, so they focus on a degree rather than playing,\u201d Owens said. \u201cI\u2019ve definitely heard parents say that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, the women on the U.S. national team have worked hard and are deservedly proud of their accomplishment, and their success highlights the popularity of travel soccer as a sport for athletically-oriented young girls, and high school and college soccer play for older girls and young women. \u00a0If women\u2019s soccer becomes a popular spectator sport, that\u2019s great, too \u2014 though I\u2019m doubtful this would happen except via pressure on corporate sponsors or broadcasters.<\/p>\n

But to imagine that\u00a0we need to create a high-paying professional system out of thin air in order to get girls to aspire to a sports career just as short-sightedly as boys do?\u00a0 No, thank you.<\/p>\n

Look, none of my kids participate in team sports, for multiple reasons, though we try to encourage them to be physically active in different ways.\u00a0 Other kids love sports \u2014 hockey, baseball, soccer, whatever \u2014 and that\u2019s great.\u00a0 But if you need to create the carrot of dreams of a professional career in order to want to play, then the parents, coaches, and organizers are doing it wrong. \u00a0(Of course, that carrot already exists, given the number of parents who push their kids in the hopes of college scholarships, especially with Title IX parity requirements.) \u00a0Here\u2019s an idea: why not create an environment in which kids enjoy sports, rather than this ratcheting-up of expectations and practice-time demands?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This started out as a \u201cfrom the library\u201d style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there were important connections to the Women\u2019s World Cup tournament as it finished yesterday, so please bear with me to the second half of the post. ******************* The book is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":1386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCongratulations to the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team -- and yet (plus: "from the library")<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This started out as a "from the library" style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congratulations to the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team -- and yet (plus: "from the library")\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This started out as a "from the library" style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jane the Actuary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-06T12:13:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-07-06T12:25:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2015\/02\/library.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jane the Actuary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jane the Actuary\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html\",\"name\":\"Congratulations to the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team -- and yet (plus: \\\"from the library\\\")\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-06T12:13:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-07-06T12:25:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a\"},\"description\":\"This started out as a \\\"from the library\\\" style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Congratulations to the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team — and yet (plus: “from the library”)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/\",\"name\":\"Jane the Actuary\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a\",\"name\":\"Jane the Actuary\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jane the Actuary\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/author\/actuaryjane\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Congratulations to the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team -- and yet (plus: \"from the library\")","description":"This started out as a \"from the library\" style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Congratulations to the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team -- and yet (plus: \"from the library\")","og_description":"This started out as a \"from the library\" style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html","og_site_name":"Jane the Actuary","article_published_time":"2015-07-06T12:13:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-07-06T12:25:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2015\/02\/library.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jane the Actuary","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jane the Actuary","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html","name":"Congratulations to the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team -- and yet (plus: \"from the library\")","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-07-06T12:13:58+00:00","dateModified":"2015-07-06T12:25:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a"},"description":"This started out as a \"from the library\" style post, on the book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, by Timothy Caulfield, but I realized there","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2015\/07\/from-the-library-and-the-trib-is-gwyneth-paltrow-wrong-about-everything-by-timothy-caulfield.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Congratulations to the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team — and yet (plus: “from the library”)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/","name":"Jane the Actuary","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/ed9b99e0bd58c5eeeebae6b82fa5a77a","name":"Jane the Actuary","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d6a493d380e87d49599d5487691c9fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jane the Actuary"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/author\/actuaryjane"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}