AMERICA
The beautiful
Suit up ladies,
Because there is a battle for who reigns and rules. Because everything is not as it seems. Because relativity is a lie. Because the static of twerking pop stars and shrill Hollywood actors is a smoke screen for Agenda 21 and global evil. Because Islam, feminists, and diversity pushers are real. Because there is an expected end to this madness. Get in THE game. Be a purveyor of truth and light. Lori Flaherty@RoyalDiademMag rdpublish@gmail.com Rdmagazine.wordpress.com
it’s time to work.
HELLO, BEAUTIFUL I
ris Apfel, in case you didn’t know, is the high priestiss on aging well and the queen bee of personal style. If you’re younger than say, 35, you may not ever have heard of her, but she has amassed a huge following with both young and older women alike, and as the “new” face of Macy’s, I can’t get enough of her. Iris’ 599,000 Instagram followers agree, and a documentary of the same name about the 93-year-old flamboyant fashionista has been a Netflix hit. Iris and others like her personify a huge and growing movement among middle-aged women to embrace their age and push back against the established media on what it means to grow old, including the latest trend of kicking the bottle and going gray. Although women choose to give up the bottle for a variety of reasons, the demographic of educated and older women who don’t see themselves portrayed in any meaningful way in media are finding their own 4
voice through Iris and others. But it’s not just the older women who love Iris, young girls have an insatiable appetite for these older mavens of style. American women haven’t been exposed to older, powerful women with great style and gray hair. And that’s a shame. While their own mothers and grandmothers work tirelessly to hide every wrinkle and gray hair, young women are sitting at the feet of these honest and quick witted woman of substance. But going gray isn’t without controversy. The fashion and beauty industry trades in youth and, until now, anyone who earns a living in the public eye was expected to remain as youthful as possible for as long as possible. Step outside the box, and you’re fodder for ridicule. Take for instance, Demi Moore, who was denigrated by the for having committed the faux pas of appearing in public showing a few gray hairs. The reporter made a word play on Demi’s 1990 movie,
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Ghost, by saying she must have, “seen a ghost.” For the record, “Ghost” was made 26 years ago and Demi, although still a very attractive woman today, has grown up and is, after all, 53. Reporter Mike Larkin tells us, “The ageing actress seemed to have finally got more than a few silver flecks in her hair as she enjoyed a meal…” A passiveaggressive and clever way of calling Demi out over her age and her grays. As a proponent of doing whatever you want with your hair, I found the whole article insulting. If anything, I would have been more mortified to be caught in public wearing a rat statement tee than a few gray hairs. But it’s easy for nobody’s such as myself to throw stones at the rich and famous when, as in Demi’s case, the camera is your livelihood and perhaps appearing to be as hip as possible is a mandatory requisite.
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Personally, I hope that Demi embraces her gray hair and aging body. And I’d much rather see her dressing in a more personal style rather than predictably mimicking youthful trends. Despite Botox, rigorous gym workouts, and of course, hair dye, you can’t remain a cougar forever. And the question really is, why would you want to? To grow, mature, and change is what makes life so interesting. And frankly, I never though Ashton Kutcher to be very interesting. Another darling of the positive aging movement is the stunning Linda Rodin, pictured right with her dog, Winks. Not your typical granny, Rodin started a beauty company at the age of 59 when she was still a successful stylist. Rodin said she began graying at 35 and just let it go naturally. In an interview with , she said of her silver locks, “It came in very gradually but evenly. I was lucky. And I never associated it with being old.”
Rodin has her own cult following, including models Cindy Crawford and Karlie Kloss as well as fans like the Olsen Twins, who enrolled her in their Row campaign. With more than 163,000 Instagram followers and her own successful beauty products, Rodin is proof that aging is beautiful. Perhaps one of the saddest commentaries on American women in our culture is that we are not allowed to age. Not only does the lack of portrayal of older women in media hurt these women, it robs our culture, particularly young women, of any role models to aspire to. Smart, accomplished women recognize that we are each given a series of windows in life that we must walk through that is purely biological–youth, fertility, maternal, and communal. It’s time to celebrate women as they navigate each window of life rather than worshipping on the alter of youth.
“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
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pparently sex doesn't sell, at least according to a new study put out by by researchers at the University of Illinois, Ball State University, and University of California-Davis and published on . The research looked at 78 peerreviewed advertising studies from 1969 to 2017, which collectively involved more than 17,000 consumers. What it found is that, although viewers might find a sexual appeal more memorable, it didn't translate into remembering the advertiser or into sales. Most surprisingly to me, it found that sexual advertisements actually had a negative impact on consumers. One could only hope this catches on with the New York and Hollywood sets. I am so weary of seeing actresses and models with all of their parts hanging out. It doesn't take much talent to be naked, but it does take some work to be feminine and sensual while keeping it covered. The trend to embody soft porn is mostly seen in the new brat pack of Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid, Rihanna, and featured each morning in the alongside Emily Ratajkowoski, the clear leader of the pack with the most butt shots. Call me old fashioned, but bathing suits should actually cover your ass.
SEX Doesn’t Sell Say what you want about Gwyneth Paltrow and her insane Goop ideas, but I admire her ability to keep it covered and still look beautiful. Julia Roberts recently made People's Most Beautiful Woman for the fifth time. In her long and impressive career, Julia has always covered up, lending her the mystique a beautiful woman should enjoy. Julia could have been more risque but chose to capitalize on her megawatt smile instead. And as this beauty ages, it will serve her well. 8
t isn't news to those of us who have been watching the infiltration of Islam in public schools and universities that the likes of Areeje Zufari, the Florida professor who teaches Middle Eastern humanities at Rollins and Valencia colleges, has been free to spout her hatred of Christianity in a paid university position. Zufari's Christian-phobic behavior only came to light after she was recently outed by one of her students, Marshall Polston, who called her out over anti-Christian remarks she made in the classroom. Zufari retaliated by giving Polston, a grade A student, bad marks and went so far as accusing Polston of later harassing and stalking her. And just like the playbook calls for, Polston was subsequently suspended from the University because Zufari felt "unsafe." Days later, after the police investigated Zufari's claims and Polston lawyered up, all charges against Polston were
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her megawatt smile instead. And as this beauty ages, it will serve her well. Youth will always be beautiful and there is nothing inherently wrong with showing a little skin, but the way so many young women embrace being objectified is disturbing. Young nubile bodies grow old and the image these women are projecting are doomed to be short-lived. Discovering your sexual power in your 20s is a heady thing, but it is maturity and forethought that is needed to harness and protect a healthy self-image into your 30s and beyond. It is never an easy thing to see your sexual power ebbing away and it was refreshing to read of Courtney Cox's recent change of heart when it came to her facial injections. Cox outed herself when it came to the number of facial fillers she had gotten and how it eventually left her feeling like she no longer looked like herself: “I grew up thinking that appearance was the most important thing. That’s kind of sad because it got me in trouble. I was trying so hard to keep up, and I actually made things worse.” She says that her facial fillers are now dissolved and that she is learning to embrace her wrinkles and smile lines. Good for you, Courtney. So to the Emilys, Kylies, and Instagram queens, enjoy your youth, just stop sexualizing yourself. It’s so pathetic. As American women, you are free to be whoever you want and keep your clothes on—and that means something. Show some restraint and we will all be better off because of it. 10
AMERICAN
beauty
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I
t was a miserably hot Saturday afternoon so any activity that involved leaving the comfort of air conditioning was out of the question, so I did what any self-respecting bored woman with a computer would do, I surfed the net. I was looking for something to pique my interest. In this case, something written by and for middle-aged women because this is where I am these days and, frankly, I find this new season confusing. I was seeking some sister help, or maybe just a compass. Needless to say, there is a dearth of meat for women who are growing long in the tooth, but sadly no lack of articles and advertisements on how to dress young, what night cream to use, or how to lose my middleaged pudge. Not only can I not Redbox one single movie staring a woman my own age, I can’t even find one realistic depiction of a pudgy, wrinkled midlifer in a commercial. It’s beyond depressing. And if you think these unrealistic body images portrayed for aging women are depressing, what I discovered is that it’s much, much worse for our daughters. Somewhere in my surfing I wound up on Youtube, and over the next several hours watched in horror and sadness one video after another on how these same unrealistic body images are affecting our young women. And let me tell you, it is much worse than I thought. Our culture has produced an entire generation of young women who have not only been sexualized from a very young age, but have come into bondage to bulimia, anorexia, and body dysmorphia. They have been fed the lie that the only way to be beautiful is to fit into a size 0 and get breasts implants. Sadder still is that these beautiful young women are not just competing for the affection of men with their own peers but with pornography. Rampant, out of control, socially accepted pornography.
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According to an article by Michael Snyder in , the average high school boy spends two hours watching porn every week, and a whopping 500 full-length commercial porn films were released in 2011 compared with 600 Hollywood films to feed this ever growing audience. Even more alarming, is the long-term consequences of porn. Researchers claim that internet pornography is hurting young boys’ ability to form meaningful romantic relationships because they objectify their partner. Many of the young women in these videos were more than willing to put their health and their very lives in jeopardy in order to fulfill the media’s image of what is considered beautiful and a generation of young mens’ ideal of beauty who have been raised on porn. And for young women across this nation, that ideal essentially equates to starving themselves to fit into a child-size pair of jeans, regardless of their God-given natural build. As the hours ticked by as I followed these young women’s stories, my heart began to break and I found myself actually weeping over these complete strangers. But then I began to get angry. Righteously angry. When had this nightmare started? If you are anything like me, I had no idea that a size 0 actually equates to what a normal weight six-year-old girl would wear. Slow down and read that sentence again. Six. Years. Old. When I was a young woman, my average-sized friends wore a size 8 or 10 depending on their height and build. Occasionally, a friend would wear a size 6, but she was usually petite. It would be fair to lay some of the blame of this twisted ideal of thinness on the legion of homosexual men who control the entertainment and fashion industries. And there is some truth that homosexual men may idealize a boyish figure, but it would be completely inaccurate to say it is the root cause of body shaming women to have no curves. No, the real culprit for this train wreck is Satan himself. Satan has hated 13
woman from the time God told him that the seed of a woman would crush his head. Since receiving his sentence, Satan has tirelessly sought to enslave and neuter women through the fashion and beauty industries, and it continues today in this latest cruel form of impossible thinness and rampant pornography.
I applaud the idea behind the body acceptance movement, but there must be prudence in speaking truth to young women. It is just as unhealthy both spritiually, mentally, and physically, to be obese as it is to aspire to be the size of a six-year-old girl.
This obsession with thinness didn’t begin with our daughters, it began with my generation’s wholesale buy-in of mass marketing and advertising. It was our generation that suffered terrible confusion when the roles of women drastically shifted in the late 60s and early 70s just as we were coming of age.
Feminism is a tool that has been ruthlessly used against our American beauties, and I applaud those women on the right who are willing to take the abuse of being called misogynist racists because they want to procreate, have a family, and maintain a healthy weight and appearance.
Confused over what it meant to be feminine in the new age of working women and latchkey children, we looked to the established media to tell us how to be women. And what they told us that we must be thin and we must stop looking to our family for our self-worth, that being at the helm of our families was somehow not a worthwhile role to pursue.
I encourage every woman who has poked her head out of the rabbit hole of feminism to take a red pill. Be the type of woman who actually pursues truth for herself. The battle cry to tear down the patriarchy is an empty and hollow lie perpetuated by people who seek to use you. You only get this one life, use it well. And yeah, go eat a hamburger you sexy thing.
It is my generation that is to blame for so carelessly allowing our feminity and self-worth to have been so easily manipulated by industries that sought to harm us and our families. And it is my generation that has a responsibility to sound the alarm to these young women suffering the bondage of anorexia, bulimia, and the effects of pornography and do all that we can to lift the veil on these imaginary ideals of thinness and the notion that a professional career is the only path to happiness. Not every impossible thin professional career woman will end up lonely and disallusioned, but many will.
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Ugly Ass Women T
here is a huge sucking sound in America caused by the the number of young women being pulled into the vortex of feminism—and it’s not pretty. I am appalled and disgusted by these young women’s illegal, immoral, and criminal behavior. They are spiritually empty, hedonistic, vapid, and cruel. They are, quite simply, ugly. They are the army veteran who recently tied her own service dog to a tree and shot him while laughing
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as her boyfriend shot video of the atrocity. They are the epidemic-level, married teachers that appear almost daily in headlines across the country for having sex with underage boys. They are the reality star mothers parading around with their asses hanging out and sleeping in their own vomit while posting half naked photos on Instagram. I feel violated by their ugliness and cruelty and can't help but feel depressed about where all this is going. Our culture is bereft of any true feminism and I fear for the type of girls these millennial monsters are raising as well as what it is doing to our boys. Feminist shriek about wanting to be equal to men, yet they have embraced the worst behavior typically found in men left to their own devices and dare anyone to
This ugly ass princess shot her own guard dog while her lover and her laughed. They made sure to film it for posterity.
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challenge their bad choices because, hey, they have their girl power and they can do what they want. And so here we are. But there are serious consequences for what we have allowed to bake in our society. It is the leavened bread of pride, greed, vanity, selfishness, irresponsibility, and entitlement that has produced these women in our culture. These same women who are raising the next generation of our children and grandchildren. And frankly, they are pathetic. I don't want to be a part of a culture of women who spend their time getting manicures and breast implants but don't know how to cook other than by pressing start on a microwave. Many of these women don't know how to sew on a button, point a country out on a map, grow
their own food, or read a book to their child. They disparage men and moan about, "where are all the good guys,� but do nothing to make themselves marketable except dressing immodestly, cursing like sailors, and outdrinking their men. They have sex with multiple partners, bed hopping and making porno videos with their lovers as sport, but can't understand why they are so emotionally wrecked. They are as full as a tick on anxiety and depression medications and are bitter and entitled. What exactly do these women think they are bringing to the table? Men—and women for that matter—crave beauty, and not just the Maybelline variety. Beauty embodies a serenity and a softness that answers the world's brevity and harshness with quiet dignity, resourcefulness, and an attitude of service towards others. Softness, kindness, and thoughtfulness are powerful attributes that serve our society and nurture our spirits, ourselves, and our families. For too long, American women have embraced the most fundamental flaw of feminism, which tells us women and men are equal in all areas while ignoring biology and what the sexes naturally and collectively contribute to society. Today, the pendulum has swung so far that women not only aspire to be like men, they routinely disparage them as being useless, oppressive, and patriarchal. The paradox of their flawed thinking is appallingly stupid. Where would these women be without the roads, buildings, and power plants men have built? I can only take heart in the many young women I see fighting back against this theology of 17
oppressing men and exhibiting true feminism. Outspoken young bloggers and Youtubers who are learning new "old" skills each day to better raise and nurture their families and who are proud of their roles as mothers and wives, working hard to raise productive, thinking, and moral children. These women who, despite the enormous peer pressure to bow to the feminist religion, embrace supporting their husbands and their families through skill, diligence, and intelligence and reject the ugliness of today's vulgar pop music, piercings, green hair, and hedonist ideals. Everything about modern culture is as ugly as the twerking drama queens and desperate housewives we see everywhere in the media. And it is a religion. These radicalized women coming out of our universities are hard, crude, and completely misinformed. They routinely attack their peers who reject the idea that women in America today are oppressed and who are shamelessly stealing the future of our young men through entitlements, promoting rape culture where none exists, and sentencing both
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themselves and men to isolation and loneliness because young men don't want to date them. I am disgusted by the Lena Dunham's, child-raping teachers, and cruel women who identify as "bitches." It is time to take our society back. We can no longer afford to continue to weaken our Western culture. Our enemy is already seeking to devour us and is firmly seeded throughout our fruitful plains (and universities) waiting for just the right time to act. While these misguided and indoctrinated feminists believe the big bad wolf waiting outside the door to devour them is men, in truth it is Islam, which seeks to destroy and dominate them. And radical Islam is not going to respect them or protect them the way Western men do. So let's clean up the ugliness ladies by boldly exposing the lie of feminism that seeks to divide and conquer our sons and daughters. It is time to fight for our civilization, our families, and future generations.
Young men don’t want to date ugly ass women.
Oh là là
F
rench women don’t get fat. At least that's what we're told. They also have that certain . It makes me almost embarrassed to be an American women. And if that were not enough, the French shabby chic look is all the rage. It’s simple, just as I’m told are French women. And French women, never make
the American style error of being overdone. They invented messy beach waves and own great shoes. I admit I have always been a wee bit jealous of women like Bridgitte Bardo, who despite her obvious need of dental work, was sultry, sensual, and beautiful in her heyday. Not a classic beauty in any sense, she nonetheless oozed sexual appeal. And unlike Western 19
woman who are held captive to feminism, French women never try to be a woman in a man’s world. No, they have elevated exploiting their own feminism to an art form. But where and when did French women become slaves to wearing black and red lipstick? As a woman who loves her color, despite that I appreciate that French women always look so effortlessly chic, I find it all a tad boring. And I know it is so American of me to think this, but so conformist. What I find missing from the conversation on the style of French women is austerity. The French have a long, colorful history of war and, dare I say, high unemployment. In light of this, it is much wiser to pick a few outfits in black, quality made of course, then to spend on trends. And that fat thing? Forced austerity and limited commodities may have played a large part in the French's much admired self-control. One only has to look back two generations to see how my grandmother could squeeze a penny until it screamed. She was raised during the depression era and never forgot it. I still hear her clucking in my head if I spend foolishly. Though a lot can be said on avoiding fashion trends and going for the classics, particularly when one doesn’t have the means to spend frivolously, I find myself being somewhat offended that Americans are ridiculed for our style. To be fair, when you have the likes of young Miley Cyrus continually in the tabloids, it's easy to own the ridicule, but she's a calculated aberration. I'm in camp Taylor Swift. Now here's a young women who has kept it classy, made fashion fun in a nonsexual way, and makes this old grandma proud to be an American. And the fashion press loves her. 20
So here’s my fashion advice, which isn’t worth much, but I feel compelled to share it anyway. In your twenties, cover it up. You are beautiful anyway and what is left to the imagination is always better than the reality. If you are in your thirties, retire the camo, glitter, and the statement tees and buy some real clothes. Despite what the world tells you, you won't die when you turn 30. In your forties, it’s time to not chase every trend and find your own style. At this time in your life, you should be learning what cuts look good on your body and accepting it. I know it's hard, but I have faith in you. To ladies who have a little experience behind them, sgo French. Less is more. But have some fun with handbags, jewelry, eyewear, and shoes. Classics do not have to be boring. Own the woman you have become.
IT’S COMING, MOMMY Y
es, it’s time to talk Christmas in July. It’s that time of year when you are annoyingly reminded that you have just six months before the big day arrives. But I’m not going to talk to you about kicking your crafting and budgeting into high gear, I want to plant the seed of happiness in you before the holidays kick off in November. As a young mother there’s a few things I wish my mother would have told me about the holidays, but I guess she was either too stressed out herself as a new middle-aged stepmother to take the time to encourage me or, on the bright
side, she just thought I was doing a great job. But stress I did, and looking back down the corridor of time to those holidays when my children where young and my self-esteem not so intact, I'd give myself the same advice I am going to give to all of you gorgeous American beauties.
Let Go of Your Former Self It's party season and you are feeling frumpy, stressed, broke, and tired. After having the baby, you find yourself with no clothes, can’t lose the pooch, or don’t have one nickel to spare on sprucing yourself up. Listen up. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford to dress stylish, get your hair done, 21
lose the baby weight, or have that manicure. You are beautiful. You are enough. You are not who you used to be, but you are a better you, and you have an important and tremendous job. There simply is no such thing as a hopelessly unattractive twenty or thirty something. You are in your procreating years and ladies, you are beautiful. Trust me on this one, you are enough. Fancy clothes, jewelry, and washboard abs do not matter. Just look at those sweet faces when you tuck them in at night. You will eventually get more rest, lose the weight, and buy something to wear. In the meantime, don't squander the time yourself up for no longer looking like your former self.
Let Go of Unrealistic Expectations Forget Pinterest and those crafty, clever ladies. Your children won’t remember the handmade gift wrapping paper years from now, but they will remember the time you spent making their holidays special. And perfection is not required. They don’t know and they don’t care that their home and their tree wouldn’t be featured in Did you snuggle up with them? Shower them with kisses? Participate in their wide-eyed wonder of all things that make the holiday magical? Then you have succeeded.
Let Go of the Past If you are a mother of young children, you likely still have single friends in the periphery of your life. Although they have money to spend on big expensive gifts, they don’t answer your call or show up when you need them—and it hurts. Remember, they haven’t yet been blessed with a nest like yourself and, let's be honest, they are still a tad self-centered, just like you were before 22
motherhood humbled you. You have made it into the mommy club and they are still searching for Mr. Right. So when that jealousy rises up in you over their sparkly New Year’s Eve party dress they already picked out and their drop-dead gorgeous boyfriend with money to burn, remember: They are looking for what you have.
Your Man Is Enough God I wish I could tell you this in such a way that you really hear me. The grass is not greener. Is your man awkward? Uncool? Silly? Poor? No matter if he loves and honors you. He probably thinks you are beautiful when your hair is a mess and you have baby spit-up on your pants. And he would be right. Life is not a competition and people grow up—even in their twenties and thirties. And you will continue to grow and change along with your lover. Give him time. If he loves you and your little ones, he is enough. Grace is what we all need my beautiful young lady friends. Grace. God extends it to you every day. And what will make you that wonderful mother and powerhouse woman won’t be all of the things the world tells you that you must have. It will be the grace and love you extend to others. And I want to let you in on a little secret, there is no Mr. Right. Life is a compromise and a commitment, and if you have someone willing to walk the walk with you, you are blessed. So take a deep breath, kiss your little one good night in a messy house, and lay down beside your imperfect husband. It's all good. Trust me on this.
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