Why Women Should Pay More Attention to the Moon
I was recently asked why should women pay attention to the moon? There are two answers to that. The first is rather practical. If you were going to be caught in a thunderstorm or heat wave, wouldn’t you prefer to know about it in advance so that you can prepare?...
Sleepwalking on Mull
I didn’t spend a lot of time on Mull. We caught a late ferry and had to scoot to get to Iona. The weather was dreich (dreary). I am sure that impacted the way things felt there. Honestly, it felt like the world was sleepwalking on Mull. It’s the closest I’ve ever come...
Skin Hunger: What Does It Mean to Be Touch Deprived?
Skin Hunger Humans have a physiological need for touch. And yet there are many things in the modern lifestyle that set us up for skin hunger, such as: We're heading into year 3 of social distancing.Working from home can mean many people go a whole week without seeing...
Your experience when you were little is very reminiscent of mine too.
It is terrible, the “what are you?” questions. It makes my soul cry and cringe a bit to hear it again. For me, it was multi-layered. It was not just about questioning only my general ethnicity, but the specifics of the “Asians.” Like “what kind of Asian, and what region, based on skin-tone, because only “lighter skinned Vietnamese” could possibly come from the north and not the south. That kind of ignorance and insensitivity, that I had to tolerate. But the “what are you” was also in question of my gender. When I was little, I was very androgynous, ambiguous and a shape-shifter. Simply tossing my hair left or right or under a hat made a difference. And I also love wearing what style clothes I like, whether boys’ or girl. It doesn’t matter. Look at nowaday with all this “unisex” and “everybody collection” stuff. Who cares! Clothes does not define gender or sex! I enjoy the versatility and full spectrum expression and cared very little about having to “appropriate present” myself as a specific gender to the general public.
The questions are not even asked as a genuine way to get to know or learn more about someone that comes as a poorly asked question. It was simply an insulting way to satisfy their curiosity and assert superiority and power. “What are you”, an animal, extraterrestrial, a thing.
It is truly sickening in the stomach to think about.
I imagine, if I had answered “earthling,” I would be laughed at, mocked at, and thrown rocks at.
😔 More kindness is witnessed amongst the wild animal kingdom than the human one.
So sorry that you experienced that. Thanks for sharing. I hope that people will read this and begin to think about what they are saying. Seeing all creatures from a heart space, a space of inclusion, may change our language.