Free to be you and me
To the people of Missoula, Montana:
We need to talk. I would like your undivided attention, so please close your book and turn off your ipod. What were you listening to? Bella Fleck? Whatever, just give me a few minutes and I'll leave you alone.
Just because I wear pastels and you wear various earth tones does not make you better than me. Additionally, although my clothes, hair, and feet are clean, doesn't mean it's okay to stare at me. Lots of people outside Missoula bathe and do laundry; it may even be an everyday practice for some.
And this thing slung over my shoulder that you keep glaring at is called a "purse." There's no reason to be angry at it. I know I can't easily tie a pair of rockclimbing shoes to it like you do with your backpacks to prove your outdoorsy cred, but I can store my vital items -- wallet, phone, keys, facial blotting sheets (for degreasing) -- in it. It may not have "North Face" or "Columbia" written all over it, but it still does its job.
To you Missoula women (or would you prefer 'womyn'?), please don't feel threatened by me because I shave my legs and armpits. I know it totally disturbs your world order when a pink thing with silky smooth legs traipses through your town, but I mean no harm, really. I shave because I like to, not because I feel like I have to. In fact, I don't think of gender roles at all when I'm in the shower. I think it's okay that you don't shave; it is your choice. Please remember that feminism can wear pink (thanks JB) and it can be hairless, too. So, don't judge.
In general, you're good folks, Missoulians. Sometimes, though, your glances linger a little too long. And you're not very good at disguising your thoughts as you're sizing me up. Really, you don't have to literally look me up and down. I'm a person, just like you, and I used to be a Missoulian, just like you (although I've always bathed and shaved). We're not that different.
I think it may do you good to leave Missoula every once in awhile. Take a trip to Boca Raton and see how some other people live. You'll find that it's okay to be clean and wear color. However, don't take too much Boca couture with you; it's never okay to wear socks and sandals, no matter what the folks on the shuffleboard court tell you.
Hey, remember that time we got lit and we ran home from across town and fell asleep in a grassy median in the street? We had some good times together, don't forget that. So, are we cool? Cool. Yeah, you can go back to your chai and Kafka now. Thank you for your time.
We need to talk. I would like your undivided attention, so please close your book and turn off your ipod. What were you listening to? Bella Fleck? Whatever, just give me a few minutes and I'll leave you alone.
Just because I wear pastels and you wear various earth tones does not make you better than me. Additionally, although my clothes, hair, and feet are clean, doesn't mean it's okay to stare at me. Lots of people outside Missoula bathe and do laundry; it may even be an everyday practice for some.
And this thing slung over my shoulder that you keep glaring at is called a "purse." There's no reason to be angry at it. I know I can't easily tie a pair of rockclimbing shoes to it like you do with your backpacks to prove your outdoorsy cred, but I can store my vital items -- wallet, phone, keys, facial blotting sheets (for degreasing) -- in it. It may not have "North Face" or "Columbia" written all over it, but it still does its job.
To you Missoula women (or would you prefer 'womyn'?), please don't feel threatened by me because I shave my legs and armpits. I know it totally disturbs your world order when a pink thing with silky smooth legs traipses through your town, but I mean no harm, really. I shave because I like to, not because I feel like I have to. In fact, I don't think of gender roles at all when I'm in the shower. I think it's okay that you don't shave; it is your choice. Please remember that feminism can wear pink (thanks JB) and it can be hairless, too. So, don't judge.
In general, you're good folks, Missoulians. Sometimes, though, your glances linger a little too long. And you're not very good at disguising your thoughts as you're sizing me up. Really, you don't have to literally look me up and down. I'm a person, just like you, and I used to be a Missoulian, just like you (although I've always bathed and shaved). We're not that different.
I think it may do you good to leave Missoula every once in awhile. Take a trip to Boca Raton and see how some other people live. You'll find that it's okay to be clean and wear color. However, don't take too much Boca couture with you; it's never okay to wear socks and sandals, no matter what the folks on the shuffleboard court tell you.
Hey, remember that time we got lit and we ran home from across town and fell asleep in a grassy median in the street? We had some good times together, don't forget that. So, are we cool? Cool. Yeah, you can go back to your chai and Kafka now. Thank you for your time.
posted by BPDubs at 10:29 AM
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