Tag: feminism

Re: It

“This is IT!” Can be a eureka shout of discovery: An Aha Moment where clarity is finally observed. It is a small word that can pack a punch when viewed in this context. By this measure, it’s easy to define because it becomes more than a third person personal pronoun. Grammar has rules (sometimes annoyingly) but sometimes IT-is-fun, just to play around.

My father was not a chauvinist in his practise of being male. He acknowledged and supported feminist actions and causes. He led me by example, to not objectify women. However, he did get enamoured by the It-Girls of his day. You don’t see/hear of that designation now but I did come across it recently. It sounded archaic when someone on television called rising Hollywood star Zendaya an “Evolving It-Girl”. This hyphenated pair of words could be viewed as a compliment; suggestive of how much the comment shows admiration of the person being labelled. But.

The soda pop Dr.Pepper is perfect to my taste because the 23 ingredients make a perfect blend of flavours. Tina Turner is ‘simply the best’ to my ears because of her energy and perfect pitch. The Sound of Music is a near perfect film because it contains more than a few of my favourite things. In generations before my father it would be common to describe excellence as ‘the bee’s knees’ or ‘the cat’s pyjamas’. Finding the ‘it’ in your life could be a mission, much like when we want to find happiness. “I’ve got it!” Can be more than a personal conclusion to a puzzle. It’s certainly a more inspiring phrase than someone sadly shrugging, “That’s not it.”

In the computer world an IT person is one with specific knowledge on how to manage modern day systems management. Computers are still new enough that we are driven to anger when something goes wrong. I’m used to working out small bugs when I’m writing, but there have been times when I’ve pulled at my hair in a frustrated ‘I’ve Had It.” over a malfunctioning copy/paste maneuver. A handy Information Technologist at work is often the go-to person in the office when data goes missing, or when your device crashes. Calling these employees Eye Tees, would be appropriate in the context of having what it takes to get things running smoothly. 

The It-Girls of yore, had what it took to get my dad’s heart racing. Those icons of what counts merely had to be born beautiful. Yes these pin-up women were objectified and manipulated. Sad to say that The Patriarchy hasn’t changed much in my generation of men. We need to talk about this. It’s one thing to admit you are attracted to a certain body-type but it’s another to make that the ideal that all must aspire to. I feel empathy for anyone who is labelled. I bet Zendaya and others are tempted to snap during an interview with someone so judgemental as to comment on their looks alone. It matters how we think of it.

Re: Skirt

I’ve wanted a kilt, made in my family tartan for a while now. I won’t skirt the issue regarding why I haven’t bought one: I predict I will feel shy wearing it. There are some ways that I wish I were more daring. Wearing a plaid skirt would certainly be bold for me. I just don’t think I could pull it off yet I continue to fantasize. The thing is I don’t think I present as a manly man like Sean Connery or even Jamie, The Outlander dude. I’m not a man of fashion either; sweats, T-shirts, blue jeans suit me just fine. I prefer to blend in rather than stand out.

The kilt was banned in Scotland for a long time because it was seen by the dominating Brits as a sign of dissent. The word Skirt itself carries much baggage: Not kindly for females. Skirt was a derisive term for women of weak morals. Boys who cried got called Skirts. Canadian girls weren’t allowed to wear pants while at public school even into the early 1970s. Looking at the issue of gender identity, the role of the skirt as a definition of femininity is obvious: Most restrooms still use the skirted woman. I’m thinking spontaneously and perhaps outrageously that the skirt is likely a clothing item seen as an example of male oppression of women.

Part of me wants to raise my Jacobite sword in defence of this free type of covering for all people. By wearing a kilt, or an izaar, I could join other males in discovering the benefits of a breezeway. Or perhaps, in the smallest of ways, I can get a step closer to understanding a woman’s experience. For example, I wonder what it would feel like to stand over a subway grate like Marilyn Monroe once did. Wearing a kilted skirt, I would not be trying to make a statement, just find out how it feels to be so easily accessible and vulnerable.

Exceptions have been made to my normally drab wardrobe. There has been occasions where what I have worn has made me feel on the outskirts of reality. I have been called classy while wearing a crested blue blazer at juvenile team sport banquets. One full year in high school I wore only white pants with corduroy shirts (a different colour for each day of the week). I had a brief fling with the Sonny Crockett ’T-shirt and dinner jacket look’ in my fifties. I can rock a wool turtleneck while practising my seafaring brogue. Once, for a wedding on a paddle wheel boat, I purchased a dark blue, double breasted jacket to go with grey pants and a light grey mock turtleneck. A guest told me I looked familiar, sincerely asking if I had served on a ship out of Whitehorse. I was flattered and wished I could have continued the deception.

Perhaps I’ll buy a kilt for my granddaughter’s wedding. Dinna fash, I’ll ask her first. It’s probably two decades from now so I’ll have plenty of linear time to dither.