Sunday, June 25, 2006
Die, Already.
Yesterday I was driving behind a fairly nice looking automobile. But I spotted a bumper sticker and suddenly it didn’t seem so nice anymore.
“Don’t trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn’t die.”
Well, I have heard this joke before, usually amongst women talking about “anything” as being the period itself, not a woman in her entire glory. Usually it is phrased as a question, “What bleeds for five days and doesn’t die?” with no mention of trustworthiness. As distasteful as it might be, it is about a bodily function, not the gender itself.
But next to the text on this sticker was a buxom silhouette.
Clearly, the message was “Don’t trust women.”
As I pondered this, a hairy arm reached out to tap a cigarette.
I read the second bumper sticker, “Give U.S. jobs to U.S. Citizens!” it read. Huh. But do you value the tobacco farmers?
The cars with multiple bumper stickers don’t usually set me off. I figure they have every type for every thought, and why bother getting offended because of one particular message in the sea of many? Besides, if someone is going to trash their car with messages, then that person isn’t particularly someone I am trying to impress.
But this car was fairly nice.
And the two messages this driver had chosen were xenophobic and misogynistic.
Oh well, I guess he isn’t the type of guy with whom I’d want to socialize. But I admit that I thought about his bumper sticker for awhile. I don’t want to get into a huge rant about objectification of women and all that, but I hate being portrayed on a mud-flap, or next to words that make fun of the unfortunate-to-deal-with, yet extremely-useful-for-producing-children aspect of our cycles.
I know a few women who wish they could bleed for five days so that they could eventually become pregnant. Inconvenient? Yes. But something about which to mock? No.
Similarly, another blog for which I write was recently linked to by a group of male women-peeing-in-their-pants enthusiasts. I wondered why my daily hits were suddenly elevated by 700%.
To their credit (?) one of the posters wrote something about not wanting to offend me by linking to my blog. He warned the group members to not email me offending messages privately. (Thankfully, I have a spam filter.)
I had written a post in which I revealed that I hadn’t made it to the restroom in time that day. Twice. The post was meant to convey desperation and also the “huh-I-gave-birth-so-I-can’t-hold-it-anymore” reality of having children. Of course I didn’t write it thinking men would masturbate to it.
Like menses, loss of bladder function is a non-glamorous aspect of what is supposed to be the beautiful sex.
Rather than rant on either on the women-wetting-their-pants website or on my own blog, I simply removed the post.
But, their sudden interest certainly got me thinking. I imagine that anything out there can be considered a turn-on or offensive, or special or what-have-you. I suppose men can mock periods, or the unfortunate accidents that happen with a weakened bladder. But, I can’t pee in a jar like those men, nor can I go tampon-free all month, so it feels like an unfair “fight.”
Not be trusted because my body is working properly? Or be idolized because it isn’t?
Now that is something to think about.
“Don’t trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn’t die.”
Well, I have heard this joke before, usually amongst women talking about “anything” as being the period itself, not a woman in her entire glory. Usually it is phrased as a question, “What bleeds for five days and doesn’t die?” with no mention of trustworthiness. As distasteful as it might be, it is about a bodily function, not the gender itself.
But next to the text on this sticker was a buxom silhouette.
Clearly, the message was “Don’t trust women.”
As I pondered this, a hairy arm reached out to tap a cigarette.
I read the second bumper sticker, “Give U.S. jobs to U.S. Citizens!” it read. Huh. But do you value the tobacco farmers?
The cars with multiple bumper stickers don’t usually set me off. I figure they have every type for every thought, and why bother getting offended because of one particular message in the sea of many? Besides, if someone is going to trash their car with messages, then that person isn’t particularly someone I am trying to impress.
But this car was fairly nice.
And the two messages this driver had chosen were xenophobic and misogynistic.
Oh well, I guess he isn’t the type of guy with whom I’d want to socialize. But I admit that I thought about his bumper sticker for awhile. I don’t want to get into a huge rant about objectification of women and all that, but I hate being portrayed on a mud-flap, or next to words that make fun of the unfortunate-to-deal-with, yet extremely-useful-for-producing-children aspect of our cycles.
I know a few women who wish they could bleed for five days so that they could eventually become pregnant. Inconvenient? Yes. But something about which to mock? No.
Similarly, another blog for which I write was recently linked to by a group of male women-peeing-in-their-pants enthusiasts. I wondered why my daily hits were suddenly elevated by 700%.
To their credit (?) one of the posters wrote something about not wanting to offend me by linking to my blog. He warned the group members to not email me offending messages privately. (Thankfully, I have a spam filter.)
I had written a post in which I revealed that I hadn’t made it to the restroom in time that day. Twice. The post was meant to convey desperation and also the “huh-I-gave-birth-so-I-can’t-hold-it-anymore” reality of having children. Of course I didn’t write it thinking men would masturbate to it.
Like menses, loss of bladder function is a non-glamorous aspect of what is supposed to be the beautiful sex.
Rather than rant on either on the women-wetting-their-pants website or on my own blog, I simply removed the post.
But, their sudden interest certainly got me thinking. I imagine that anything out there can be considered a turn-on or offensive, or special or what-have-you. I suppose men can mock periods, or the unfortunate accidents that happen with a weakened bladder. But, I can’t pee in a jar like those men, nor can I go tampon-free all month, so it feels like an unfair “fight.”
Not be trusted because my body is working properly? Or be idolized because it isn’t?
Now that is something to think about.
