Actually I see a lot of things in my twitter feed that makes me pause but in this case it was a negative thing. It was a tweet that contained these words "I'm not an ordinary submissive....." and then it went on to describe why this individual believed she wasn't "ordinary."
I started wondering - What exactly is an "ordinary" submissive? Are her needs or standards greater than mine or other submissives I know?
Maybe she's just trying to be different. But doesn't our personalities and who we are as individuals set us apart from others? Isn't it enough to be true to ourselves? Do we have to announce that we are not ordinary?
I think the reason why this really stood out for me is because I'm constantly seeing other women on social media make announcements about how they're different than the stereotype. And I'm just so completely tired of this constant need to label ourselves and others.
I often see the statement "I'm not a girly girl." What is a girly girl anyway? And why is it bad? I enjoy manicures and massages and right now I'm sporting pink nail polish. I also rock cowboy boots and jeans and drive a big ass truck. Am I a girly girl? Or am I a tomboy? Why do I have to be either one of those? Why can't I just be....and this is where it gets crazy.....ME.
Are we intent on making these announcements because we don't want to be stereotyped? And if so, why do we care? If someone is set on stereotyping me then obviously they're not interested in knowing who I am as an individual and consequently I'm not interested in having them in my life.
I'm not saying that there is something wrong with wanting to stand out of the crowd. I'm just worried about doing it in a way that, whether intentional or not, disparages others. I believe it feeds a need to compete against each other. And this need is what holds women back. It represents a definite lack of respect for each other. So while we yell loudly about how women aren't respected in everyday life, how can we expect this to change when we can't even give each other that same respect?
It very well could be that this tweet was just a random thought. I'm not finding fault with the author or making an assumption that she is part of the problem. It was just a few words that caught my eye and fueled a fire that's been burning away in my brain for some time now.
I feel much better now that I've gotten this out of my head. Although I still have no idea what an "ordinary' submissive is.