I'm sitting at the kitchen table, re-reading the postings to the blog which I've photocopied since I have no computer here. I write every day in my own journal, so why not address the conversation sitting in front of me?
In many ways I find it difficult to relate to some of the sentiments expressed. I've not experienced the phenomenon of being held back, burned, or even disappointed as a result of my gender. Maybe it's because I haven't pushed myself beyond my own comfort level (always the "underachiever"), or because I chose a profession populated primarily by women, or even because I've always been - how should I put it - just "average," "ok," or maybe sometimes "cute" in appearance.
Many of the women I know who are beautiful beyond the average Jane have struggled with other aspects of life - disappointed by loves, careers, even self-image, regardless of their intellect or achievements. Are the expectations of a plain Jane so much lower?
I used to think (back when imagining myself something other than I was) that I'd rather be smart than pretty. These days I just hope that, if stricken, I'd rather be blind than deaf.
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2 comments:
It's is great to hear from you. But I beg to differ about you as the plain Jane - NOT. Comfort level is a great point of balance. And, by the way, I have noticed that you don't put up with other people's, shall we say, crap. You are in control of your own life, your finances and your good and generous feelings. Crones are essentially doing it for themselves or are caretakers for others at this age. FYI-Plain-Jane is slang that originated in the U.S. in the 1930s. Jane has long been used as a synonym for any woman. Adding plain, which means ordinary and simple, paints the picture of a woman with average or unexceptional looks, usually without makeup or stylish clothing.Plain Jane, as a noun, refers to an ordinary-looking woman. There is no equivalent term for a man, like Plain John or Plain Bob. In today's politically correct world, this seems unfair. But the fact is that beauty has been associated with the female species for thousands of years; just consider Venus or Aphrodite. Much has been written about society placing too much emphasis on outer beauty. As the famous saying goes, "beauty is only skin deep," meaning of course that real beauty lies in our soul. American playwright Jean Kerr had a more cynical view and was quoted as saying:
"I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want, an adorable pancreas?"
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SYNONYMS
average, common, conventional, dull, garden variety, generic, habitual, mediocre, modest, normal, pedestrian, routine, run-of-the-mill, simple, so-so, undistinguished, uneventful, unexceptional, uninspired, unmemorable, unpretentious, unremarkable, usual, vanilla, workaday
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
This charming information comes from a website that teaches English to German speakers. Cool
http://owad.de/index.php4
Thanks for writing this.
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