POST HALLOWEEN POST

i love halloween and believe in the importance of homemade costumes.

exhibit a.

i am a hypocrite

*Why I Stopped Trying to Make My Daughter be Pretty*

if i dream of a world where my daughter will not be objectified, a world where she is valued for her intelligence and kindness rather than for her appearance, why oh why do i wish and hope and pray on my knees for her to be pretty? beautiful, even?

maybe because i know what this world is like, and wouldn't want her to deal with everything that comes with being labelled 'ugly'; maybe because i'm a product of my environment, and i am just another person who values women for their physical attractiveness over their other virtues, or maybe I am just a hypocrite.

thoughts?

feminism in motherhood

i have been reading and thinking a lot lately about one aspect of motherhood in general: feminism. no, they are not mutually exclusive, but, for me at the very least and i'm sure for countless other women, bound and intertwined.

how to i teach feminism to my daughter? how do i ensure that she grows to become an intelligent and self-aware woman who knows her boundaries and respects herself. How can i help her create for herself a fulfilling future? how can i instill a confidence in her that doesn't require the shaming of others?

and for now, how do i nurture my beautiful, inquisitive baby girl while still prioritizing myself and my needs?

so far, i don't have any of the answers to these questions. i am only doing my best. (is my best good enough?)

these are themes i really hope to touch on in this dear old blog of mine. the title of my blog is a play on words meant to invoke the rock and roll spirit and lifestyle, but is also about rocking the boat: asking hard questions and maybe voicing some not so popular opinions. I'm still working on truly articulating my feelings and simply trying to keep up a fairly good quality, interesting blog, but i hope as i grow these subjects will come into play more and more often and my blog will be more meaningful than just a few poorly lit family photographs. (i mean of course, meaningful on a worldly scale, after all, what could be more meaningful to me and my family than the very moments captured in those photos?) i want to touch peoples lives and inspire productive thinking.
stay tuned.