Friday, October 27, 2006

Are you a Picasso?

Recall how last year I told you about my need to be a Mayflower Madame for Halloween as a young child. Following that, I was a witch, another year a ballerina, and finally a ghost. The last time I was wh*ring around on Halloween was at the tender age of nine, pretending to be God only knows what (I called it "a lady"). Anything to prance around in my mother’s Crack and wear red rouge.

When I grew up, I dressed up once for Halloween, I was a bumblebee. I wasn’t sexy, I was a bumblebee. I was wearing a large barrel and would lay on my side with my arms awkwardly sticking out because I couldn’t actually sit. Anything I drank, I drank through a straw. My antennas rocked and I received a lot of compliments about my costume.

I’ve been speaking with several women about their costumes, and I am a little surprised by their intentions. Each one of these women is beautiful, successful, and intelligent. Add to that, each woman is using the occasion to show off her sexuality by being a “sexy (insert whatever pleases you)”. So, we have:
- A sexy bunny
- A Playboy bunny (way to move the sisterhood forward!)
- A sexy cowgirl
- A sexy nurse
- A sexy librarian

My male friends, on the other hand, are going to be:
- A gorilla
- A dead cowboy
- A seal
- A pirate
- A mobile telephone
- A plumber
…there is nothing sexy about any of the above male choices unless the gorilla decides to become a baboon and paint its ass red. Whereas none of the men declared “a sexy cowboy” or a “sexy pirate”, each and every woman did. And when I pressed further, I was told that it was the perfect opportunity for them to show off the fact that they are “sexy”.

And so this has left me a little disconcerted, without really understanding why it was upsetting me…until I finally realized that there are two layers to my personal distaste re the above. First, it is that these women – who have everything going for them – feel the need to illustrate overtly, their sexuality. None of them believe that by default and by virtue of the fact that they are women, they are already sexy.

They don’t need to take off their clothes or show a little more cleavage or a little more ass. They ARE sexy because they’re of the female sex. It is built in us, it is in the way we move and the way we touch our hair, look at you, smile at you, put on our lipstick, take off our sunglass, and dial the phone. I quite honestly believe that no matter the size of a woman’s ass or chest, she is stunning and sexy in all of her incarnations.

The second red flag I see with the above is as follows…
When I asked: “Why is it important that you be perceived as ‘sexy’?”, none of the women were able to provide a straight answer, instead tip toeing around the reality that it’s for attention. What I hate about this is that – in terms of my personal beliefs – it’s the easiest and therefore most fleeting sort of attention. Several of the women kept stating how it would be “empowering” to play the sex kitten.

Ok, so then here’s my Q: How hard is it to get a man’s attention with your boobs hanging out or when your ass is much higher than your pantline?
A: Not very, sweetheart.

There’s much to be said about our society stemming from the above reality; although you may be wondering why I would be upset by this, I do believe it lends itself to a much greater and deeper problem in our society. There’s MUCH to be said about the feminist movement as well, but for now (and just for today) I’m going to leave it at this: Empowerment does not come from your breasts, nor does it come from your ass. Most definitely it is not this strange belief that because we, as women, now have the right to f*ck as often and as frequently as men, we are therefore equal to them. (And if you would like to talk about the “empowerment” of females in the porn industry who “choose” their profession, please consider this an invitation to engage me and those who live here in the comments field of this entry.)

Empowerment comes from your accomplishments and your return to this world (and for those who believe, then also in your return to Him). Empowerment and strength are when you overcome the odds and the challenges blocking your way, and not when you use the easiest means accessible. Ergo, empowerment is not about using your God given sexuality that resonates in every single movement flowing through you, it is about taking the road less traveled and on the 31st of October, that means dressing up as a bumblebee.

As an aside, I’d like to place one small thought into the minds of women reading this blog (all of the brilliant men, too, who will undoubtedly print this up and hand it to their daughters in 10 years). We possess the right to make a choice. What seems to have been lost in translation is that since we've been given a right which has always been ours, our only "choice" seems to have become: giving it up, and to put it crassly, it is to undress and sleep with dozens of men at our own whim. Otherwise, you may be perceived as frigid or "square". Does that then mean that your actions are in fact a "choice", or are you merely choosing not to act, but to avoid a specific label? (Ultimately, choosing the later is still a "choice" but it is most definitely not about equality.)

Few people talk about the following "choice", which is based on the belief that: Everything about you is unique, special, invaluable, timeless and rare.

You are among the world’s most treasured items. The items that hold these same characteristics and values are items we protect and to which the majority of humanity does not have access. The reason a Picasso is so valued is in part due to its perfection but also because of the lack of access to it. Make this a reality of who you are and treat your bodies in this same vein because you truly are a work of art.

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21 Comments:

Anonymous michelle said...

so this post kind of makes me chuckle because? you're all about female empowerment but in your previous post?

it's all up to a Him.

such a funny (to me the "empty lifer" atheist) contradiction.

why is there not more cleavage in church then? surely a God can appreciate a nice sexy rack as much as the men created in His form. the Easy Ticket into the Promiseland...

(oh i slay me)

Fri Oct 27, 01:54:00 PM  
Anonymous Anjum said...

I LOVE this sentence: Empowerment does not come from your breasts, nor does it come from your ass. Most definitely it is not this strange belief that because we, as women, now have the right to f*ck as often and as frequently as men, we are therefore equal to them. and I would add, nor does it mean that we now have true "freedom."

Actually I love this whole post because I totally agree with you that a woman can be sexy w/o overtly displaying her sexuality. In fact I personally think it's sexier to be sexy w/o revealing T&A. But this should be no surprise... why do you think my profile description says (among other things), "sexy (undercover)"? ;-) Sexy is all about confidence, attitude, demeanor.

I ALSO don't get why women use Halloween to sluttify everything. (yes I just made that word up.) Well, I get WHY they do it, I just hate it, like you said.

*ahem* sorry for that little diatribe. I'm sure this will be another interesting comment box...

Fri Oct 27, 01:54:00 PM  
Anonymous NYTimes Article said...

PS - relevant NY Times article.. click link by my name.

-Anju

Fri Oct 27, 02:14:00 PM  
Blogger just a girl said...

I only have a moment and wanted to quickly address Micha.

Baby, in the previous post, Mr Adjective :
- to make certain that if you chose to be a part of that game, you understood what the limits were (when you fully recognise Mr. Adjective's game)
- ...if you were being strung along you chose to stop the game (you had your suspicions that he was Mr. Adjective)
-...you were knee deep in it, you reevaluated the game and stepped out of it. Or then chose to remain in it, understanding that you then suffer the consequences of your own doing (but ONLY because you are aware of the game).

**I am not discussing, by any stretch of the imagination, abusive relationships, but rather Mr. Adjective (a man doesn't turn into Mr. Adjective half way through your relationship...he IS Mr. Adjective the moment you meet him).

That's key for me 'cus if we play the Victim card, we can NEVER empower ourselves, and so for me, a key to empowerment is recognising that to a degree - no matter how small or large - we have the power. From that power then stems our capacity to EMpower ourselves further.

Hope that's a little more clear, it's important to me.

LOVE YOU MICHA!

xox
m
I'll be back tonight to respond to the other items in here...

Fri Oct 27, 03:36:00 PM  
Anonymous michelle said...

oh, and to actually hit the point of this post: totally agree on the "wtf is up with halloween costumes?!"

i made the comment offhand at work wondering why all costumes seemed to be coming some sort of "men's fantasies in costume form"

male employee retorted "what, there's something wrong with that?"

well. yeah. jackass...! (he was young. oh the things he has left to learn)

Fri Oct 27, 05:25:00 PM  
Blogger just a girl said...

Michelle, that is hilarious about the breastage in church, heh!

And seriously, don't get me started on The Church (*not* Christianity, but rather The Church).

Anjum, Slutify, like "awesomely" is an excellent word. Well done, we need an Anjumictionary.

I can't access the link to the NY article, would you please repost?

Micha, you wrote: "...costumes seemed to be coming some sort of "men's fantasies in costume form"

male employee retorted "what, there's something wrong with that?"
"

Oh my, this is EXACTLY what I'm talking about...

What are you dressing up as? A bumblebee, I hope ;)

xox
m

Fri Oct 27, 09:44:00 PM  
Blogger Anastasia Beaverhausen said...

Good point! I love it...

Thinking back to my Halloween costumes, I have never done the 'sexy....'

I still dress up every year, Halloween is my favorite holiday.

I tend to like to dress up as actual people for some reason.

Last year I was Joan Crawford from the 'Mommie Dearest' "No wire hangers!!!" scene...it was great. I carried around a wire hanger with me all night and beat people with it.

This year I have decided to go as Lizzy Borden. Axe and all.

Yes I am odd.

I'm really ok tho, honest.

I don't see the point in doing the whole 'sexy' thing on Halloween. Halloween should be for doing something you would never wear on a 'regular' day...and as women, we are naturally sexy bitches, we can be sexy any old day of the year. So on Halloween we should be ugly....or something....

Fri Oct 27, 11:57:00 PM  
Blogger Uzi said...

Ok.. so what you are telling me is that setting up my wedding with Anjum at the Playboy Mansion is a no no?

Cuz I have to tell Hugh about this, he snubbed a blogathon/webcam wedding to make room for us.

ps: nice post. more power to the soul sistahs.

Sat Oct 28, 01:55:00 AM  
Anonymous michelle said...

not a bumblebee (the horizontal stripes, they kill me!)

but a proctologist. oooh, sexy baby. smeared my labcoat with pudding...heh

Sat Oct 28, 03:08:00 AM  
Blogger just a girl said...

Beaver, Most excellent that you like this blog entry...was contemplating how I would deal with a C*ck Ninja backlash considering what I was advocating ;)

You seem to know much about film, and I really should get in that know, cus I've never seen Mommie Dearest and I have no idea who Lizzie Borden is! (is this really a trauma that I don't know?)

AND, I totally dig THE REVEREND (he's HOT) of your bacherls, but don't have a CLUE which film he's from. Help?

And I like your logic re the fact that we're *always* sexy and so on Halloween we really should be...ugly, or something ;)

Now, go check out the talk of much shaved beaver beneath the post of "I Love Anjum". I'm so proud it makes me cry.

Uzi. O my God, DON'T GET ME STARTED ON HUGH FUCKING HEFFNER. I love the way that in North America, so many people herald him as a fucking hero...a man who - among others, but is one of the pioneers - perpetuates the disgusting need women feel to have their breasts SLIT open and implants stuffed in, or their ribs broken off so they have slimmer bodies, or fat from their ass shoved into their faces to remove lines. I HATE HUGH HEFFNER and everyone who buys into that female archetype, where every single woman looks the same way.

And these same people who think he's brilliant and who did so much for WOMAN are the same people who tell you Muslim women are oppressed.

AND FRANKLY, I would MUCH rather be told that I am beautiful AS IS aned IN EVERY SINGLE SHAPE and that the reason I should cover my head IS SO THAT MEN CAN APPRECIATE ME FOR MY MIND rather than for the size of my tits. AAAAAND if we're REALLY to talk about oppression, let me tell you that if you feel the need to inject POISON into your body so that you may freeze it in this moment and not age, YOU ARE OPPRESSED, my friend.

UGH. GOD.

What were you saying, Uzi?

OH, and let's not forget that HUGH HEFFNER has a HAREM. Seriously, he's a piece of shit. And it pains me to hear women say that he moved the feminist movement along.

He did no such fucking thing. HE moved the sexual revoolution forward, and THAT is NOT the feminist movement. In fact, that is what FUCKED the feminist movement.

Stupid.

Uzi, what were you saying?

Micha I hope you get photos!!!! The pudding comment was grody, ewwwwwww ;)

xox
m

Sat Oct 28, 03:34:00 PM  
Blogger Uzi said...

Le this be a lessson to all who read this blog.. you shall speak of Hugh Heffner (*ducks for cover) at your own risk. That's a nerve ending if I ever saw one.

also, I WAs saying that as the last vestige to my bachleorhood, I would like to have my wedding at a harem- be in the mansion or a communal gathering to watch teh latest episode of desperate housewives, whatever. I just need a harem to feel like a man, you know what I'm sayin'?

There's a Tupac/Biggie line I am sure that befits this comment, yet eludes me when I need it most.

Sat Oct 28, 05:15:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

*walks in slyly*

Uzi baby, you don't need a harem before the wedding.. you need to save up your energy for after the shaadi. *raises eyebrow*

*switches out of persona* haha sorry, I couldn't resist after Uzi's whole "i want a harem" comment. *rolls eyes*

Sat Oct 28, 07:46:00 PM  
Blogger Uzi said...

*breaks into a sweat*

Sun Oct 29, 03:24:00 PM  
Blogger Ella the Spy said...

This is all well and true, but I have a further complaint.

Halloween is for scary monsters. That's why I dressed up as a really scary zombie at a party yesterday; I mean it was REALLY icky, babe.

You are not going to believe this, though: a guy at the party came up to me and said that I looked sexy with long hair (I wore a wig).

Sometimes, you just can't win.
;)

Sun Oct 29, 11:34:00 PM  
Blogger just a girl said...

Uzi, yes >> Double H is a nerve for me. I like him about as much as I like Ariel Sharon.

So yes...let that be a lesson to you all. There shall be no more speak of Double H. Well, that's not true >> talk all you want, just be prepared for a response in the same form as that above...

Anjum What is a *shaadi*? May Yasmin and I and all those who live here come too???? Fiery will bring her camera, Espy her sketch book, Lisa some caramel machiato, Yasmin something Yasim only can bring, Anastasia a razor, Tommy some Gays, Paul some poetry, T some hard liquor, and Maria some attitude. It'll be perfect. (Have I forgotten anyone?)

Of course Ella! Of course Halloween is for scary monsters. I can't believe I never thought of that. You're such a smartie pants.

& I LOVE that story! You're absolutely right >> sometimes, you just can't win.

xox
m

Mon Oct 30, 06:44:00 PM  
Blogger Ella the Spy said...

Totally blew my mind. I should post a pic of my costume someplace so you could agree with me, hat there was absolutely NOTHING sexy about it, unless you're a necrophiliac, and the further into rigor mortis, the better.

Lemme tell you, I have no idea what it'll come to next year, but I am thinking of perhaps covering myself in goo and going as The Blob. Though there is probably some sad sack out there who would find it sexy.

*eyeroll*

Mon Oct 30, 07:42:00 PM  
Anonymous anjum said...

(sorry maha - shaadi = wedding)

Tue Oct 31, 10:15:00 AM  
Anonymous maria calvo said...

Attitude brought!
maria

Tue Oct 31, 01:11:00 PM  
Blogger just a girl said...

Thanks, Anjum!

Lol, Maria >> is it never?

xox
m

Wed Nov 01, 12:43:00 PM  
Blogger A Montreal Paul said...

My thoughts on this in the second half of this posting:

http://a-mtl-paul.blogspot.com/2006/11/so-there-is-logic-to-it-after-all.html

Thu Nov 02, 04:33:00 PM  
Blogger just a girl said...

just commented on your blog, Paul! Thanks for always copyrighting me :)

& as I already said: I hate it when Bill Maher cheats me of my material ;)

xox
m

Thu Nov 02, 11:55:00 PM  

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