There are times I wish I had a camera on my mobile phone. But I don’t. I have a dog-chewed phone set to “easy” mode that enables me to make and receive calls, period.
I usually try to avoid making stereotyped judgments about people, but failed miserably yesterday.
Times are changing in my local city, once a reserve of the traditional and the hidebound.
1) Walking along the street, both Significant Other and I were struck dumb by the enormous bottom wiggling in front of us. The woman was unable to walk easily. But this was not obesity, this was plastic surgery. The poor (refer to “judgments” above) woman had had plastic surgery to insert two beach balls into her buttocks. From behind, she has the exaggerated hourglass figure of porn fantasy. As we passed her, it was evident that there were more beach balls in her breasts, whilst her lips could have been used as ergonomic wrist rests. I wish I could have taken a photo, though I’m not sure why. I don’t usually try to take photos of human frailty. I wish I had had an articulate feminist analysis running through my head as I gave her what I hoped were covert glances; sadly, my only thought was “poor woman, it must be impossible to find clothes that fit”.
* 2) Walking along the street, I was astounded to see a woman striding past on what appeared to be space age stilts, all steel and black carbon*. I hurried around the corner to get a better look (I’ve lived here too long, I’m going native) because I’d recently read about an athlete who competes on some kind of carbon prosthesis. Her shoes looked liked prostheses, but were attached to complete legs. They lifted her a good two foot above the rest of us, but I can’t imagine they were easy or comfortable to walk in (or to put on or take off). Sadly, my pedestrian thought processes ran along the lines of pondering people’s need to call attention to themselves and the sad (see “judgmental” above) ways in which they do it. I could choose to stand out for a lot of things, but not my shoes (which I rather like, but really…).
So I monumentally fail to bring you photos of these two strange visions, and equally monumentally failed to celebrate human diversity yesterday, or to have intelligent thoughts on the subject.
I accept your monumentally failure, humbly. My mind is boggling at the idea of the bottie-enhanced woman wiggling with difficulty along the road.
ReplyDeleteEven if i'd had a camera i'd have been too busy boggling to take a pic...but
ReplyDeletePoor women!
Whatever impulsion lies behind their way of presenting themselves...
Don't worry, your lack of a camera helps us all to retain a little imagination. I've always been a believer in people's right to do whatever they wish to their own bodies. But some people obviously have such an unhealthy view of themselves that it's hard to be supportive.
ReplyDeleteJudging (usually thoughts about people) is human. Doesn't have to be mean-hearted. Someone who pumps their butt full of extrabutt material probably isn't feeling great about herself and so the 'poor woman' judgement strikes me as o.k.
ReplyDelete@ Sarah: it's kind of you to accept my failure because if I hadn't seen it, I would never have imagined it, let alone believed it.
ReplyDelete@ Fly: Well, I suppose if you swallowed the belief that your value as a woman is directly proportional to the size of your secondary sexual characteristics...poor woman.
Personally, I would have no time whatsoever for someone who valued me according to the size of my protusions.
@ Chris: So, let your imagination run wild, this was cartoon land...I agree in principle about people doing whatever, but like you, I do have reservations about supposedly autonomous body modifications that involve disability.
@ Ellie: Tangential: I love a track by Kirsty MacColl called "What do pretty girls do?". What happens when you predicate your value, to the extent of making such drastic alterations to your body, on physical attractiveness?