Night Walk
Warm nights are my weakness. I love a dark warm breeze. Tonight, in my urban neighborhood, every breath draws in the smell of flowers. But there are so many possible sources that the smell is a blend unattibutable to any one garden or species. The blurred s and e sounds of the english language are similarly muddled together from cigarette breaks atop condominium balconies, televisions through open windows, and quiet cell phone conversations on front porches. I love this evening walk and I want to keep walking. All of the things I love about the walk are tinged with an additional small peak of mild anxiety. A prayer that buzzes in continuous monotony: please let the walk continue undisturbed by fear.
My walk has a purpose. Rent the movie Spiceworld. Ha! I never saw it when it came out, and there is something about this quote from Wikipedia entry on the Spice Girls that has snagged my curiosity:
Attacked as a mere marketing ploy by critics, their "Girl Power" slogan was meant to demonstrate that girls could be as dominant as men without losing their femininity or sensuality. This concept is by no means original; both Madonna and Bananarama employed similar outlooks. But what made the Spice Girls distinctive is that this formed the centrepiece of their appeal[16]. Whether this new form of feminism was just a cynical marketing tactic or not, "girl power" undoubtedly had an impact, becoming a mantra for millions of young girls and the phrase even made it into the Oxford English Dictionary[17]. The impact of the group and "Girl Power" can be summed up by author Ryan Dawson who stated "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable[18]."
Of course, part of a conversation came floating back to me, concerning Indelible Medusa's recent book endorsement. I haven't read it yet, but I think I have a sense of where Ariel Levy might take this argument to "brilliantly [lay] bare the contradictions and evasions and self-deceptions that pass for empowerment." And I'm curious to revisit the spice girls phenomenon, something that I didn't pay that much attention to when it was happening, but could possibly be one of the reasons that I can't continue my own night walk without full sense of empowerment, safety, and peace of mind. In 2006.
I'm not blaming the spice girls, exactly. I'm just exploring some ideas.
Well, anyway. It was horribly embarassing to ask the nice boy in the Seattle Uber Cool Video Store if they had Spiceworld on DVD. And when they didn't I had to at least try to redeem myself out of my blush by renting Roman Holiday instead. Not too much of a waste. At least I can recall the more dignified beauty of the ideal women of western-culture-past.
Sigh.
Now for an evening curled up with Audry Hepburn,
Two Shoes
PS - In the course of the walk I rang up Tater to see if she could join me. Not at home, she called me back a few moments later. Just to make sure I was ok (because I had called so late on a Sunday night). THAT, my friends, is empowerment. Strong women looking out for other strong women in the small ways that make all the difference.
Good night, Tater. Sweetest dreams to you.
posted by Two Shoes @ 23:14
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