this is pretty boring really
For the last 4/5 days I've been stiletto street heeling. Subways, libraries, starbucks, deli's, Barnes and Noble, wine glass shopping, Filene's basement shopping, up steps, down steps...and this is what I've learned:
I can feel masculine or feel feminine at will. Personally, I believe the two can co-exist. There are more ways to be masculine than the common knee jerk social construct might suggest. That construct is most often stated as
IF/THEN:
"If you are masculine, then you are NOT feminine.
CONTRAPOSITIVE OF IF/THEN
"if you are feminine, then you are not masculine."
EITHER/OR FALSE REASONING
"You are either feminine or masculine, but not both."
To paraphrase the above, "You can only be masculine if you are NOT feminine" or "Being masculine totally depends on being NOT feminine." The problem with this common knee jerk reaction is that it assumes that masculinity and femininity can't co-exist in one person at one time.
There are so many ways I love feeling masculine: being successful, being educated, being competitive, seeking status, seeking power, being aggressive, being assertive..etc...etc...
Much like tyinng a pair of shoes is an unconscious effort, these are traits that I unconsciously carry with me throughout the day. Regardless if I am in pointy toe stiletto high heels or flat boardroom style shoes. While in high heels, I can still choose to be masculine or feminine depending on which attitude is most useful for the context I find myself in. I have the flexibility to pick when I want to feel "girly" (I know this sounds crazy, but when I go out and all the women are wearing stilettos and I am too, I feel like one of the club) and when I want to feel masculine based on whichever attitude is more useful for the context I am in.
Other than that, my recent stiletto heeling has been very uneventful, but I promise, when pam and I get together, we will rip this town apart!!
Right pam! |