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That's an interesting question, Susannah: Why aren't women (and other) writers obsessing about Caroline Kennedy's makeup and hair, cleavage and (lack of) peep-toe pumps? I wonder if it doesn't have to do with the fact that her looks are at odds with the preferred narrative about Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, child of privilege and woman of leisure. I mean, she's a handsome woman, but she doesn't look like she spends her life getting facials and shopping, does she? If the visuals screamed Park Avenue Princess, you can bet we would be going on and on about them.
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What with all the time spent this year by women and journalists and everyone else obsessing over Sarah Palin's looks and lipsticks and wardrobe, it's hard to believe the absolute dearth of women journalists obsessing over Caroline Kennedy's physical appearance, makeup choices, and hairstyles. Why are her highlights not front-page news? I haven't a clue. Perhaps people are more interested in focusing on her politics. Just kidding! (See also: Tattoogate.) In either case, Fashionista points to Christopher Andersen's hammily titled biography of the Lady Kennedy, Sweet Caroline: Last Child of Camelot, which reveals Caroline's refusal to become Jackie O. 2.0.
According to the book, Jackie was irked a young Caroline wouldn't diet. When Caroline requested the dessert menu at the end of one meal, her mother purportedly informed her 5-foot-7, 145-pound daughter: "You're not having dessert," warning, "You'll be so fat nobody will marry you."
Caroline was not the only one suffering from the Kennedy women's obsessive body consciousness; the pressure to be was also felt by one of Caroline's favorite cousins, Maria Shriver. But only Caroline was routinely compared to her famously svelte mother, and as a result her self-esteem plummeted. In a fit of pique that bordered on the bizarre, she shaved off one eyebrow. "My face," she offered by way of explanation, "is too symmetrical."
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