Categories: uncategorized
Date: 23 October 2007 18:56:10
Have been musing on the nature of identity and how we express ourselves, or can be perceived to be doing so. Ness was right in saying that the pink rant was a bit of a 'hobby horse', but it has made me ask myself why using a pink diary would be anathema to me. I have come to the conclusion that it is for the same reason that I feel that my current car says nothing about me.
First, the diary. I know myself to be very non-girly. Rightly or wrongly, I find some expressions of 'girliness' to be a little distasteful, pink as a fashion statement for grown women being one of them. So, I feel that producing my very pink diary in a work situation would send out the message that I was girly, and girly enough to be proud to make a statement about it by my choice of diary. In my world, this could cause value judgements to be made about me that would be incorrect.
Then there is the car. I own a large, swish-looking cream Rover. The kind of car I would associate with an upper-middle class working mum. This I am not. I have not issue with the fact that I am not, I am just not. In fact, I own this car 'cos:-
a) I needed one quickly when my green Hyundai packed in, and it was available
b) It was in my price range
c) It is has a big enough boot for allotment tools and the like
d) It has air-con (summer '06 as a floating-support-worker in my Hyundai oven was unbearable at times)
e) It has electric windows (the driver's window on Hyundai was a shoulder breaker!)
f) It should be easy to source replacement parts for it
So, all very pragmatic. However, people have said to me that it is a nice, posh car. Personally, I feel that a grubby, battered but faithful old workhorse of a car would be more suited to me.
So, what conclusion can I draw from all this? Well, evidently I should paint my diary matt black and change my car. Alternatively, I should learn to care much less about what people may (or may not) think about me, based on my choice of stationery, transport and the like!