Battle of the sexes

Today is International Women's Day. I am halfway through super long mummy-type post that I was hoping to publish today, but it is just not ready yet. So today I am taking a break from the normal, mindless waffle that I write in order to show I really do have some depth.

When one of my friends found out I have been doing poledancing for fitness on and off for a few years she told me the following quote "We won the battle of the sexes when women began poledancing for exercises". I took this to mean women had won. We took something that was found in seedy strip joints and made it our own (please excuse the stereotypes). It wasn't until I googled the quote so I could say which movie it came from (Crazy, Stupid Love which I still haven't seen by the way) that I realised that in the context of the movie they meant men won the battle. Really? I suppose you could see it like that, but I like my version better. Or perhaps a better outlook would be seeing both sides finding a happy middle ground.

It took me a long time to be comfortable with the word "feminist". It brings to mind bra-burning, man-haters who became lesbians for political reasons. (I know. Sterotypes again. Sorry). As I have gotten older I am so incredibly grateful to these women who came before me. The ones who had to be extreme so I got to make the choices. I don't have to do it all. But I am lucky. I am educated. I choose to balance my work and my family life in a way I am mostly ok with. I deal with the fact there are certain parts of my career that are on hold, because I would rather be home to play chauffeur and tuck my children into bed at night. I have a brain and F-cup boobs. I have two and a half degrees and three gorgeous children. For legal stuff and for work I use my surname. Socially I often used my ex-husband's a long time before we were married and still continue to do for family stuff. I supported my big two girls in their choice to use their surname (their biological father's) alongside their dad's. I shave my legs. I would never contemplate not shaving my arm pits. I happen to quite like men, but I don't need to have a partner. My daughters do dancing and play sport with the boys.

I want other women to be able to make these life choices. Whatever choices are right for them. Whether that is to smash the glass ceiling or to spend every single day of their adult lives at home looking after their families. This is why I am ok now with being labelled a feminist. Although personally I quite like the term post-feminist feminism. I have spent so much time studying history so I know how far we have come. Maybe this is why sometimes I forget how far we still have to go. But thanks to the women who have come before me, and thanks to the men who have supported them, I can do this on my own terms.

And while we are on the topic of history and women. Embrace the colour purple ladies. When I was at school they used to say it purple meant you are sexually frustrated. It was the colour of the suffragettes. You know if they had been at home properly wedded and bedded they would have had better things to do then think (please don't miss the sarcasm).

So wear purple proudly. Celebrate with your girlfriends. Dance, drink champagne, scrapbook or build a shed. Thank your mothers and your grandmothers. Thank the now conservative teachers you had who would have been out there burning bras when they were at uni. Thank the wonderful men in your life who don't get why feminism is needed because they really do treat women equally (re-educate them later). Remember how far we have come and don't ever think it is far enough. All people need to be equal and those of us who are lucky enough to be in the position where we do not feel discriminated against, can't ever forget we are the lucky ones. And I still maintain we won with the poledancing.

(Please tune back in tomorrow when normal programming will recommence. Not that I am convinced I have a normal blog style yet, but it might start tomorrow)

Learning, learning, learning

Things I have learnt this weekend. And before anyone is confused, WA had a long weekend this weekend (for Labour Day) so it really is the last day of the weekend for me. That said, it isn't a university holiday so despite not having to go to work I am sitting in a uni lecture theatre as I type. I felt it was appropriate considering the subject of this post! I should also clarify that the lecture hasn't started yet. Please feel free to imagine my halo.

So anyway. Things I have learnt this weekend:

1. The instructions on the 'shake and make' pancakes are not just for show Have I mentioned I don't cook? This may be why! I was shaking the pancake mix and it goes flying everywhere. I am still getting pancake out of my hair. The trick to avoiding this is to follow the instructions and make sure the lid is on properly. Or if you insist on not reading them properly try to avoid an audience. Mine consisted of my big two, my youngest sister and a friend of Erin's.

2. Shorts are shorter then they used to be In proportion to my increasing age and increasing exponentially with the age of my daughters. Perhaps a matter of perception?

3. A mother's work does not stop because her children move out of home  Even when they have children of their own. A shout out of thanks to my mum for printing out my lecture notes for me for this week. I forgot I wasn't at work today and that my printer at home isn't working.

4. Lecturers get a say in when the exam is Every other university lecturer may be going to hunt down and torture my current lecturer for announcing this to the class. Really. I have never heard this announced before! (Although it doesn't actually surprise me, I am pretty sure the "rule" is that it is never said).

5. The three ancient learned professions are theology, medicine and law This is a paraphrased quote and I haven't been able to work out exactly who said it first. A google search shows it heaps though so I am guessing someone said it at some point though. This is a classical definition though before anyone gets upset with me. I am a historian remember. I would like to know when it was first said though because I think it is an interesting snapshot of the attitude of that time.

6. Everything tastes better when you eat it off a stick We had the most amazingly yummy swirly potato on a stick things this weekend at the Fremantle Markets. So yummy that after we had them on Sunday with the girls' dad, Reanna and I took my little sister there again today. To back this up fruit kebabs and sausages also taste better when things are on a stick. It is just the way it is.

By the way. I am a sucky student! Lecture may not have started when I began to write this post. But it had by the time I finished. I could pretend I am good at multi-tasking, but this may be slightly exaggerated. In case you couldn't tell, number 5 above was what I learnt during class today so I really was listening!

Edit

At my last annual performance review my boss made the observation that I need to proof read more. So did my lecturer when she marked my last essay. If I am going to be perfectly fair, I have had this comment on a fairly (read as very) large percentage of my essays over my academic career. Mostly it is because I am rushing. Usually because (for uni at least) I have left it to the last minute. Partly it is just being slack. A good percentage is because I genuinely read fast and I find it hard to force myself to read slowly and properly edit.

I have noticed I am doing the same with my blogging and it is annoying me. If I am going to write for an open audience I want to do it properly. No rushing. I don't want to have to keep editing posts because something doesn't make sense or I have made a stupid typo .... now just to see how I go!

On an unrelated note, and just to show I am not just sitting around thinking about blogging all day, I bought what I think may be an awesome dress for a wedding today! And I would also like to publicly note my grumpiness about how quickly children grow up.

PS I am now very paranoid about this post ... lol ... probably not that surprising!

Don't Touch That!

How many times has every parent said this to their children? Especially when they are little, and especially when they are at other people's houses or shops with very breakable stuff.

Today the message is for me. I am in the process of setting up an additional blog and thought I while I was at it I should change the look of this one too. It seemed like a good idea at the time! I have never quite got this one right. I shouldn't have touched. I know I am technologically challenged! And this was a spur of the moment thing when I knew I didn't have much time. Luckily I managed to make fix the disaster I turned it into! I will live with the way it is now until I have time to work out how to change it properly. I would like to say "lesson learned", but I think this would be a lie.

My new blog (in addition to 'Two Mummy Ducks') is a book review one. The girls and I are all avid readers and they are excited about posting their own reviews too! Other then at attempt at layout there isn't anything else there yet. But there will be!