Thursday, February 7, 2008

Poetry Slam Shazaam!

Last weekend D and I went to a poetry slam with some new friends. We had a really great time out. It was an awesome night for many reasons:


1.) Because making "adult friends" is tough enough, let alone finding people with similar interests


2.) Ever since we got Beans we've had absolutely no social life (it's hard only being out for under 6 hours at a time)


3.) Poetry slams are apparently very intense


4.) Jenna is a terrific judge, an honest and fair critic ;)


5.) The girl who wrote about gerbils creeped me out... but in a good way, and i really liked her poem


6.) The hours my college roommates and I spent honing our stalking skills came in handy when I really wanted to post my favorite poem of the night for ya'll here to enjoy:


Girdle
By Tracy Caldwell AKA Mind Evolution (2006)

In the 60's they were burning their bras
In the 06 im burning my girdle
Because a girl should not be tortured like this
I'm sorry if you can't handle the fact that i'm fat
But everyone can't be a size 4
And i'm not taking it no more
No longer will I wear undergarments
That squeeze my rools into other places
And there are more than a few woman in here
Tying to keep straight faces
Wile their panties are cutting of circulation
Tying to please a nation that can never be pleased
Cuz it's obesity if you're too big
And if you're too small
It's the skinny woman's disease
Anorexia or bulimia
But believe me when I tell ya
I love my food to much to be throwing it up
And damn it I earned this gut
By giving birth to 2 boys and 2 girls
And there is at least one man in this world
That can't resist these childbearing hips
And he knows he has to come equipped if he wants to be spending time with all of this
Big girls if you feel me let me see you raise your fist
Gentlemen that agree
Let me see you do the same
Cause its a shame
More than half the female population is a size 12 or up
But its always a skinny person
Telling you, you need to shape up

7 comments:

Hillary said...

Beans is adorable.
I know what you mean about the lack of a social life. Tonight is the first night we'll both be headed out without the puppy. I'm a bit giddy (but also dreading the inevitable mess when we get home.)
Have a good weekend!

Smirking Cat said...

Hmmm, interesting. I have mixed reactions to the poem. (We psych majors like to analyze everything, don't we?!) I firmly advocate the shunning of society's ridiculous and narrowly-defined definition of beauty, but I don't swing over to the side of accepting being overweight either. Much of America DOES need to shape up, not just women, and because they are unhealthy, not because they went over a size 4. I also can't stand calling women "girls"...pet peeve! But overall, I absolutely agree that women need to toss the skin-and-bones-with-gargantuan-boobs ideal in the trash where it belongs.

shrink on the couch said...

I take humbrage with this poem ... do away with girdles? is she kidding? Ok, I am. Love the poem, the message, the vibe. Especially the line about half of the female population is size 12 or up. I'm surprised it isn't higher, actually.

Our Family said...

hear hear!
I also loved that poem : )
thanks for the kudos on being a judge!

Smirking Cat said...

Hey, feministgal, everything OK? Haven't seen you post or comment in a while.

Anonymous said...

We had a wonderful time hanging out as well. We should do it again soon. Thanks for finding this poem as well; it really was awesome.

Jackie said...

I agree with the idea of accepting people at any size - i believe that beauty, & most certainly value & worth, is universal - but i did find some of the lines in this poem offensive.
Words such as "I love my food to much to be throwing it up" help perpetuate myths about eating disorders.
Eating disorders are not about wanting to be thin - they are much more complex than that.
People with eating disorders do not starve themselves of food (through not consuming it, or from consuming it, then purging) because they don't like food.
As someone who has experienced anorexia (& recovered), i can tell you that i LOVE food, & always have, even when i was most entrenched in my illness.
And while media messages certainly contribute to body dissatisfaction & low self-esteem, & while they definitely have the ability to perpetuate existing eating disorders, they do not cause them.
Also, lines such as "But its always a skinny person,
Telling you, you need to shape up", are actually not inclusive comments - they are exclusive, & may actual create more of a divide between women, rather than help us to see ALL women, regardless of shape or size. Thin women are no less of a woman than any other.
These opinions come from someone who has been underweight, overweight, & even obese, & who has known & loved women in all of these shapes & sizes. And that is what i shall continue to do - love - because what matters is not what we look like, but whether or not we treat ourselves & those around us with the love & respect we ALL deserve.