Feeling Like A Woman

Sometimes I think people just don't understand women. That we're complex and all so different. They especially don't understand women's sexuality. I say "people", but I'm mostly referring to men although even women can fall into the trap of seeing being a woman in very rigid ways.

Today I was outside the local supermarket, talking on my cellphone, wearing a pink mini-skirt (as you might expect) when a guy walking by said "Hello Barb1e." I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It could be insulting to think of a woman as simply a Barb1e doll, but then again I love Barb1e and have a collection of Barb1es that are reflections of myself (one dressed up in traditional Indian clothing, one who speaks English and Spanish, a bride, etc.). And being in Mexxico, it's probably both less and more insulting. Anyone who doesn't look typically Mexxican with fair skin and a lighter color hair, does relatively look more like Barb1e. But it can also be a bad thing because foreign women are often stereotyped as nympho-nymphets.

Diva

Later I went to a drag show called D1rty B1tches. Two of the stars I know from the other clubs (D1va performs regularly at the club) and the other (Jacquel1ne) I'd never seen before, but she was fabulous. I went with my friend @bner and a handful of other guys. We all sat at a big table in front of the stage and at one point the emcee said "What is this? The Last Supper? And you must be Mary M@gdalen." Everyone got a kick out of that.


One of the numbers that Jacquel1ne performed was the Shan1a Twa1n song "I Feel Like a Woman". This is a popular drag tune and gay men also seem to love it. I was also singing along; even though I'm not usually into pop country music, I like the tune. It was a bit surreal to be the only straight woman in the crowd with a few lesbians, some trannies, and many gay men, all singing along together to "I Feel Like a Woman". I love drag queens, but it is sometimes funny to me to muse about how they are such a strange exaggeration of womanhood.

I feel comfortable with who I am as a woman. But often I feel other people think (and sometimes express) that I should wear more makeup, or do more with my hair, or have children, or get married, or that I have too many lovers or some other concept of how they feel a woman should be. I'd like to think by me just being me, people might start to think that not all women fit into the same mold, but we're all women nonetheless.