Remarkable Creatures and Some Remarkable Artwork

February 16, 2013

My weeks are very busy, but my weekend tend to be pretty clear, so today I got to experiment with my mom's scanner, Picasa, and Paintbrush.  I had lots of fun!  I know that people like my book reviews, so I've decided to expand on that a little more by scanning in passages that I want to talk about with more depth.  I took the same passage from the book, Remarkable Creatures, by Tracey Chevalier and edited them differently.  It was fun!  I'm interested in knowing which one my readers like best, so let me know in the comments.

Remarkable Creatures is about Mary Anning, a Victorian female paleontologist and is based on a true story.  It is about the friendship between two unlikely womyn, but what I can really relate to in the book is the way that men and womyn interact.  The way the womyn often try to coddle the men and hide their intellect around men unfortunately is something that still happens every day.

So, here is passage A:
"Where is the father, then? I should be talking to him, not to a-" Lord Henley paused, as if saying "woman" or "girl" were too undignified for him.  "He died a few months ago."

Passage B:

Below the dialog it reads: All I've had for breakfast is coffee and Plan B.  There is a Victorian womyn holding a cup of coffee.

Unfortunately, you still see this kind of attitude all the time.  Just think of mechanics, car or appliance salesmen, other types of business men.  I see this on shows like Shark Tank too-female entrepreneurs present the sharks with a great product and then the sharks tell them to leave the room and talk with their husbands before making a decision. But they never tell the male entrepreneurs to leave and talk with their wives.  Never!  It is a source of great irritation to me.  Part of this is the men's fault for not thinking that womyn are smart enough or confident enough to make our own decisions, but a large part  of this is how womyn and men have been taught to behave.  Many girls are not taught the basics about negotiation or car and house repairs.  Many girls do not show interest in these things, because society drills it into their heads to expect men to do these things for them.  Even I will confess that I was not interested in these things as a child.  I seem to have trouble remembering simple automotive things like when to change my oil and when to get new brake pads and I have always wondered if this is because I am genuinely not interested in these things or if it is because of childhood societal messages.  My father tried his best to educate me, but looking back on it now I have my own inattention to blame.  But the thought does occur to me that wouldn't it be wonderful if all teens with a car were required to take an automotive class where they learned skills such as defensive driving, safety, and how to take care of their car.  I think this would increase safety and confidence.  I also think it would be a good idea if all girls learned how to negotiate with men and how to speak their minds.  Of course, for that to happen men would need to make their space a welcoming space for womyn too.  It would take awareness from men and a willingness from womyn (or girls) to give up some of their learned helplessness.  The good thing about being an adult and being aware of my own fears is that I can decide when to confront them.  I do have pretty bad anxiety, but I am also single and don't want to be beholden to any man.  As I get older, to help with this I am both consciously practicing taking chances and making my own decisions and I am making and selecting trusting friends that can help me when I need it, for I believe that self-sufficiency should be balanced with our very real need for human help.

Now, because it is Fatshion February, here is another picture of me:
The outfit is very similar to my last one, except the main color is turquoise. (leggings: have no idea, shirt: Stein Mart, shoes: Abbadabba's - Merrill's)

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