Stereotypical Hair

Consider the adjectives that we use to personify hair: good, bad, wild, nice. What kind of hair do you envision when you hear these words? From where do these images originate?
[from Daydreaming on Paper]

Good: straight blonde straight hair, to or just below the shoulders.... bangs, and a headband. pretty polkadot dress with a bow at the waist. think alice in wonderland... now is that a stereotypical western picture of conformity, or what?

Bad: dark hair, long, tangled, greasy, not cut in a long time.... i think this originates from the racist backbone of north american culture... that stupid way of looking at original peoples as somehow lesser... somehow...bad.

Wild: anything out of the ordinary.... anything with lots of ends all over the place.... out of order.... like my dreads. :P non-conformity... un-tamed...

Nice: the opposite of above... anything trendy, coiffed, and befitting to today's woman.... conformity.

funny how words about hair can bring up such... subliminal... undertones. i really don't like it. i don't like things based on prejudice and .... oh, what's that word? oh- stereotypes.

one of my pet peeves is, of course, conformity... which ties in a lot with stereotyping. oh, a christian woman in today's world is supposed to look like she's got it all... she has, after all, the Lord of the Universe living inside her... all's well in the life of a christian woman..... look like the rich women who can take care of herself. God forbid you should have pink hair, piercings, tattoos, or dreads! that person can't be a christian! she doesn't look like one.

well, what should a follwer of Christ look like? should i dress like Jesus dressed ... in robes and long hair? sounds stupid, right? so why should i conform to the world's standards of what a follower of Christ should look like? that's even more stupid.

i'm not going to mousse and gel and blowdry and outline and gloss and shine up every morning for an hour....why waste that time? for me, i could be somewhere i enjoy being: on the computer, doing something productive: writing, sharing, encouraging, ministering in whatever way God leads. i don't have to be streaked and polished to serve God.

i have pink (albeit fading pink) dreads. why do i dress that way? becuase it's who i feel God made me. how should a follower of Christ dress? authentically... suiting the God-given personality He gave them... not comforming out the originality of our Creative God who designed my personality as it pleased Him.

God made me... why should i take an eraser and rub out God's design? - to fit in?

RUBBISH.

Am i Fat?

well, i am now! lol... but mum recently found an old picture of me from when i was 12.... at that time i was totally convinced i was as fat as the day is long...

years of 'thunderthighs!', 'fatso!', etc, took their definate toll on me. i was fat and ugly and that was that.

so here's me, the fugly beast.....




....gasp!!!!! eeekk!!!! how horrid!!!!!

it brings me to tears to see that picture and remember how i felt about myself.

there was a lady, a friend of my nana's, who would come and help her out with self care... one day, quite some time before this picture was taken, i got home from school and had an afternoon snack. i was still hungry so i went to the fridge to find something else to eat.

she said to me, "you keep eatin' like that, and you're going to get fat."

like i needed to hear someone i looked up to echo what all those mean kids had been saying to me.

does it look like i was anywhere near fat however much later that pic was taken?!?! no!

that woman was not welcomed into the house again, by neither my mom or my nana.

*****

i truly believe she put a curse on me that day. to curse means to put a ban on someone. she banned me from ever having a positive self image, from being able to eat without guilt, from being able to love myself at the weight i was - which was normal!!!!!

it was bad enough hearing lies from kids... but when an adult says it, it's the uncontrovertable truth. after all, an adult said it. and when an adult confirms what all the liars have been saying about you, well then, the lies become true.

never, ever, ever let anyone tell you that childhood teasing/bullying is *normal*. that it's something kids just have to get used to. that is a LIE. it is condoning child abuse.... at the hands of children themselves, children who know no better, who just repeat what they have heard themselves, who need the adults in their lives to exercise some authority and TEACH them so they *will* know better. so...the ultimate abusers? the adults who are in the position of authority to stop it.

******

that said... that corney old adage is too true:

"what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

NOT that i am in any way saying that it's somehow ok...it's totally wrong.

but the trials that we have in our lives *are* ordained of God... to bring us to Him. to bring us to His Love. to His Truth. so that we may have His mercy on those who are still going through that stuff. as the basis of our little personal ministries that all women of God have.

unless a seed dies in the ground, it will not grow.... stuff like what i've been talking about in this post are the very tools God uses in our lives to bring us to our death...so that we may be reborn in Him, and grow and flourish as He has designed.

it's like dumping manure on a garden.... it's a raw, stinkin' deal....but ultimately, there is growth.

Henna for Hair

Henna for Hair - oomph. this is an excellent article on the costs of artificial beauty. i don't think i'll be dying my hair again (boo hoo, i love my pink hair)... becuase i think i may already have a sensitization to this chemical, i have a lot of the allergies listed.

PPD is not legal for use on skin, it's far too toxic ... yet it is allowed in hair dyes - and when we dye our hair, it gets all over our scalp, ears...

we think that things like the FDA and the canadian equivalent are watchin out for us.... but if they were, this stuff would not be allowed on the shelf. as it is, they are obviously able to see the logical idiocy of allowing it!

fact of the matter is, we need to look out for these things ourselves... and let others know about it when we find out about it. education.

and then be wise stewards over our bodies.... and not stick our heads in the sand and think it's gonna go away.

i guess i'll be using lemon juice to lighten my hair from now on....

Non-conformity

Conformity....AARRGGHH!!!!

well... it depends to what. we ARE to be conformed to the image of Christ.... but not to this world. and i REFUSE to follow the world's 'standards' for beauty.... mousse it up, gel it down, blonde / brunette / readhead, line the eyes, color the lips, hide those zits, hate my freckles, lose weight, sexy cleavage, trendy shoes.... BAH HUMBUG.

what i look like on the outside should not be a reflection of the world, but a reflection of who God made me to be.

So... overweight, pink dreads, freckle face, comfy sandles, pantyhose the bane of my existance, long skirts, no make-up, zits-who-cares, un-manicured nails (calluses on those guitar fingahs!!!), never-ever-nailpolish, big hoop earrings cuz-i-like-em, modest, wild'n'funky ME.

take me as i am, God does.

who cares what 'what-not-to-wear' says!!!!!

(don't get me started on that one~!!!!! GRRR....)

blessings to ya~!

Why This Blog?

i have for some time now felt led to start a blog on being a beautiful pilgrim woman in today's world.

and last night i was reading the scriptures and came across 1 Peter 3:3-4, and knew i had found the title, and the impetus, to get makin' it:

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." NKJV.

may this blog bless you, should you come upon it.

amen!