Today I woke up longing for the me I knew, the me who gets up in the morning and puts together something I've never seen before, and so that's what I did. With the skirt I lent I put together something I'd wear even if I was not currently in the process of an intervention. I could count that as cheating because that certainly does'nt make me feel as uncomfortable as I should be feeling. So I tackled the day lightly and with ease and slowly started to get used to the new me. I'm starting to get used to it and it's freaking me out. I'm starting to think of how I could have possibly worn such short shorts just a few days ago, what was I thinking?
But then I snapped back to reality and realised I am born of another time, another mindset, that does'nt see anything wrong with wearing short shorts when it's hot. That's just it, it is hot, why on earth would one wear anything but short shorts? I think I know the answer to that. Oppression, power and control. In the reading Gender Rouble by Judith Butler, Butler can be quoted as saying : "The notion of a universal patriarchy has been widely criticized in recent years for its failure to account for the workings of gender oppression in the concrete cultural contexts in which it exists. Where those various contexts have been consulted within such theories, it has been to find "examples" or "illustrations" of a universal principle that is asumed from the start. That form of feminist theorizing has come under criticism for its efforts to colonize and appropriate non-Western cultures to support highly Western notions of oppression". This part of the reading is directly related to the intervention as a whole. Should African cultures and customs now change because of Western notions of oppression. When African cultures practice customs such as ukuhlonipha, I do not necessarilly believe it was done with the intention to oppress women. By having women covered up and humble, I do however believe that it helped keep man at ease about the thoughts going through another men's heads whether he were around or not.
We went for drinks at Neighbourhood today and I got a few comments on the way I was dressed. Most people I saw told me how I had the ability to wear anything and still make it look good. When will my intervention step away from being a fashion choice! Neighbourhood was great, it's a pretty up-beat contemporary watering hole, so I think it was a great place to observe peoples reactions to me. If they could see me.
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