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Noreen, I share your obsession with all things Meghan McCain. And while I agree with you that being a Carrie Bradshaw also-ran perhaps is not the best career move for young Meg, I wonder what else she could be doing at this point that's more fulfilling. Since she interned at Newsweek, she is probably interested in a career in journalism, and as we all know, even entry level jobs in magazines are in short supply. Sadly, overshares on the Daily Beast may be her best bet. I found her first-person dating piece more compelling than most of the Bradshavian drivel that gets published. At least she has had a life experience (being the daughter of a failed presidential candidate) that's unique, unlike certain other young female Daily Beast contributors.
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Samantha and Jessica: My objection to the sugar-daddy system is that I don't think it actually helps female journalists or journalism. Instead, sugar daddies have contributed to a Carrie Bradshaw-wannabe effect among women writers. Rather than serving as the means to a career goal, these men and the lifestyle they've supported become the material. And women, who are still not often enough asked to contribute content that has nothing to do with gender, aren't doing themselves any favors by writing more personal essays about marrying up or how-tos on the art of the affair.
Entry-level journalism jobs are high on gruntwork and low on both pay and respect, it’s true. And while I'm not sure how much a sugar daddy would help the respect aspect of that equation, they do help stave off being broke. So I don’t have a problem so much with the existence of sugar daddies—I just don't want to read about them.
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