It's Okay to Wear Pink:

So that title sounds like that Jim Henson book "It's Not Easy Being Green," which in a way it sort of feels like, but not exactly. So how about "It's Not Easy Being Pink," although that sounds more like I am saying I am actually pink. If you refer to earlier posts we know that's not even true; it's more like Casper the Friendly Ghost, but that's a different issue. Anyway (You know, it's really a wonder I get to any kind of point, ever! LOL)... So awhile ago in class we were discussing Feminist Therapy, which encompasses a variety of job duties, so I wont go into details on that. I will say this though, I realized that Feminist Therapists do have a role in society, but not one that I feel like getting into right now. Basically I realized that you can be a normal sort of feminist, or some crazy gung ho feminist that shuns anything to do with traditional woman roles, colors, etc.

So anyway, my friend is going to have to have surgery and was told by her doctor that she should just have her ovaries out "while they're in there" because it can prevent that kind of cancer, but that seems so clinical and something only a male would say so casually. Yes, they are only organs, but they have so much significance to women (as much as a vasectomy would have for a man, if not more) and not to mention that no woman wants to be thrown into menopause early. Although I remember asking my mom how long my, uh, girl stuff would last when I first went through it and she told me "until menopause." So I asked "When is that?" and she said "When you are about 45." So every month I would say to myself "Only 35 more years of this crap." So maybe there is something to look forward to (I can't believe I just shared that story). Anyway, sometimes it is nice to have someone who understands the conflicts we face as women; yet, maybe a true feminist would say "Ovaries schmoveries, you don't need those to be complete as a woman." Who knows. Bottom line is that it turns out that after having a second opinion, ovaries do more than give you cancer and make you feel womanly for having them, they also prevent Osteoporosis. Who knew?

Back to feminism... and the title: A friend in class and I were talking about how she just recently started wearing pink because of the stigma attached to the color and even bought a pink iPod recently. I was telling her that I was the same way until I had my daughter, but now she literally picks pink stuff out for me - water bottles, clothes, fingernail polish, etc. I wish more people could look at the world like kids. The feminist in some of us assume pink is bad because it isn't gender neutral, it's "too" girly, but why can't we just like pink for the sake of liking pink? Maybe little girls like pink because it is pretty. So feminism, with all of it's good qualities, sometimes makes me cringe when I hear the word. In fact, when we originally read the chapter I just had flashbacks to my youth where my stepmother - who was an anchor woman, a motivational speaker, a police officer, and whatever else she did - was a little over-the-top feministic. I loved that at the time because it taught me that I as a woman can work, I can be educated, and I don't have to put up with crap because I am a girl, but what it didn't teach me is that I am allowed to be feminine, I can be emotional, and I am allowed to be vulnerable. Being a "true" feminist(whatever that is) is a lot of work and even the thought of it while I was reading my book, was mentally draining for me. I kept thinking about how hard it is to remember that I am not allowed to say fireman, anchorman, or "man and wife." I mean really, try it one day because it's a lot of work.

So here's my proposal: I propose that we all just do our best and that should be good enough. We have all of these set standards and we dock people when they don't meet those standards, when in actuality we should reward people when they make improvements towards an end goal instead. So now we have a idealistic 100% requirement we hold people to and take points off when they don't meet those standards. Maybe I am not 100% gender neutral in my conversations, but I am authentic and something should be said for that. Therefore, in addition to my Feministic (is that even a word) education I received this week, I also learned this from one of the most amazing, influential, and ground breaking women ever, Maya Angelo: "When you get - give. When you learn - teach" which was told to Maya Angelo by her grandmother. Words to live by. So, let's just pass on the good things we take in each day to our fellow "humans" and just continue to focus on our progress as a society as a whole. Let's continue to teach those who are oppressed what we have learned, lend a hand to those who need help with change, and lend a shoulder to those who just aren't ready yet. It's like Todd Parr says "It's okay to be different."