A naïs Nin was quoted as saying that “the role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say,” to which I would add, “or what we are unwilling to say.” I will now say what others are unwilling to say. Bryan Hutchinson has gone off the deep-end. In his post 4 Most Famous, Cool, Successful, Bad Bad Girls of ADHD! And Another Myth Debunked, he provides four female role models who disprove “the myth that you can’t have ADHD and be famous.” I don’t know who claimed that you can’t be both famous and ADHD but, putting that issue aside, let’s look at the role models our daughters should emulate. [note 1]
- Paris Hilton: Perhaps Bryan is unfamiliar with the Paris Hilton sex tapes or that Ms. Hilton spent some time in jail. I recommend that he use the power of Google before saying anything else about Ms. Hilton’s virtues.
- Britney Spears: Is it possible that Bryan didn’t know that this paragon of virtue and former Mouseketeer was married for 55 hours and was quite a party-girl, enjoying all the fun drugs an ADHD role model should enjoy? Perhaps he can Google britney spears drugs.
- Miley Cyrus: If her father wasn’t Billy Ray Cyrus, would she be famous? Maybe. Maybe not. But having a daddy with connections never hurt anyone, ADHD or not.
- Lindsay Lohan: Really Bryan? Do you think it is her cocaine or alcohol abuse that young women should be emulating?
The Bottom Line
As the father of two daughters, one of whom participated in a recent Slut Walk, and the other (okay, both of them) who takes every opportunity to point out how this is still a male-dominated world, I have a good sense as to what the world looks like through their eyes. Whether they have ADHD or not is, quite honestly, not the point. The point is that these four women that Mr. Hutchinson has held up as models of success and ADHD are exactly the types of role model that every woman should be running away from. If young women need role models (let’s face it…we all need role models), they could look to Elizabeth Warren, Alice Walker, Jane Goodall, and, in the case of my daughters, they can look to their own mother. She works in one of the worst neighborhoods in New York and, despite all odds, has successfully turned around a failing school. Now these are role models worth emulating.
- In the past, I have claimed that you are not likely to be famous BECAUSE you have ADHD but that does not mean you cannot have fame and ADHD.↩
