Last week, my pajama shirt for a few days was an old long sleeve track shirt from high school, sophomore year. The front of it is pretty standard: It says "Muncie Central Girl's Track and Field 2002."
Then on the back of the shirt, it has a slogan or an inspirational theme for the year. My sports teams have had some pretty classic ones.
Soccer: "We Bust Ours to Kick Yours" and "'Nuff Said"
Gymnastics: "Dear Lord, Bless Our Little Team; Keep Us Safe on Bars and Beam; Keep Us Safe in All We Do—Floor Ex. and Vaulting, Too."
Dance: I don't think any of my dance shirts had slogans. What a pity.
Track: "Rebuilding Tradition" and the slogan of the shirt I wore last week, "Real Men Date Track Girls—If They Can Catch Them."
My sister and I are modeling our shirts in the picture to the left. I don't know why I'm bent over a bit. I went through a period of life where I did that in a lot of pictures, facing front and back. Horrible idea. I think we realized it was weird and there is another picture where I just turned my shirt backwards and stood normally, but I don't seem to have a copy of that version. Sigh.
Anyway, as you can tell from the picture, we were pretty fond of that slogan. I either lobbied heavily for it or I presented it. I can't remember which. Whichever was the case, I thought the slogan was awesome.
I haven't really thought much about that slogan for the past eight years or so, but last week when I was brushing my teeth and wearing the shirt, it received some new mental attention. "Real men date track girls if they can catch them." I pondered the difference between saying boys versus men and women versus girls.
Which do you think sounds best or the least awkward? The idea of "real boys" made me laugh a bit. You never hear teenage girls standing around talking about how they want a "real boy." (At least I don't think you do.) It made me think of Pinocchio a bit. It seemed to me that in our society being a real boy is not something any young male aspires to.
But then the one about men dating women seemed funny, too. The front of our shirt declares that we were a girls' track team, so saying that we were women on the back would be somewhat of a disagreement. And we obviously weren't women yet. At least I wasn't. :)
The idea of boys dating women just didn't work at all for me. It seemed a little . . . gross. :) (Although haha since I had a habit of dating younger boys in high school, perhaps it should have seemed natural. Ha.)
So, really, the one that was on the shirt seemed like the only viable option for our society, or at least my personal mindset. Why does it seem most appropriate to have men dating girls? Is that the one that seemed the best option to you as well?
It seems sad that while I grew up with songs like "I Enjoy Being a Girl," boys seemed to constantly be bombarded with the idea that being a man is better than being a boy. Even if you're only fifteen.
I hope Daniel gets to enjoy being a boy while he's still a boy.
And I hope Jill isn't chased by men while she is still a girl.
Anyway. Haha. I just thought that was interesting. You?
So, I haven't posted in a while. Life has been good. My mom came back for another week. That was wonderful!! My dad was gone on a business trip, so she found it impossible to resist the allure of a brand new grandbaby.
January 10, Daniel was 5 pounds 13 ounces. February 10, Daniel has grown to 9 pounds 3 ounces. He still looks really small though, because he has a small head. He is also starting to remind me more and more of Jill. Jill continues to seem to love being a big sister. She spontaneously gives him hugs and kisses, with no prompting from adults. That melts my heart a bit.
This past month, we also attended a hockey game. Jeff's work has a party every year, and the past two years it has been at a hockey game. They rent a box and get lots of food, and it's way fun. Jill ever since this game has not stopped talking about it. She wants to go to another hockey game. I think that is really funny. Neither Jeff nor I had ever gone to a game before he got this job, and our daughter seems hooked! My mom was here at that time, so she experienced her first hockey game as well.
Then on the back of the shirt, it has a slogan or an inspirational theme for the year. My sports teams have had some pretty classic ones.
Soccer: "We Bust Ours to Kick Yours" and "'Nuff Said"Gymnastics: "Dear Lord, Bless Our Little Team; Keep Us Safe on Bars and Beam; Keep Us Safe in All We Do—Floor Ex. and Vaulting, Too."
Dance: I don't think any of my dance shirts had slogans. What a pity.
Track: "Rebuilding Tradition" and the slogan of the shirt I wore last week, "Real Men Date Track Girls—If They Can Catch Them."
My sister and I are modeling our shirts in the picture to the left. I don't know why I'm bent over a bit. I went through a period of life where I did that in a lot of pictures, facing front and back. Horrible idea. I think we realized it was weird and there is another picture where I just turned my shirt backwards and stood normally, but I don't seem to have a copy of that version. Sigh.
Anyway, as you can tell from the picture, we were pretty fond of that slogan. I either lobbied heavily for it or I presented it. I can't remember which. Whichever was the case, I thought the slogan was awesome.
I haven't really thought much about that slogan for the past eight years or so, but last week when I was brushing my teeth and wearing the shirt, it received some new mental attention. "Real men date track girls if they can catch them." I pondered the difference between saying boys versus men and women versus girls.
Real boys date track girls, if they can catch them.
Real men date track women, if they can catch them.
Real boys date track women, if they can catch them.
Real men date track girls, if they can catch them.
Hm.
Which do you think sounds best or the least awkward? The idea of "real boys" made me laugh a bit. You never hear teenage girls standing around talking about how they want a "real boy." (At least I don't think you do.) It made me think of Pinocchio a bit. It seemed to me that in our society being a real boy is not something any young male aspires to.
But then the one about men dating women seemed funny, too. The front of our shirt declares that we were a girls' track team, so saying that we were women on the back would be somewhat of a disagreement. And we obviously weren't women yet. At least I wasn't. :)
The idea of boys dating women just didn't work at all for me. It seemed a little . . . gross. :) (Although haha since I had a habit of dating younger boys in high school, perhaps it should have seemed natural. Ha.)
So, really, the one that was on the shirt seemed like the only viable option for our society, or at least my personal mindset. Why does it seem most appropriate to have men dating girls? Is that the one that seemed the best option to you as well?
It seems sad that while I grew up with songs like "I Enjoy Being a Girl," boys seemed to constantly be bombarded with the idea that being a man is better than being a boy. Even if you're only fifteen.
I hope Daniel gets to enjoy being a boy while he's still a boy.
And I hope Jill isn't chased by men while she is still a girl.
Anyway. Haha. I just thought that was interesting. You?
-------------
So, I haven't posted in a while. Life has been good. My mom came back for another week. That was wonderful!! My dad was gone on a business trip, so she found it impossible to resist the allure of a brand new grandbaby.January 10, Daniel was 5 pounds 13 ounces. February 10, Daniel has grown to 9 pounds 3 ounces. He still looks really small though, because he has a small head. He is also starting to remind me more and more of Jill. Jill continues to seem to love being a big sister. She spontaneously gives him hugs and kisses, with no prompting from adults. That melts my heart a bit.
This past month, we also attended a hockey game. Jeff's work has a party every year, and the past two years it has been at a hockey game. They rent a box and get lots of food, and it's way fun. Jill ever since this game has not stopped talking about it. She wants to go to another hockey game. I think that is really funny. Neither Jeff nor I had ever gone to a game before he got this job, and our daughter seems hooked! My mom was here at that time, so she experienced her first hockey game as well.
Best Buddies
When Daniel cries, Jill asks "what wrong Danny?" That melts my heart a bit, too.
I liked the last slogan the best, too. And historically in English society, older men (like in their 30s) did date the girls/women who had just "come out"--about 18 years, or maybe 16? And then back in the day people got married younger, so you could have a 16 year old bride marrying a 20 something guy. The idea being that the guy has to wait until he can support the girl.
ReplyDeleteEven today, high school girls sometimes date college guys. Or older.
I have also thought about the stigma that boys face as they strive to become men, and it seemed to me growing up anyway that I was allowed to be a girl with little to no pressure to become a woman, and it just happened naturally. Although there are times when I am not sure how to refer to myself, the term "lady" seems outdated, but woman is just such an awkward word all around to me. When I am talking to my friends I think I do usually call them "ladies"... like, "let's go ladies."
ReplyDeleteAm I weird? Anyway, thanks for posting that picture! Ha.
omg! that picture at the bottom is too stinkin cute!
ReplyDeletei couldn't help but notice in your sidebar that in 2009 you had 223 posts and in 2010 you only had 85..... lets not continue this trend! we need more updates!!
... i think you shoulda used the word "guys" ;)
I felt like I was still young the first time I was a YW leader but the Beehives were the "young women" so I was an "old woman"? Amy can probably relate to this. The Beehives really seemed as if they were girls, 'becoming women' maybe. I didn't feel like a 'woman' when I was 12.
ReplyDeletehehe- i see the onesie in this bottom picture! my mom actually bought it for max at kohls while she was out here.... so you must have had it first ;)
ReplyDeletegot the swimsuit at jc penney- had a coupon for ten bucks off, so with tax it was 42 bucks! thought that was a great price for how early in the season it is. i love how it is a one piece but it still has that little skirt thing on it. they had it in black and magenta too.
I think with the "girl" versus "woman" thing, lots of females consider themselves and their friends "girls" in all but the most formal settings. I still think of myself as a girl, for example, and feel weird whenever someone calls me a woman. I'll probably still call myself a girl when I'm 90, haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jill being such a sweetie melts my heart a little, too, and I haven't even witnessed her firsthand. How sweet.