Rush Limbaugh targets ‘Mirrorless Monday’ campaign

Kathryn Nicolai, Investigative News Editor

“Have you heard about what they did at Bucknell University?” asked radio talk show host and conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh in his Rush 24/7 podcast on Feb. 28.

Limbaugh criticized efforts taken by residential advisers from Swartz Hall promoting the University’s Self-Love Week and Eating Disorder Awareness Day through a program called “Mirrorless Monday.” On Feb. 27, Swartz Hall bathroom mirrors were covered with trash bags or construction paper and accompanied by signs emphasizing inner beauty rather than physical appearances.

“Celebrate your own inner beauty today, and look beyond other’s outer appearances to find the positive qualities they possess,” one message printed on the sign covering the bathroom mirrors said.

Limbaugh launched into a tirade against “Mirrorless Monday.”

“No, they left the buffet open and all the food lines were open. It’s just they covered all the mirrors so that you couldn’t see how bad you looked, so that you would not ‘body shame’ yourself, so that you would end up having body positivity and self-love,” Limbaugh said.

Forbes listed Limbaugh as the 10th highest paid celebrity in the world in 2016 with $79 million in earnings. Limbaugh’s career is built on controversial and often offensive statements. In 2012, he called a law student “a slut” and “a prostitute” after she testified to lawmakers that Georgetown University should pay for contraceptives. Limbaugh apologized only after he lost advertisers.

“Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream” was another potent statement repeated by Limbaugh in telling of his views towards modern forms of gender equality.

In his Feb. 28 podcast, Limbaugh makes acrid parallels between body image and American politics.

“If you’ve got body shaming issues, it’s because something about American culture […] It’s the media’s fault, or it’s the culture’s fault, or it’s Republicans fault, or it’s Trump’s fault,” Limbaugh said. “If you have a lousy body and are embarrassed by it, you’re a victim.”

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