Today I watched two women sit with Kate Garraway to debate whether it was selfish for a woman to choose not to have children. Apparently having your own life that doesn't involve squeezing out some sprogs and wiping up after them for 18 years is something to be ashamed of.
It amazes me that this is even a question in today's society. Just as with the question of 'should gay people be allowed to marry' and such like, I don't understand why we care quite so much about other people's choices. So long as their choices aren't, say, to murder someone, then why do we need to debate it? I don't know about you but I'm far too busy getting through my own life to worry about whether a woman has six kids or jet sets around the world on her tod (and personally, I know which one would be more annoying on an aeroplane).
I think Daybreak (and others) needs to wake up and smell 2013. In my generation choice is the order of the day - thank god. Call it feminism, call it whatever you like but the point is women can almost do what they like these days - they just can't seem to do it without judgement. Have a baby too old, you're deemed selfish. Have one too young and you're immature and probably scrounging off benefits. Don't have one at all and you get the pity head tilt and idiots on Daybreak whose only argument for saying you simply must have kids or else miss out is because 'It's just an amazing experience'.
Well you know what? People say that about skydiving. People say it about holding a tarantula. People say it about eating a spicy curry. Not everyone likes to do those and nor should they have to just to make society shut up and think they're a good, well rounded person who has lived their life to the full. People are fulfilled by different things and having kids shouldn't have to be an opt-out option.
I probably sound like I am one of the children-hating (because clearly if you don't have children or want them in your future, you MUST have evil witch-like thoughts towards them) independent women that society so fears. Actually, I'm not sure what I am yet. The thought of kids neither appeals to nor disgusts me but I know for certain I'm not ready for them and am also somewhat missing one of the ingredients considering I'm single, so this works out rather well. Unless you take society's view that is, in which case I might never experience life to the full if I choose the wrong option. Society, frankly, should mind its own business.
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
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| Photo from Solestruck.com |
I hate shoes. You know what shoes are? They're prisons for the feet, that's what they are. They're tight and uncomfortable and they dig into your ankles, rub your toes until they bleed and make walking painful. If I could live in slippers all day, I would.
This isn't a new thing for me but after a recent event where I had to wear actual shoes instead of my preferred boots, as well as one shopping trip too many that made me miserable due to the lack of choice, I felt the need to rant. You've been warned...
Size matters
Most girls love shoes. Apparently this stems from the fact that your shoe size doesn't change no matter how much weight you put on over Christmas or how many Easter eggs you eat. But for me, size is part of the issue. Being tall, I am a size eight (in shoe, sadly not dress size) - have you ever tried to find shoes in the sale that are a size eight? The ones that are left are usually ugly, loafer-type shoes or huge wedges that I wouldn't be seen dead in. Screw you, size fives.
Heels are hell
Then there's the heel issue. I can't walk in heels. Hell, I can't even stand in them. Recently someone advised me not to go to a black tie event unless I was going to wear heels (I ignored them, and it was fine, apart from then having to wear flat shoes that cut my feet) which, had they been right, would have really made me angry - talk about discrimination! Of course, men also like women in heels, and therefore I feel less attractive than my stiletto-loving friends. How is it fair that pain-inducing accessories should make me feel like less of a woman? It isn't, is it?
Stilettos aren't everything
None of the above would really be a problem if only there was enough choice out there, but as every dreaded shoe shopping trip has taught me, it's near impossible to find feminine, non-bulky flat boots. In the summer it's fine - open toe gladiators and sandals are lifesavers, but for the rest of the year, and for clubbing (no idiot wears open toe shoes clubbing) I have to look like the odd one out. Is it so much to ask that the people who design these beautiful looking high heels spare a few hours to design a boot that's light and girly, pretty and elegant, without a high heel? And don't even get me started on shoe boots...
So that's why I hate shoes. In fact, their only redeeming feature is that they cover my other hate: feet. More on that later...
P.S. Sorry Charley :)
