HOLY TRANSPHOBIA!
WOW. There's been some seriously ridiculous responses ever since J Crew President posed in some photos with her son, who happens to be wearing pink nail polish.
And by WOW I mean, who would have thought a clothing store as boring and vanilla as J. Crew could stir up so much controversy?
But as usual, no one can put the controversy into perspective like Jon Stewart:
Sometimes I really start thinking these types of things are pretty much nonissues. I guess it's the fact that as an adult I avoid surrounding myself with assholes.
Of course, the outrage isn't just a reflection of transphobia but also sexism. It is the idea of bending traditional gender norms that bothers people. It was bad enough when women wanted to join the work place and wear slacks but men, being anything like a w-w-w-w-WOMAN? Yes, liberating men will be just as painful as liberating women was and continues to be.
In the immortal words of Madonna,um, who sampled them from The Cement Garden (a book and movie, apparently): "Girls can wear jeans, cut their hair short, wear shirts and boots, because it's okay to be a boy. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, because you think that being a girl is degrading. But secretly, you'd love to know what it's like, wouldn't you -- what it feels like for a girl?"
And yeah, I have no doubt that some of these foaming at the mouth men secretly squeeze their asses into their wife's lingerie when wifey's out at the market.
It's okay! You don't have to be ashamed!
But you are.
And if you're going to be an asshole about your own insecurities then I have no sympathy for you when the truth comes out and your lace covered ass hits the headlines.
So I guess if I'd have to sum up my policy on early childhood education it'd be something like. . .
Let the child be!
Let them be curious. Let them learn. Let them break shit (not each other). Let them win. Let them lose. Let them cry. Let them play!
That may not be totally realistic right now. . .
And not that it matters because I have NO interest in teaching little children, but sometimes . . . sometimes I am truly disturbed by some teachers who want so badly to fit little round pegs into square holes.
I do remember my school's policy against boys with nail polish or makeup. Which would be fine with me if it was banned for girls too, and maybe it should be, but that wasn't the case.
But I owe a lot to fabulous gender benders. RuPaul was my first feminist influence. It was "Supermodel" that did it. Yeah, an ode to supermodels doesn't immediately sound like a feminist anthem, but as a first grader all I got out of it was about having positive self esteem, being fierce, and going for your dreams. I would dance to it endlessly and was forever grateful for my mom's coworker who used to make me some typically gay mix tapes featuring the B-52's, Nancy Sinatra, RuPaul, The Village People, Madonna, and many more.
Eventually I'd move on to better feminist thinkers. And eventually I'd quit wearing all makeup because I realized I was doing it out of some unexamined habit. But RuPaul showed me that makeup can be used in a revolutionary way.
And so. . . I felt OK about buying a bunch of makeup this week. Yeah, nail polish, lipstick, the works. I really hate lipstick and I might not use it but it's all an attempt to get the best performance review I can. I figure I spend so much time at work that I should use my positive reviews in my college application. The only thing is that new upper management has changed the reviews, what was once exceeding expectations now just meets. So if I get a just OK review showing it to a college will make it look like I've been slipping since my previous reviews were all exceeding expectations. I've noticed that my boss would probably appreciate it if I wore high heels, painted my nails, and wore makeup. Makeup always seems to be more appreciated by straight women. Weird. So, basically it's like putting a shinny coat of paint over the mask I already wear. This is not revolutionary, merely utility. As for heels go. . . I do have some, but it's not warm enough for sandal styles and I don't think my boss would appreciate light up platform heels. Even though they are awesome!
I really hope that I'll live and teach long enough to tell a male student, "read the student handbook because your skirt is an inch too short!!!!"
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