A religion student’s musings on life, religion, the Bible and academics.
Doubtless, you’ve probably read this story.
I find it humerous for a couple of reasons:
That really hurt! I’m going to have a lump there, you idiot! Who throws a shoe?! Honestly! You fight like a woman!
Early this morning (around 6:00), I found myself in that strange, liminal state where the line between sleep and awake becomes blurred. I dreamed that it was still dark outside, yet I heard the sound of many lawnmowers in my neighborhood. It was confusing, and I thought to myself, “Who the crap is mowing their yard at 6:00 in the morning?” I finally got out of bed and realized that my dream was actually closer to reality than I had hoped. The only difference…people were not mowing their yards, but rather they were plowing their driveways…at 6:00 in the morning.
Living in Milwaukee is wonderful for about 7-8 months out of the year…past that, it can be somewhat annoying. Last night’s winter storm dumped roughly 5 inches of snow on the city, and this morning I was forced to join the ranks of my neighbors who had arose early to combat the wintery enemy. For thirty minutes, I walked up and down my driveway, blowing snow into large piles around my house, and I could not help but return to my dream in which people were mowing their yards in the wee hours of the morning. Come to think of it, when Spring arrives, I think I will start mowing my yard before the sun has come up…why not?
For the past couple of months, Milwaukee radio has been innundated with commercials advertising laser hair removal from a place called “Ideal Image.” For the most part, every commercial says the same thing: “Aren’t you unhappy with all that unwanted hair? Don’t you want to have more time to do the things you want to do? Wouldn’t your life be easier if you didn’t have to shave every day? Isn’t a hairless person a happier person?” Largely, the commercials are directed toward women, but men are also welcome to partake of the ritual.
In recent weeks, in anticipation of the Christmas season, the commercials have taken a different advertising approach. Just this morning, I heard a commercial that advocated laser hair removal as a gift for your loved ones. Get your significant other a gift certificate to Ideal Image for Christmas! They’ll love you for it!
Now, I can imagine a woman buying such a gift for her man with little to no problem. Men are notorious for growing hair in strange places, and they are even more notorious for not caring about it. For the most part, if they don’t have to pay for it, and if they know it will make their female counterparts happy, men will welcome the idea of going in and getting their unsightly growths removed. Such a gift from a woman to a man is not a problem.
However, the image of a man giving the gift of laser hair removal to his woman is more that slightly problematic. In my mind, it is on par with getting your wife a thighmaster or an appointment with a nutritionist. Isn’t “Hey, I thought you might want to take care of that hair I don’t like” the same as “Hey, it would be great if you had smaller thighs?”
Maybe I’m reading too far into this. Your thoughts are appreciated.
I am absolutely shocked (and horrified) when I see how long it has been since this thing has been updated. Needless to say, this has been a busy semester. Juggling three classes, a conference in Boston, three 25-page papers as well as PhD applications has commanded most of my attention (and sanity). However, the semester has now drawn to a close and all is now well.
My applications for doctoral work have all been submitted, and in the next few weeks the review process will begin. For a control freak like myself, the fact that I am completely at the mercy of someone else’s decision is unsettling, to say the least. I’m sure more will follow on this topic in the weeks and months to follow.
