I thought I remembered feminist intellectual Germaine Greer saying some stuff about the Duchess of Cambridge. I was right, although I had to look it up – Greer talked about Kate in 2014, when Kate was pregnant with Princess Charlotte. Greer had some very odd thoughts about Kate, and re-reading those comments now, almost four years later, they read as someone being way too generous to Kate. At that point, Kate had pretty much become a blank slate upon which people could project any personality. Greer projected the idea that Kate was “in charge” of William and that Kate was the powerful intellectual behind the throne. None of that is true. It’s pretty clear now that Kate is just low-key and only keen when she’s got competition. Anyway, I bring up that old Greer post because she has some thoughts about Meghan Markle. The thoughts are… odd.
During an interview with 60 Minutes Australia this weekend, outspoken and controversial feminist author Germaine Greer said she thinks Markle “will bolt” as soon as she gets a sense of what life in the British royal family (which Greer refers to as “the firm”) is really like.
“Let’s hope they’re in love. If they’re not it’s going to be totally unbearable,” Greer told journalist Tara Brown. “She will see vistas of boredom that are unbelievable. I think the pressure to escape from the firm is crushing.”
When Brown asked what she predicted for the couple’s future, Greer answered, “I think she’ll bolt.”
“She bolted before. She was out the door,” she said, referring to Markle’s 2013 divorce from Trevor Engelson. “I think she’ll bolt. I hope in a way that she’ll bolt but maybe she’ll take Harry with her.”
When asked why Markle, already a successful television star, would give up her career to marry into the royal family, Greer quipped: “Why would a girl born in poverty marry a man with 53 million quid? I can’t think of single reason.” Still, she conceded. “She probably is in love with him. He’s glamorous despite having red hair.”
I wondered the other day if Meghan would get second thoughts or even cold feet as the wedding date inched closer. I don’t think Meghan is a “bolter,” but I do think that she would be unlikely to stay in a marriage which isn’t working for any long period of time. You know? Like, if they have a rough couple of months and they weather the storm, she’ll be fine. But if they grow apart and she’s being overworked and they don’t have enough time together… yeah, I could see her bolting.
Here’s a clip from Greer’s interview – she doesn’t come across as so cold and bitter, just sort of Aussie/matter-of-fact. She says that she hopes Meghan and Harry do stay married, actually. And she says it would be “more modern” of them if they didn’t have kids.
Photos courtesy of WENN, PCN, Backgrid.
“A girl born into poverty…” BISH…WUT?!?!?
Another individual that reminds me of my life’s thesis statement…to paraphrase the great “Who”
“I hope I die before I get (psychologically/emotionally/intellectually) old….
If that’s your true attitude, then it’s for the best.
I’m gonna take clue from your name…and simply state…”Not TODAY Satan”…THAT…is my true attitude…and I think THAT is for the best…
@Lala, LOL! I think Satan missed the point. IMO, there’s no excuse for Greer’s ignorant, classicist comment, young or old. Meghan is no Eliza Doolittle, and if Greer was going to go public with her irrelevant opinions, she should at least have the personal integrity to know about whom she speaks.
Not today, Satan. Not today.
I hope I never reach the point, at any age, when I’m dismissive of a differing point of view and attribute that differing point of view to the person’s age. GG has always been a mixed bag and problematic. Has nothing to do with her age. Do your homework.
Once again, this reply wound up in the wrong place.
It’s in response to @Lala
“Old age ain’t for sissies.”—another relevant quote to ponder.
Funny how we can jump all over racism, sexism and homophobia. But ageism is OK?
Ah hell no. I call bullshit. Your mileage may vary.
@suzyQ, I think you missed LaLa’s point. Greer makes a low key racist assumption that Meghan was born into poverty. I think it’s totally OK to be dismissive of views that are steeped in casual, dog whistle racism but YMMV…
@lobbit
No. You missed the point about ageism and my point.
Greer was ALWAYS racist. Stop attributing anything you don’t like to age. There are plenty of very young Alt-Rights and plenty of old Liberals.
I didn’t say it’s not okay to be dismissive of views. I said it’s not okay to attribute them to something that has nothing to do with their genesis.
@Suzy, no I got your point. I still think you’ve missed LaLa’s – or perhaps you weren’t interested in it. Greer’s views aren’t “problematic,” they are raaaaaacist. Good for you for managing to call them such the second time around.
I think LaLa was being generous and perhaps self-protective when she linked Greer’s bigotry to her age. When you’re a POC, and you’re confronted with racist
microaggressions, sometimes you use snark to cope. And sometimes it’s just easier and less painful to write off people like Greer as “victims” of age-related intellectual atrophy.
How is it ageist to say when I am her age? I hope I don’t behave that way? She is an older woman acting like a jerk. She didn’t say she is a miserable person BECAUSE of her age. She didn’t say younger people aren’t racist.
This isn’t ageism.
I hope when I am older I am not like this woman and say offensive things. Not ageist.
Besides, it is missing the point the OP is making.
@Veronica
Oh please. Germaine Greer has always been a controversial figure. So you referring to her as a respected feminist is odd. Also, what she said was extremely racist. Meghan did not grow up in poverty. Greer just assumed she did because that is how Greer sees POC.
Some of you people are seriously twisting yourselves like a pretzel to pretend that any sentence that starts with “I hope I die before I get old “ Isnt ageist. Seriously?
Half of the effing post was directly related to age and race wasn’t directly mentioned in it at all.
How passive aggressive and blind we can be at our own follibles while taking smug self righteous attitudes toward those of others.
I want to say something about youth and ignorance,,,,,😎😎😎😎
I’m no fan of GGs comments, but they aren’t because she’s old. It’s because I disagree.
I agree with the unthread comment that ageism is the last allowed “ism”.
Greer has slowly destroyed any credibility that she used to have as a feminist with her racist nonsense and it started before her comments on Meghan. This back and forth about whether or not ageism is acceptable ignores the main point: Greer is out of touch and does not provide any real contribution any more. There are valid comments to make about the archaic nature of the royal family and the expectations on the women who marry into that family with the expectation that they become broodmares, but no, she has to comment on Meghan coming from “poverty”. This is the same woman who thought she could comment on Aboriginals in Australia even though she admits not knowing much about them. Tons of white privilege.
ahahhaha ageism is the last allowed ism??? What beautiful (nonexistent) places you people must live in
GGs comments were likely racist in genesis……and Lalas comments were just as likely ageist
Sequence doesn’t excuse the latter any more than age is the cause of the former.
Go ahead and rail on GGs opinions……but don’t be smug and blame her age in the process.
the racism is real smh
That was my takeaway. Sly and underhanded, but there.
So true.
yep, we all know why she assumed meghan was born in poverty! you’re showing your ass, lady.
Ding ! Ding ! Ding ! Ding ! Ding ! Ding ! Ding ! Ding !
I wish people would stop hiding behind titles (former MP, Conservative Columnist, Feminist Intellectual, Royal Family Friend or Former Employee and etc) and be honest like that UKIP girl and say what they actually mean.
Yup! Honestly everything else she said was noise – that she assumes (erroneously) that Meghan “grew up in poverty” says it all.
I get asked all the time if I was the first person in my family to go to college. My mom has two degrees, and the first people in my family who actually completed college were my great granduncle and great grand aunt who went to college during Reconstruction in the 1870s.
Caught my eye too. Why does Greer assume Markle was “born in poverty?” Bleah. Racist assumption followed by insinuation of gold-digging. Very deep, Germaine. Thank you for your time.
And she’s supposed to be a feminist?! Lol, okay, sexist and racist more like.
She was once relevant I guess. She and Camille Paglia are birds of a feather and live in the past. In this day and age, one of the last people I want to hear from is a white racist second wave “feminist” who made her name by trying to be shocking.
No one can be a feminist and racist at the same time. Equality for women means ALL women and if that isn’t a goal then sit down and join the patriarchial misogynist bigots. Women like that are more harmful than women who straight up say they aren’t feminists. At least they are honest.
Germaine has been an embarrassing old bat for years. I wouldn’t call her any sort of representative of modern feminism. If anything she’s hurting the cause.
Yes. First thing that popped out at me.
Also hated that comment about Meghan’s motivation for marrying Harry.
That comment came off very poorly in my opinion too. How rich she must be to think Meghan was born into poverty? Seriously I believe it’s money that often moves previous firebrands to flaccidity rather than age.
She sounds like a miserable person.
But that miserable woman is somewhat right. Cos this is Markle’s life now. Being wifey to a prince. Having every single person make assumptions and remarks about her.
Markle had nice job, friends, side projects, hope Harry is worth all of this. Cos the media won’t back down. Until George’s wedding.
Plenty of examples of married-ins who work hard and seem happy with their choice to marry a royal. If you are a fully-formed, confident adult going in (Sophie, Maxima, etc.), you are far more likely to do well in the role and stick around.
Agree with you. Meghan is giving up a lot to be a royal wife. None of the Windsor men seem easy to live with. I think she could be a breath of fresh air for the stuffy royals and I hope she is allowed to be so.
That’s such a slated way of thinking. Meghan should accept get used to racism, sexism and other disgusting comments and comparison because she is marrying Prince Harry?
No one deserves that, no matter who they marry. If you don’t like her, so be it but to purposely aim to make her life miserable just seems cruel and unnecessary. Move on.
Leyton
I am not the British press. It is not new, it is reality. Our whole culture has weird celebrity obsession, but with the royals it is all even worse, especially with the British royal family. It is one of the most powerful families in history, so of course people are gonna talk. And since people talk it is a perfect ground for the press to make easy money, and they are merciless.
Greer would know about bolting her marriage, hers did not last long.
I actually think that all of the hateful comments towards a couple about to get married is rather cruel. But I am sure it will make Harry and Meghan all the more determined to make a success of their marriage.
“He’s glamorous despite having read hair?” I LOVE red hair!
She sounds like a moron to me
i think it’s funny.
Yeah that part cracked me up.
I love ginges, my hubby is a ginger and I think they are deliciously hot!
Yes, OriginalLala! My husband is a golden god! (Description borrowed from Conan O’Brien)
I had to re-read her statement after I read your comment, as I couldn’t bother with the rest of her nonsense… Wow. While I don’t think he’s glamorous (considering him as a person, not his hair color), I think it’s one of his best features as I love red hair, too. I think he’s a charming, attractive guy.
Her remark reminded me of Elliot from Scrubs. LOL.
“He’s glamorous despite having red hair.” I’m glad to see she’s lost none of our great Australian irreverence! We don’t mean it in a nasty way, though. Don’t worrry, redheads stick it to the rest of us, too.
I think MM will give the marriage all she’s got, so to speak, but if it ever becomes apparent to her that there’s no saving it, he stops loving her, or The Firm starts treating her as they did his mother and he doesn’t put a stop to it, she’ll do the bolt. And why shouldn’t she? Too many people
put up with situations that have long stopped being good for them.
Spot on, Annakist!
Lol fair enough. I guess I didn’t like the comment because I found the rest so racist and classist it irritated me to no end
Gingers are beautiful – we were kissed by fire – Tormund Giantsbane
Sigh. It’s far too long before we see him again.
It’s not like he’s gonna have it for much longer anyway so it’s pretty irrelevant lol
As an Australian redhead, i don’t find it funny. I feel as if picking on redheads is erroneously perceived as an accepted discrimination. It’s hurtful, and led to me dying my hair for years and hating and denying a part of myself. Only now I am in my 30’s am I letting my natural hair grow out and it’s been confronting how casually people make comment or disparage my hair. I found her comment insensitive and perpetuating the demeaning of redheads. How many redhead kids were watching that and felt singled out because a woman on tv made a derogatory comment about red hair?
I agree. Also, in terms of minorities, red heads are the rarest people on earth. I think it’s blue eyes and red hair is the rarest combination? As such, it definitely counts as discrimination. Red heads are a minority.
So basically Greer is $hit-talking to get attention. Job done then.
The only things Meghan really needs to know about the firm is to wave, smile, cut ribbons, and keep away from Prince Andrew.
You’ve summed it up perfectly–$hit-talking to get attention.
Germaine Greer is so irrelavant.
She is going to be sitting next to Andrew for the rest of her life, (order of precedence) so she should hope he gets so pissed at King Charles that he remarries Fergie and travels the world rather than bow down. LOL
Saying that she’ll bolt because she did the same with her first marriage sounds rather unfair. Her first marriage and Harry are two completely separate relationships. Does that mean anyone who divorces and then remarries is ultimately doomed to fail because they already left one marriage (that may have been toxic for all we know…). This lady needs to sit down.
I didn’t like that comment she made either.
I don’t believe she meant it that way. I think she means that Meghan will do whatever it takes on her part to have a “successful” marriage, but is not the type of woman who will hang about, flogging a dead horse, debasing herself and pretending for the sake of The Firm; that she is smart enough to know when there’s no saving it, won’t be afraid to walk away if it ever comes to that point.
I think this is where things get lost in translation, even though we speak the same language. For example, one of my best friends was a single mum, putting herself through uni. She’d left her partner because of his violent. Then she met a man, and after several years, had another child. After about 10 years, he started cheating and became violent when she and I busted him. She bolted, or “did the bolt” again. Then she married another man. The wedding was beautiful. They were mature people; so in Love. But blending their families became impossible, and once again, she did the bolt. It happens. It’s just a slang Aussie expression, and, to us, in no way neinuates that a partner had is a flibbertygibbet when it comes to relationships. It simply means he or she left.
So the crack about Meghan being born in poverty was that Aussie irreverence or Aussie racism? Cuz I can tell you what it smells like from this side of the pond.
@Annakist, I don’t know this lady Germain Greer but I believe her past interviews have influenced how people interprete this latest about MM. And I believe, knowing that Australian “slang” is not a shared lingo worldwide, she should have refrained to use words like “bolt”. When I read that word, all I could think about was “the runaway bride” and couple that to the fact that she pegs her last marriage and subsequent divorce to this current relationship and uses the “she’ll bolt” I asked myself why she automatically thinks Meghan will “bolt” and that, to my interpretation, is blaming Meghan for the past failed marriage, which we all have no idea why that marriage broke down. So claiming that “she’ll “bolt” she’s done it before, she bolted” to me reaffirms the goldigger stereotypes. So because GG can’t defend her statements outside of that interview room, sadly people are giving them any interpretation which make her come across as prejudiced . Also, when you add that to the fact that just because MM was born to a black woman GG automatically assumes that MM was born poor, that gives her statements a whole new different meaning.
Perhaps you friend has a broken picker, and should examine her patterns.
Statistically it’s true. But I don’t agree with Greer on principle. You can’t simultaneously be a feminist and constantly berate public figures on their womanhood.
So, now the middle class is poverty?
In the US, it can be. It depends on your healthcare plan.
So, so true!
Compared to $50 mil middle class is poverty everywhere
If you are black or a biracial person of African descent, then yes. Because we all grow up in poverty, obviously. Those are the rules.
She went to an expensive private school. Where does this lady get her (wrong!) information?? She was hardly born into poverty, and I seriously doubt Harry has 53 million quid! Dear Lord!
I quite like the idea of Meghan bolting and taking Harry with her.
Same. I’m already imagining how they will bolt, where will they live and what will they do with their new life..Lol.
Haha! That was the image this ridiculous interview evoked in me, too.
The more I think about it, the more I really want a double bolt! Think of the gossip fun we’d have? Way more than the dreary royal life of dullness she and Harry have ahead of them promises, that’s for sure.
They must tell no one of their plans to abscond, creep away in the dead of night taking nothing but their Vitamix blender, and leave only a ‘see ya, don’t wanna be ya’ postit in their wake.
#makeithappen
I think that would make news that would top all of this. They should both bolt and make a new life together away from all of this.
Trying to imagine Harry struggling to survive in the real world…
Oh, my, can you imagine Dim Harry trying to make it in the real world? He works 10 or 12 days since November, so that is, what? 1.5 days a month? Sounds almost like Dotard’s schedule! And he isn’t qualified to do anything, really. Maybe he could get back to a helicopter, but that doesn’t pay what he is used to.
Meghan isn’t bolting. She gave up way too much for Harry. Harry isn’t bolting the royals – he, and most of that family, are like a rarified species of bird that can only survive in their temperature regulated hothouse. He would starve if he had to make his own way, or maybe not starve, but in the US, without his family and connections, he would have a terrible chance at anything but a blue collar job. (which is fine, my son has one, but I doubt he and Meghan would want to live on what my son makes!)
Veronica, Harry is well connected- there are many of his friends & family who could give him a “job” if he was to leave THE FIRM. Last time I checked (and according to GG) he is a multimillionaire (& forever related to Charles the future King & Queen Elizabeth II). Meghan has a degree and work experiences that she can use to secure another job (& about 5 million US dollars)…
I can’t stand this woman. She is the embodiment of tone-deaf white “feminism” and for my life I don’t understand why people keep ask her about her opinions.
*Standing ovation*
Agreed. She is insufferable.
I watched the clip and I agree. Meghan is going to get bored with Royal duties. The whole institution is so out of date with so many fussy rules. It’s going to be like living in a golden prison. Run Meghan Get out!
LMAO @ the thought of Meghan being in the “Get Out” universe. Minus the body-snatching, her life is probably pretty similar to that (as is mine, which is one reason why that movie was so on point and amazing- we all know that environment!)
And we know how much our British friends love their tea. OMG Meghan, GET OUT!!!
DIZZY I think more people should watch the clip! Greer is shooting from the hip, being outrageous. She knows she is saying contrary things. She says “nobody will care about their children” because they will be so far down the future monarch list, which sounds terribly cold – but what if she is correct? She says commoners tend to get out – is she right? She also was fully in favor of Meghan going ahead with getting married, but was warning her to leave when the role becomes stifling – which it might, for a modern career woman who now has to curtsy to her own sister-in-law. I think her quip about how it’s modern not to like your own kids is a dig at wealthy couples who have children as accessories, not at Harry & Meghan. I don’t see racism, just an opinionated old lady who doesn’t care how she comes across.
Again, plenty of examples of hard-working, professional individuals who married in to royal families and seem perfectly content. Including the BRF with Sophie, etc.
@Notasugarhere, IKR? Just, talk about wild projections!
I mean, I would get the hell out of it because no man is worth having to face Andrew and Philip but that’s just me.
Racism is hilarious. RME.
I think Greer’s take is funny. It’s just her opinion.
I think it’s kind of funny too. Apart from her ignorance over Meghan’s background, she’s not really saying anything that countless other people – not least on here! – have said about the challenges Meghan faces marrying into this dysfunctional family.
Lol at this lady trying to push the narrative that Meghan is a bolter because she is a divorcee. “Maybe take Harry with her” I am surprised she didn’t add “like Wallis Simpson” yawn, like we haven’t heard that before. Meghan is a 36 year old woman well aware of what she is getting herself into. Hopefully she will kick butt and try to make a difference in the world in exchange of the massive amount of wealth and privilege that will be granted to her by marrying into the BRF.
Born into poverty?
Germaine Greer needs to get over her racist self.
Exactly!
Maybe she meant in comparison to the Royal Family. In comparison, we are all peasants XD I read this somehow as sarcastic, but then I am HUGELY sarcastic.
“If she’s being overworked.” I’m lost regarding that comment. Everyone on here brags about how Meghan wants to hit the ground running and brags about Sophie’s work ethic, not that I think half of their work is work, just showing up to places. No one says any of the others are overworked when racking up a lot of appearances, etc., like Prince Charles, Sophie, etc. Why would she ever be made to be overworked, being the wife of the spare?
Regarding Greer, Meghan wasn’t born into poverty. What a stupid comment. And a bolter because she left one marriage? Get outta here, Germaine. It happens. It doesn’t paint your whole life as far as commitment.
Her thoughts aren’t odd. They’re racist AF. Meghan wasnt born in poverty. She was born to a middle class famy. She went to a private school. She attended Northwestern University. The fact that she assumed Meghan was poor says it all about this racist old cow. And Meghan will bolt because she did the first time? Dear Germaine Greer,
F*ck you.
Totally. Dog whistles everywhere.
Born into poverty?! Did she say the same thing about Kate??? Because both of them are solid middle class with expensive educations, and they both married a rich prince. But no, Meghan is the one born into poverty. At least Kate had no career to give up, eh Germaine?
What a racist woman.
Poverty? Red hair?? Who is this loon and why is anyone listening to her, let alone putting her on TV?
I have the opposite thought. I think Meghan knows what she’s doing and she’ll own it.
I think she’s a Margaret Atwood type…. Atwood issued some comments about Kate some years back…they’re old, they’re irrelevant, they’re into negative attention seeking.
Margaret Atwood is not irrelevant.
Atwood is overrated. Professors in Canada push the Canadian content a bit much. Professors should be willing to discuss authors from many other countries.
There’s no need to dismiss an opinion because a person is old. We will all be old with ‘outdated opinions’ one day.
A very odd statement coming from a so-called feminist . Saying that she is a “bolter” implies that she just up and left for no good reason, when she should be defending the choice that Meghan made. And she should be confident that she, as a woman and a feminist could breathe new life into the royal family and could be an agent of change. She seems to be regressing into more traditional views as she ages.
Yes, because all older people are traditional aka racist.
@Veronica, I get what you’re saying but don’t you find it odd for someone in her position to make statements like that? As a feminist, and I have never liked her, she should be more supportive of other women. To predict that a woman will “bolt” is very negative in light of the fact that she doesn’t know the individuals involved. I don’t think that she is in any position to predict the future, just like the rest of us.
Do people think Meghan came from poverty? Sure she’s a self-made woman but growing up in California going to private schools is not exactly a life of struggle. Obviously this lady is just saying things for shock value but Kate and Meghan both had similar upbringings in terms of their social class.
I am really tired about what the royal poncers do referred to as “work”; it’s not work, it’s public engagements and appearances. They show up, glad hand, accept flowers, attempt to look interested and engaged (and in some instances, knowledgeable). But no, it’s not work and it’s not a “firm” either; if it was, many of them would be fired already. Best of luck to Meghan though, something tells me she will not take any nonsense sitting down.
@keepitreal
LOL you are so right! Many of the royals would be out the door if it was a firm. I don’t imagine Andy would have even been hired.
For real. Work, my a**. They do no such thing as work.
Thank you, my eyes roll when it is described as work.
One does NOT attend Immaculate Heart if one is born into poverty. That’s what Our Lady of Loretto High School was for. Stupidly ignorant racist Old hag….
hahaha 🙂
So in calling someone stupid and ignorant and a racist, you think it’s OK to call her a hag??
That is ageist.
Nice cognitive dissonance you got going there.
Just checked the fees at Immaculate Heart. $16,000 per year. Not the most pricey sure, but we would all agree, not povo.
She’s disgusting. In this same interview that they shouldn’t have children because they would 8th or 9th in line and no one wants “Meghans children”, as if a child born to Meghan will somehow be tainted and unwelcome. She specifically stated Meghan and excluded Harry . The racial undertones of that seriously disturbed me.
The most disgusting people are truly popping up from their holes to rag on Meghan. They know at this point she just has to deal with it and can’t fight back at them but it’s sad that people are giving them a platform. We truly live in a very ugly world.
Even worse some here are excusing it as Aussie humor which I find very telling
So very true. Disgusting.
Similar to a southern US citizen’s false use of “bless your heart.”
I used to listen to Mysterious Universe, a podcast by two Aussies, until I noticed that not only they were sexist, but also repeatedly racist toward Asians. Cancelled. I’m not suggesting all Aussies are racist, but there may be some issue of some types of “humor” being a cover for racism in these two ( and possibly) more examples.
People are allowed to not worship Meghan without being classified as racist. In fact, if we want to be honest, if you didn’t know Meghan was biracial, could you tell? I don’t think I thought she was biracial when I first saw pictures of her. Her friends are all white. Her husband and boyfriends have all been white. Her life seems to have been lived amongst white people. I simply assumed she was white with some Italian or Latino heritage. I actually didn’t think of it, until people talked about it.
Why assume people don’t like her because of race? Yes, I know. We are a horribly racist country in the US. I just did a class on white privilege today and some of the comments made me want to rip my hair out of my head. But the Brits might not like her because she is American – people dislike Americans all over the world. Or because she was an actress, or divorced, or for other reasons. I don’t like this belief we can see into people’s hearts. Sometimes it’s obvious that people are racist. Sometimes we assume incorrectly.
I like her smarts and her work ethic, but have lost any admiration for her because she seems hypocritical when she is all about women and empowerment and feminism yet drops her entire life for a prince. A dim one at that.
Do you dislike all the other married-ins who gave up their careers for marriage, a marriage that includes a career as part of it? Or just Meghan Markle. Let me guess…
What are you implying, NOT? That I am racist? Why don’t you come out and just say it instead of being coy and sly?
And I’m not, BTW. But I don’t owe you an explanation.
@Nota, if people don’t like Meghan, it isn’t necessarily because of her race. Many didn’t (and still don’t) like Letizia. She is Spanish and white.
Veronica, you’re in every. Single. Meghan. Thread. You hate her yet here you are yet again arguing with everyone who doesn’t hate her like you do. Talking about groupthink, cognitive dissonance, etc as though everyone else’s opinions, and these are all just opinions we don’t know her, are wrong and we’re all a bunch of unthinking zombies. Screeching about ageism when ONE person called this Greer woman an ageist name, then calling other posters clueless just because you’re ignorant about racism “I simply assumed she was white with some Italian or Latino heritage…” How about people are allowed their opinions and they don’t have to agree with you in order to not be accused of “groupthink” or “cognitive dissonance?” Either that or please find a thesaurus because the same old talking point are getting old and no one’s impressed.
BTW, if you hate someone but are obsessed with every single thing they do, girl, you’re a fan.
Ahem. What’s wrong with red hair???
Exactly this, this is what irritates me to no end.
If you decide to speak on any subject, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE inform yourself before hand.
Often women are their own worst enemy, who needs men to hurt us, when we women can do it so well to each other.
So, middle class, private schools are poverty now?????
Red hair?????
Such racist views in 2018 from a so called feminist and nobody challenges her?????
What an idiot!
MM is 36 year old divorced woman, I think she knows what she is doing.
It’s her life and her choice, none of us know why her first marriage broke down, maybe she ” BOLTED” for a very good reason.
I think the transition into royal life, royal precedence/ protocol and dealing with courtiers has the possibility of being difficult for Meghan. Rather or not that becomes a long- term issue for her is something only time will tell. However, I think if she and Harry are given and can maintain their own sphere of influence, absent WK, then I think she has a fighting chance with the BRF and the public. I also think that forming a relationship with Charles (and Camilla, to a certain extent) in the twilight of QEII’s reign will be beneficial too on both a personal and professional level. Not kissing up but a genuine relationship of mutual respect and admiration. For some reason, I truly think that if Charles doesn’t find Meghan pushy, gushy or overly aggressive in her enthusiasm then the two will have a solid and trusting boss / daughter-in-law relationship (however that looks for the royal family).
[General disclaimer: in not a morning person and I’m an introvert who masquerades as an extrovert while working. I hate morning chatter and bubbly talk show-esque personalities coming at me unless I’ve invited it. Kate would get on my nerves for being too unmotivated, dull and homebound and Meghan would get on my nerves for being too chatty and smilely. Both would get on my nerves for constantly pushing their hair behind their ears☺️😂. What can I say? I’m an equal opportunist hater.🤷🏽♀️ But I kind of like that about myself☺️☺️.].
Re: the relationship between HM. Who knows how that will play out? I posted my thoughts on this before. Their dynamic and how they negotiate their past experiences will frame the future. For example, he is the youngest/baby in the family and she’s an only child. Both probably are used to getting what they want on some level. However, Harry’s star has always been diminished by knowing he’s not the important one, so he’s used to playing second fiddle and being ordered about. He knows and has learned how to be supportive and submissive in that way. Has she? However, with that said, they strike me as two searchers, two in-house orphans, if you would—everbody’s baby but no one person’s child, and two kindred spirits on some levels.
I think they both need meaningful and purposeful work (however that looks for the BRF). For him, I think it’s to feel important and that he’s doing something to help others whereas for her it’s doing and supporting something she believes in—which helps others. Of course just speculating but I think its that shared vision of who they are and who they want to be that is the spark and ultimately the glue to their relationship. However, I think after they get their balance and purpose together as a couple and as work partners, then I think they are in it for the long haul with deeper emotions, commitments, and experiences bidding them together. Finally, I don’t see children coming right away for them.
Very well written assessment. And I think likely very spot on.
“he’s used to playing second fiddle and being ordered about. He knows and has learned how to be supportive and submissive in that way. Has she?”
There was an excerpt from her agent who said Meghan absolutely Hated being told to move for foreign dignitaries! That’s a big ego right there lol. She wants to be No.1 and not No.2 like Harry. I don’t think she will take kindly to curtsying to Kate or being told what to do/ordered about.
Aaa, and that was well before she and Harry became official. After reading that interview, I came away with a totally different view of Meghan. She was very rude to a reporter, too, and her ex-agent said had never behaved that way before. Seems like she learned to “punch down” pretty quickly.
I think she is quite self-satisfied and somewhat smug now, and I am sure we will hear stories in the future of how she treats the “help.”
Former agent cashing in telling things that may not be true at all, and you take it as gospel. Let me guess, do you believe everything her half-sister says too?
Why would I believe the crap coming from her half-sister?! It is clear she has some issues. Cowne is a respected agent, she has the top clients. She doesn’t need the money to”cash in” and she has no reason to lie about those events. Maybe she felt snubbed because she hasn’t been invited, so she talked. After all, it was her agency who helped Meghan cultivate her “charity/humanitarian/philanthropy” image. Evidently, she is great at what she does. Maybe she personally feels slighted and she didn’t realize Meghan wasn’t really her friend, even if Meghan gave off that impression. I know everyone on here wants Meghan to be a naive ingenue, but you don’t get to where she is without having some ruthlessness inside of you. I admire her ambition but I’m not blind to what it takes to get to the top. Catherine and Carol did it, so too did Meghan Markle.
Barring any more Trump/Cohen/Hannity bombshells, this will probably be the dumbest thing I read today.
Greer’s marriage went under in five years…and SHe was the cheater. An expert in relationships? Girl bye.
P.S. – apparently Greer is getting dragged on Twitter for this exercise in stupidity.
Greer is an attention seeking moron – this ‘feminist’ does not regard transgender women as women and in the late 90s tried to stop a transgender women being admitted to a female only college. You just need to google her to read what she says.
Suspected from this video she is a pseudo feminist. Thanks for the confirmation.
Their wedding has come up in random conversations the last few months (in line at the airport, over drinks with friends, even at the Boston marathon yesterday while waiting for the start) and no one seems to think this marriage will last. No one can quite put their finger on why or a timeframe, just they don’t see it lasting.
I don’t think it will last either. My opinion has zero to do with race. Just because someone says something negative or what the majority on here don’t like doesn’t mean it has anything to do with race. I think Harry and MM are two very different people that jumped into the relationship far too quickly. I may be wrong but its my opinion. Some times people make better friends than lovers or mates.
Not that either of these factors are guarantees, but we know that Harry’s home life wasn’t great when he was young and his parents divorced, that her parents also divorced, and that she has already been divorced once not so far into a marriage. So based on those odds, another divorce seems quite possible.
@Joanie – well, my opinion kind of falls outside the particular couple: I think people generally, especially in the West, these days are less inclined to put up with situations that are less than happy for them. My parents and even more my grandparents generations were, like, you’re in it, you’re stuck with it you grin and bear it. People today I think have higher expectations of marriage, expect to be happy, and there’s a lot of hype in modern life about there always being something else you can do or be or aim at. Contentment isn’t high on the list, unceasing ambition is, and I think that’s part of consumerist culture: “on to the next thing!” Meghan strikes me as very modern in that way, she’s led a very mobile life, trying a lot of things, moving on to the next thing if one thing doesn’t work out – perhaps that is what Greer was getting at. But this time Meghan is in a situation that would be much more difficult to move on from, and she may not have asked herself what she’d do if she hates it. I think she’s absolutely doing the right thing taking the slow route to UK citizenship for that reason, never mind the perceptions.
It’s so funny that you mention this because it comes up randomly where I am as well surrounded by military and government personnel. I am rooting for them but I do not see it working long term. I cannot put my finger on it (so I honestly hope I am wrong) but they don’t seem like a match once you think about them individually. She gave up a lot (too much???) and he didn’t give up anything which really creates an insurmountable imbalance. As someone who married very quickly (3 months from first date to marriage), I think I know about whirlwind and its an awesome feeling to think you’ve found the one. The major difference is that I am still me and my husband is still himself. I think what will cause her to depart the pattern won’t be “The Firm” but the constant criticism of everything that she does which is really unfair.
When someone predicts the demise of a marriage before it’s even started, but claims that they “can’t put their finger on why,” don’t believe them lol. Trust me: they know why they feel the way that they do.
MTE, lobbit. They. Know. But, I did find the set up of this whole “random conversation” thing with it’s “I’m not one to gossip”, old school finesse amusing.
So you’re on and commenting on a gossip site implying feelings about complete strangers you don’t know but are totally above it all. Sure, ok. Guess I’m just not as intellectual as you get into deep philosophical conversations with complete strangers waiting in line or whatever. Of course it’s gossip, a fun, shallow conversation with a stranger to pass time waiting for a flight, etc.
There are too many stark differences. I don’t believe it will last either. I do think they’ll have kids, but I don’t see their marriage lasting like Will and Kate’s.
The business arrangement of W&K’s marriage will last, as long as William gets what he wants out of it.
@nota
Receipts for this so-called ‘business arrangement’?
Leaving aside the Greer-ness of Germaine’s comments, where I think she has a point is that that Meghan really hasn’t been exposed to royal life/ The Firm for that long, unlike Kate pre-engagement, so as much as I am rooting for them, who is to say that she wont get fed up/ feel stifled by it all.
@vanjam – I think she’s in it for the long run. I hear you, she’s got no experience with this particular establishment but Markle strikes me as someone who wanted to achieve this kind of high profile.
Agree that she seems to really want fame – she wants this position, she knew what she was getting into dating him in the first place.
She would still have a hugee public star profile if she were to leave him. From everything which has been said about her, she plans meticulously and nothing is left to chance. I do think she’s gone over all the possibilities, she’s a smart girl.
My bewilderment is to claims that this Meghan and Harry marriage won’t last because Meghan has no idea what she’s getting herself into etc, she’s node what it means to be inside the BRF etc, that’s just BS. I mean, who else married into this family with any knowledge of what their roles would entail? No one!! But they all married in and have had successful marriages (with the exception of Diana and Sarah), but the rest of them have had successful marriages!! Why, I don’t recall people acting like this towards Kate!! There are many people that marry in royal families and have long lasting and loving relationships, my goodness!!
Three of QEII’s children are divorced. Charles, Anne, and Andrew. Charles and Anne have since remarried (I’m surprised nobody covers Princess Anne’s first husband, I read up on him and he is such a sleazebag), Andrew has not. Edward is the only one so far not to get divorced. Princess Margaret, QEII’s sister, also divorced. I wouldn’t call them a family of successful marriages at all.
@Amelie, Prince of Wells has been married to his current wife for 13 years and still counting, Princess royal has been married to her current spouse 20+ years and still counting, prince Edward has been married to his wife (a foreigner just like Meghan) for more than 15 years and still counting. HM has been married to PoE for 70+ years and still counting. I consider those successful marriages no matter what others may think. And just because one’s first marriage failed isn’t necessarily an indication that their second will fail, there are lots of people that remarried and are still married to their 2nd spouses decades later.
Masamf,
Sophie was born and raised in England. When did she become a “foreigner”?
@ Masamf
Princess Anne’s second marriage has been rumored to be over for a long time. But its unlikely they will ever divorce.
Oh FFS.
OMG Meghan went to private school and then Northwestern, but yeah ok poverty.
And this woman is officially called a Feminist? I am speechless about the open nastyness of her comments. She is leashing out on a woman who established herself successfully in a very competitve Career and who did it on her own merit in her own right.
Plus she is basically saying it would be cool and time appropriate if a couple who seems to be very into children and having them, would have no children. What a cruel thing to say.
I mean, I’m sure it’s really difficult to get a foot in the door in acting, but let’s not pretend like there was some amazing acting going on in her made for TV movies.
Also, I got the sense that she was saying if they *chose* not to have children that would be a modern thing to do.
I don’t think Meghan was a particularly strong actor and yeah, she worked in television almost exclusively, but our opinions on her acting prowess or where her work falls in the Hollywood hierarchy are completely beside the point. Fact is that Meghan was a working professional in an industry where the unemployment rate is around 90 percent. 90. Percent. So she not only got her foot in the door, but she was able to keep it there for the better part of a decade, and that is very, very difficult to do. And I think that is what Xena was getting at. She was a successful woman in her own right. There’s no taking that way from her.
Thx lobbit, you got my point regarding her work and explained it even better than I did.
Kind of bad attitude about redheads, too! As one myself, I resent that redheads can’t be glamorous.
@ GENEVE
I think RED HEADS are beautiful.
I bet that you are stunning.
She seems like a mean, backwards thinking bigot.
It makes me sad and disappointed how awful some women can be to each other.
I get why gossip columnists talk about these two and how their marriage would/could/should function. I don’t understand why an academic/public intellectual is talking about this. Only the two people inside that relationship really know what’s going and why they make the choices (perhaps of compromise) that they do.
This lady has a Phd from Cambridge, and yet she sounds worse than Joan and Melissa Rivers doing Fashion Police.
This is such a good point. I can see where it makes sense for a public intellectual to weigh in on the monarchy, but that she would even entertain questions about a “celebrity” marriage is unreal.
I didn’t even know Greer was still with us. But I seem to remember reading that it came out eventually that the Queen expressed the same fear of “bolting” about Diana? Or am I misremembering?
Life inside the British royal family strikes me as being a little like giving birth the first time and that first experience of motherhood: you think you know what you’re in for, but you’re never really prepared. You have to live it to get it, if you know what I mean.
The Commonwealth appointment seems to me like they are giving Harry a formal job, and I’m sure they knew that he would share that work with his wife whoever she was. It’s a good thing to do, gives them specific framework to get to work on. I imagine that’s easier than “representation” all over the place.
Also, does this mean that a lot of this work will take place outside the UK itself? If so, that’s good, too, perhaps it means that the organization is assigning different territory to H&M and the Cambridges, and they won’t be interfering with each other and tripping over each other’s feet. But I don’t know that much about the Commonwealth, one of the British posters can answer that.
The Queen thought Diana would bolt, because her mother bolted.
Oh, and I have to take issue with Greer’s characterization of not having children being “modern”. People should have children or not because they think it’s right for their lives, not because it’s the modern thing to do. Greer seems to have missed the fact that however difficult families are, and they can be hellish, I admit that, but still it’s one of the primary channels for deep and intimate emotional ties. Why does she think Harry and Meghan wouldn’t long for that any more than other human beings, or would turn their backs on it because it’s “modern”.
Looking at cellphones while you cross a busy parking lot is very modern, too. Doesn’t mean it’s good. I can’t believe how many people are just asking to be run over when I have to go to parking lots to get to Target or the supermarket or something, because they’re crossing the lot with their eyes glued to the phone in their hand. It’s unbelievable. It’s also very modern.
Agree.
So. Germaine Greer:
1) Has been very wrong before about members of the BRF.
2) Is a racist hag.
3) Is down-low misogynistic, because of course Meghan Markle is a gold-digger, amirite?
4) All of the above.
Can that troll please slink back into her cave now?
@izzy, well this may be a minority opinion, but what the hell is wrong with being a “gold digger”?! I mean, is it even realistic to suppose a woman with no similar background would start dating a rich famous prince but somehow not notice that he is?! If she hated him and married him anyway, and then left in a year with her lifetime settlement or something, that would be nasty, but for heaven’s sake, she does at a minimum appear to be fond of him and I imagine will give it a good faith shot. I think the term gold digger should be reclaimed 🙂
It’s not as if she’s not in good company with millions of other women who would have jumped at the chance without ever having met him.
I don’t get why people think there’s something wrong with this. It’s not as if he boils bunnies for breakfast while kids watch.
Dating or marrying someone you don’t want to be with JUST for money is predatory behavior, IMO, and it’s also my opinion that she isn’t marrying him for wealth. Yes, it’s a perk of the marriage, but it comes with a lot of strings attached. Greer’s insinuations that MM is climbing the wealth ladder is noxious and dog whistling.
Markle is not only climbing the wealth ladder, but also the social class ladder. I find it so funny that people criticise Kate for this all the time. why don’t people just admire them both for achieving their goals? It is what it is.
From what I remember from reading the better bios of Diana, people behind the scenes had doubts about Charles and Diana, too, but kept quiet, no one wanted to leak on the fairy-tale parade. And the media benefits from the fairy-tale stuff, too, they do it over and over no matter how many of those marriages end badly (Charles’s, Anne’s, Andrew’s . . .). You’d think they’d keep a lid on it for once and just wish people the best.
Bottom line is predicting how a marriage will turn out for a couple of strangers is stupid. OK, it’s a fun on a gossip site, but really – we don’t know anything about how these two people are with each other, how they handle disagreement, how they handle power differentials, whether they’re good at negotiation, whether they developed a feel for each other’s “Def Con 3 buttons” (that’s what we call it in my home) all of which are crucial in how a marriage works.
Every marriage is a leap of faith and it IS a cutoff of a certain kind of freedom. We just can’t know any more at this point.
The couple that was most opposed to Charles and Diana’ s marriage were the Romseys, a Mountbatten grandson. They thought they didn’t have intellectual interests in common. True, but funny enough Lord Romsey took off with a younger woman several years ago; it didn’t work out,and he wanted to get back with his wife who refused, so now Penny Romsey is now running the estate while her husband is living in one of the cottages.
@Maria – that’s what I call a good ending to the story!
She sounds like a lovely headstrong woman!
I too think she will bolt. Perhaps after having one or two children. But after that I think she might consider the whole thing isn’t worth it.
Harry seems more in love with her than she with him.
I have the same vibes about these two.
Does anyone know if the reception this weekend by Malcolm Turnbull for the Invictus Games is an evening/long gown event? Aside from the engagement photos, I don’t think we’ve seen Meghan yet post-engagement in a gown. She probably wore one to Pippa Middleton’s reception, but that was pre-engagement and I never saw any photos.
Or is it cocktail dress?
@HappyGirl
You know, I actually understand where you’re coming from. We can’t always control our base instincts.
So for instance, I’ve also taken a strong disliking to you, just off the back of that one comment of yours – it seems incredibly mean spirited, judgmental and based on nothing- so yeah…..I know exactly how you feel.
🙂