I dropped it like a hot brick, a very politically incorrect hot brick.(Although I was very pleased that this had given me a blog idea and I wouldn't have to use my rather dire emergency stash of blog ideas.) But how to be a stylish wife?! Are we in the 1800's? Surely women have more ambition in their lives than to sit around wondering whether their Mr. Man finds them aesthetically pleasing enough? This got me thinking about fashion and yes here it is, the f bomb, feminism.
(cheers for that one Banksy.)
People (mainly women) tend to roll their eyes and put their fingers in their ears whenever I bring up this subject. But having been bought up, not only by hippie parents (my father currently still wears his hair in a pony tail, rides around on a moped and paints his toe nails gold), but my mother is the most fierce of feminists so I find it hard not to be at least a little passionate.
Don't get me wrong, I get it, in this day and age feminism can seem a little past it, obsolete and irrelevant. We have the vote, we have equal pay, equal rights so what are we moaning about? Well it all seems to be rather image based these days. what we wear and who and who can't tell us what to wear.
The mind numbingly obvious example to use here is the slut walks. BELOW I PROVIDE A BRIEF HISTORY OF SLUT WALKS IN BRACKETS FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT, IF NOT SKIM OVER.
(The SlutWalk protest marches began on April 3, 2011, in Toronto, Canada, and became a movement of rallies across the world. Participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies began when Constable Michael Sanguinetti, a Toronto Police officer, suggested that to remain safe, "women should avoid dressing like sluts") Thank you wikipedia now back to you Miss. Thursday.
(no caption needed)
Women were angry, it was being suggested they were asking to be raped, and I don't think that in the history of forever anyone ever wanted to be raped. When I saw the slutwalk through Bristol the other day I couldn't help but feel a little sisterhood pride, but it did get me to thinking why do we dress like that? Short skirts? High heels? See through top? Are we sluts? The word is in the dictionary and as I type it, it doesn't have that squiggly red line underneath it (interestingly neither does the word squiggly), so it has to be a real concept?
(and again)
When the men in our lives say to us 'You're not going out like that are you?' are they being sexist or just warning us we're in for a hot pursuit? Who are we doing this for? Is it for ourselves or do we secretly crave this attention? (However i found my body to be a bit of a sexual obstacle course, oh when i say body i mean that item of clothing that looks like a leotard, its like an all encompassing chastity costume, I can't even get it undone.)
So with Halloween coming up thick and fast and with all the female costumes being 'sexy' this and 'vixen' that does this mean that this what we want? To look like vixens? It must be because that's all that's on offer?
(don't remember old snowwy looking much like this.)
Or could it just be that we know we're smoking and we want to make the best of our bodies? One day we'll be 56 sat in drinking baileys hot chocolate and downing 30 crunchies at a time and we'll be sat their saying "why oh why didn't I wear that sexy geisha ninja costume?!" (google it, it's a real costume.)
My message is to all my sisters, wear what you want, do it with integrity and never for anyone else, do it for yourself.
Right on sister
footnote- for those of you who are less inclined to the bare bum costumes, stay tuned I will have your comprehensive guide to Halloween next week.
Yehhh!!! Excellent blog! Well done little one - all grown up and ready for taking on the males, thank you world, my work here is done!
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