ta-da! welcome to my world. :)
Monday, May 15, 2006
i don't want to be a stupid girl.

I was watching the Oprah primetime replay awhile ago (I was eager to watch it the moment I saw the trailer. ;) ), and I just can't help but blog because my mind was going to burst with the thoughts in my mind. Because that's the way I am. A geek with a mind that will suddenly just burst with thoughts. I am (literally) a thoughtful person. ;)

Anyways... Oprah Oprah.


***

"If I wasted my time trying to be someone else, I wouldn't be who I am right now." -Pink

So, let's talk about Pink's song, Stupid Girls. And the topic it talks about.

Initially, before you run an angry mob over Pink (for impersonating your favorite celebs), her song's main purpose is to spark conversations, debates and discussions about a topic that has taken over America, and is slowly, slowly taking over our very own country.

What topic?

Being completely obsessed with celebrities that you exactly HAVE to dress like them, buy things from their clothing line, augment or lessen your body parts, go to the bars that they go to and most of all, acting or pretending to be dumb, JUST SO GUYS LIKE YOU.

That is very stupid.

What maddens me is pretending to be dumb while you're not. You were given a gift and you should use it well. I'm not going to go about like a nun here, about using your talents wisely. But please,please do yourself a favor AND USE IT.

And I have to credit most young Filipino boys and men for actually going in for the "smart and beautiful" part. I once read Yael Yuzon comment in this Candy Magazine,

"I'm scared FOR a girl when she's not smart." - Yael.

I am not saying all American boys are all about girls with good looks, but that's what they show. On TV, on movies, anywhere and everywhere you look. They always prefer beauty over brains. It's good to know atleast, that some boys actually have enough sense to choose brains over beauty, or if not, both. My God, if I were a boy, I will have to be scared for myself to have a dumb girlfriend.

And it's true that no one is stupid in this world. EVERYONE'S SMART IN THEIR OWN WAY.

And being stupid, or flashing your breasts during Spring Break is not about deciding about it. It's not about making choices. You made yourself become overtaken by these "people" that you look up to, and actually act like them, affecting the decisions that you make.

Looking up to celebrities is one thing, acting and dressing the way they do is another.

You are practically defying the law of "being yourself".

You're not being yourself, you're being "objectified, imitating another person".

And why is this happening to us? Because of the things that they show around us. Media, of course, is a big key to how our world goes, how it works, how it progresses. Influence, is how to put it.

And let's say, I don't easily give in to influence. But I guess some girls do.

Because (much to my chagrin), they named in Oprah (well, they didn't actually name the books, they showed the pictures. but whatever, that's the same) Teen Fiction or Chick Lit, as how we all put it, as an influence to how young ladies act. Quoting some provocative and "ewww much" phrases from the books, they commented on how the books curb in young American women into acting the same way as the characters do, and actually making them brand-conscious, maybe choosing Manolo Blahniks over Keds or maybe something over Gucci or Prada. And I have actually read some of these books, and I felt the same me after reading those books. I'm still Vicky, and I still think buying Gucci bags is impractical.

Now I get why people want to ban the Da Vinci code, because some can't just understand what fiction is.

Anyhoo, I will continue reading these kinds of books, because I'm not easily influenced by them, and I really think that reading is fun.

And what do they want us to read? How IBM was built? Or why elephants can't dance? Or the Six Sigma thingy for businesspeople?

Even as a bookworm, I would stay away from these stuff. Well, I'm only 12. When I grow older, 4o maybe, I might be interested in these books.

ANYWAYS. (There's this thing about me. I'm easily distracted. One time I'm thinking about Sergio Mendes and things just connect and I end up thinking about Gio. )

I'm proud to be a geek, and if you're one, then you should be too.

There's this thing about stereotypes in America.

You want to know what stereotypes are?


ster·e·o·type ( P ) Pronunciation Key (str--tp, stîr-)n.

A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.


See, stereotypes are like having this certain image of an adjective. Like geeks. If you're wearing glasses and actually have braces on at the same time, you're a geek already, disregarding if you're as rich as Jay-Z or if you love shopping in Louis Vuitton with your Valentino dress on. (There's this thing about Chick Lit books naming labels in it. You learn A LOT. ) Or for example, beautiful. When you say beautiful, you say tall, stick-like, long-haired, blonde, small breasts and so on.. That's what stereotypes are. And I loathe stereotypes. Really.

So back to the stereotypes thing in America. Stereotypes leave room for teens to give in to stereotypes. Say, if you're beautiful, you typically have to be a size two. And I guess that's where it all starts.

So if you're thinking of dying your hair blonde, having lipsuction and trying to have a sex tape, please do yourself and everyone around you a teeny-weeny favor.

Think about it.

***

P.S. Fave authors Meg Cabot and Louise Rennison are people who I wouldn't dare categorize to the same authors who wrote the books shown in Oprah (sorry to tell you, they were the gossip girls and the clique series.). Not because I'm bias, but read their books and read Cecile von Ziegesar's (pardon me, I don't know how to spell her surname) and you'll notice the difference. Because you do actually learn something from Meg Cabot. I am honest about this.