It has identified a real menace and it means business. Quite possibly the summit will mark the start of a whole new era of good sense in which Barbie dolls have hips, men pull their weight in the kitchen and world peace is restored. As a father of preteen daughters, maybe I should be grateful. Maybe I should support any serious attempt to correct the notion that only the truly svelte deserve happiness and success. First there's the question of motive.
Any politician knows that fashion mavens make an easy target.
We may buy the magazines but we distrust the folks behind them. Now we learn that they are conspiring to ruin our health and well-being. Voters will always support a government initiative that offers a chance for a little righteous indignation. But this is really none of the government's business. The very idea of a national summit suggests that we can't be trusted to know best.