Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Let's Talk About Sex...ism

Today, BBC News covered the story of Dana Bakdounis' unveiling, which I'll use momentarily to segue into my favorite topic: me. But first, the background: Dana had been following the Uprising of Women in the Arab World page on that scourge of humanity Facebook, and posted an image of herself on the site, unveiled and holding up a photo of her veiled self with a note in English that read: "I'm with the uprising of women in the Arab world because, for 20 years, I wasn't allowed to feel the wind in my hair and my body." Verily, a powerful expression of freedom and courage, from a young woman raised in conservative Saudi Arabia.

Side note: One of my friends lived in Saudi Arabia as a kid and the other kids threw rocks at her because she wasn't an Arab, even though she's Muslim just like them. Religion: not quite the unifying force of your imagination!

I hope the coverage of Dana's story continues. In the meantime, I remain grateful for my boring life, where the worst I have to deal with is being told to my face that:

  • I should never get fat, because all I have to offer my future husband are my face and body;
  • I should stop reading, because it's unattractive;
  • I'm only marrying Husband-elect because of his credit card;
  • I need to get married right away because my value will diminish as I get older.

So awesome!

I've also received backhanded compliments, like how I think like a man so I can be told certain secret manly things. Love the secret manly things! Like, did you know there are websites where guys calculate their chances of landing specific types of women, based on results reported by guys who've already gotten those women? Science!

I'm going to stop right now because I'm going to give myself a rage heart attack. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so in honor of the Native Americans who so kindly shared their resources with the pilgrims, I give a message of thanks to all men who respect men and women equally. Thanks for believing in us and supporting us as we struggle to lead good lives in a world that often isn't fair. Thank you, and please pass on your values.

And while you're at it, pass the turkey leg and stuffing. I'm hungry.

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