ab irato

My IV is in place, and it was secured tightly-so tightly. in fact, that I had to call for a nurse to release it! That's just so wrong. Jerry has installed himself on my lap and despite my eviction efforts, he won't budge. I don't know why, but he's just cemented in place! He just trotted off to snack, and returned with his little tail going at a high rate! He's standing on Don now, trying to get him to play; I'm amused by his tiny tail-it's shorter than my thumb, but when he gets excited he tries to wag his whole hind end! My little spoiled puppy!   I've been nibbling on Cheerios today, plus a bowl of soup. It's pretty decent- I didn't need any Ensure, which I like to skip! Jerry is very hyper, rearranging the throw on the sofa and is staring at me in hopes of getting me to play- I can't because the IV tubes are still in place, but he's not believing me. Did I mention that he's silly?

As Christmas approaches, so too are the "ideal gifts list." For myself. most are NOT ideal. Few of my friends are golfers and even fewer are Scotch drinkers (except me) So the "Top 10 gifts for the man in your life" list are essentially duds. The gifts for women are often housewares - baking dishes, small appliances- or jewelry, or clothes. They may be good ideas, but not for my circle of friends. Rather disappointing!

It does make me wonder how far we've actually come when we talk about gender-neutrality. Gifts for young girls are all too often pink, sparkly, "princess" items, while boys have Lego, coding games, sports items, magic, and so on. Are we still trying to set up Suzy Housewife and Bobby Businessman? The reaction from certain groups would suggest that it's the case. Are we really prepared to have girls who want to work in construction, or boys who want dance as a career? Will there be ridicule if kids don't gender-conform? That leads me to another question that bugs me. What does it mean for a girl to be "feminine"? Or, for that matter, for a boy to be "masculine"? How are these defined, outside of a marketer's pink princess dreams, or blue sports hero? Yes, I saw the words I used, but it covers the marketing approach.

My next question, which relates to those, is how do you know how feminine you are? Is there a way to determine that you are sufficiently feminine? Is it possible for a woman to be too feminine?  I've seen some articles on the impact of social media on the self esteem of youth-male or female, but mainly young girls- where there's a lot of pressure to conform to western beauty standards, which are harsh. But how would you know if you conformed sufficiently to the standards that are circulating- bearing in mind that many are contradictory? Is there a common description of femininity (or masculinity) that we have that we can share? Do we agree that it's a good or necessary thing? Has the definition changed over time? How is it used and are there standards that are enforced? Are women also subject to the same assessment as young girls?  Are we expected to conform to an idea of femininity?  What is it, if so?  Am I not sufficiently feminine if I don’t like to do laundry, for instance?  

All of this from a gift suggestion list... but I am truly interested in your thoughts. Do you think that your views of femininity change depending on whether you're thinking about your daughter/niece or a random woman? Looking forward to your responses.

That's all for tonight. Sleep is calling. so I'm off. Good night.