Sunday, November 30, 2008

i enjoy being a girl

I've always loved sports. Watching them, I mean. Refer to the previous post where I bemoan the injustices of being a female sports fan- a tried and true sports fan who knows statistics and understands strategies and can watch golf for over 4 hours straight. I'm not any good at sports- I'm not coordinated, and I get most of my aerobic activity through walking my dog and dancing a lot.

In addition to my love of sports, I'm tomboy-ish in other ways. I wear a lot of jeans and t-shirts and baseball hats. I hate chick flicks. I am prone to blunt honesty and I love dirty jokes. I'm a major commitment-phobe in every sense of the word- my only long-term commitment is to my cell phone. I have a low voice, and a Northern US accent, and in the morning, I can be mistaken for a man over the phone. I refer to men as dudes and women as chicks.

So, people who see these aspects of my personality tend to think I fall into a masculine kind of identity (and have been known to question my sexuality- trust me, I'm pleased to be straight... chicks are crazy and dudes are dumb. Men are clearly easier to handle). Thus, it tends to surprise them that:

  • I have subscriptions to Glamour, Marie Claire, Lucky, even Cosmopolitan
  • I love makeup and fashion and hairstyling. Even though I wear my hair in a ponytail almost every day, I have a knack for styling (inherited from my beautician mother) and my hair has been long, short, dark, blond, and had pink highlights. I have been asked by professional makeup artists and Sephora employees how I do my makeup and what products I use.
  • I am totally addicted to HGTV.
  • I only recently edited my purse collection to a somewhat manageable 20 purses.
  • I own a Britney Spears CD.
  • I was in a sorority.
  • While I fear commitment, I have always (and I mean ALWAYS) been boy-crazy. I have to have a crush on someone all the time. It changes often, but there has to be someone to daydream about.
  • The only gadgets I am interested in are beauty products. I still have my original Nintendo gaming system, and it's the only video game player I have ever used- period. Nothing beyond Super Mario 3 and Tetris for me, thanks.
Despite all appearances to the contrary, I am a bit of a girly-girl. Next time you're sitting at BW-3s and the girl next to you is complaining about the Bengals punting on 4-and-1 at the 15-yard line, or extolling the virtues of the under-appreciated baseball catchers, give her some credit for being a girl. Especially if, like me, she tends to wear sparkly eyeliner and carry a giant, patent-leather purse.

While I appreciate my tomboy tendencies, I also enjoy being a girl.