This video really speaks to me
Biases
Embodied Loneliness
I’ve been planning a tattoo for a really long time now. It’s a book tattoo, surprising no one.
Window Seat? No thanks…
All my life I’ve been the tallest chick in the room. Sometimes it goes unnoticed but i’m generally not easily camouflaged
Always in the back for pictures so I don’t block other people, Always asked if I played basketball. I’m tall and that is a widely known fact.Until today I did not really think of how that affected my movement through the spaces within my life . While sitting in the dining room with my roommates, we talked about how we’re all tall so we tend to kick each other under the dining room table. Now let me define tall. I’m 5’10, my other girl roommate (photo’d above in the smiley face tee) is 5’8 and her boyfriend is 6’2. The average woman in the US is roughly 5’4 while the average man in 5’9. So it’s safe to say we are some pretty tall people.
Now generally I can go about my day without noticing this obvious fact about myself. Other times I can’t. For one, I wish my seat in my car could move back further. Don’t get me wrong I love my 08 toyota corolla but sometimes Pierre just doesn’t seem like he was made for me.
Talking about window seats is what really got me thinking. Now generally when I get on a bus or in a car, I hope to get the window seat because most days I enjoy the view. With time though i’ve started to reject the window seat as my first choice. If I sit by the window and by chance someone sits beside me, i become confined to this little corner for however long this ride will last. For me that is almost torture since I have to change the position of my knee every 10 minutes or so to avoid pain in the joint. This entire problem can play a significant role in when I decide to travel. Sometimes I will catch a flight to Myrtle Beach to visit my best friend but if there are no available aisles seats for the day i’m flying, I will completely change my trip schedule in order to ensure i’m not stuck in the window seat for an hour and a half. The same problem occurs on the bus. If there are no available aisles seats, I will gladly stand for the rest of the trip.
Thinking of these small daily obstacles I encounter also makes me wonder what it must be like to be short in our society. I’ve witnessed on many occasions people unable to reach things in public places. One time my co worker used the plastic mat that they busboys stack our cups on to knock over the stack far in the back so they would be within arms reach. There are so many little things that have to be altered in our daily lives if we fall out of any of society’s norms.
The Internalized Body
I have to say, there is something incredibly inspirational about some of my classmates. A majority of them seem to be very comfortable and open with talking about bodies. It’s amazing how some people have this ability to say what they feel, and not only that, but say it in such a way that is full of sincere conviction.
This is not something I have, which is why these posts are such a nightmare for me.
I am the internalized body. I am the churning and stewing of the abstract held together in skin. I’m bad at voicing things about bodies at all. Who am I, anyhow, to even have an opinion on someone else’s body? Or to have a general thought at all? The internalized body doesn’t think this way, no, it is far more concerned with eating away at its own guilt.
The good thing about the internalized body is that it can live off its own energy. Far too concerned with the inner demands of self-regulation, constant calculation and extreme analysis, this body comes off aloof and unaware to other bodies. Unless, perhaps, this body dares to compare itself to another body leading to a subsequent re-analysis.
The internalized body is a shell that doesn’t leave room for leakage. It’s a product of its environment, no matter what the substance is inside. This body is never going to let you in on a fear or a worry. No, this body is wound snug. If one thing gets out, the mess will follow, so its better to keep it all in. This body is here to please and protect. It’s a paradox of looking the part on the outside while keeping the true body on the inside safe.
I wish I could be that true body. That fearless, open, wonderful body. I wish I could be the body that moves and shakes, dances and achieves, doesn’t aim to please and doesn’t mind to offend.
Alas, I am the internalized body. And I need to keep it all in.
Excuse me while I Mosh
So if anyone has ever been to a concert or show you might be familiar with the practice of Moshing
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Retarded.
My sister is mentally retarded. I’m not sure what the ‘politically correct’ term would be for this these days. I’m pretty sure it’s “mentally handicap”. Retard literally means to slow down. At the end of the day that’s a pretty accurate description of my sister. She is 24 years old and has the mentality of a twelve year old. She isn’t stupid by any means. She just got slowed down. My 6-year-old son and she are such good friends. I fear the day he intellectually passes her.
Let me explain a little more about her condition.
I am a female, a leader, and a good leader!!!
I never wanted to get to this conclusion, but I kind of did! Being a leader is hard, and being a female leader is even harder! I think is important to keep in mind that this statement and believe can be seen differently. In other hand it is really important where ( company, country) you are a leader and who are you working with. Some female might never experience this, and some might…
Let the ugly duckling be.
Most of us have heard the story of the poor, ugly duckling that was physically and verbally abused, but later transformed into a beautiful swan and became accepted (and if you have not you can click here for a fuller summary.) Continue reading
Clean Cut
A conversation the other day between my boyfriend (Zach), his dad (John), and his grandfather (Pa) really struck up my curiosity about male facial hair. Being a female I don’t necessarily understand the terms that come with the whole ordeal that is facial hair. The conversation was basically John insisting that Zach needed to shave off or somehow “clean” up his beard. John does not have any facial hair, he keeps to the standard of being “clean cut.” So to him being clean is not having any facial hair at all. Pa was siding with John in that Zach needed to “get it clean.” Pa was a face full of hair. I’m of course sitting there stunned as to what all this exactly means. I’m pondering the use of double standards, why the hair needs to be “controlled”, and where all these “rules” came from.
Hello, Flow.
HelloFlo is a company that delivers monthly care packages to women and girls of all ages. Last month they launched a “starter kit” parents can purchase ahead of time and have ready for their daughters’ first periods. The starter kit includes: enough pads and liners to get through a cycle, a “get ready” info guide for parents as well as a separate one for girls, a canvas pouch to take pads on the go, and small goodies and surprises.
HelloFlo aims to ease the pain, discomfort, and embarrassment of periods while simultaneously educating young girls about their bodies and emotions in relation to their menstrual cycles. I think they do a really great job of using humor to break the “hush hush” attitude that usually surrounds menstruation.
Where was this when I was a girl?!
