#feelingalien

Ever feel like you don't fit in? Like your not the same life form as those around you? Like you are here but you are connected to something else, somewhere else? Oh, that's just me? #goodwitchescloset #missfit #outerconnection #feelingalien #feelingoutofplace #feelingblessed #awakening #rememberingyourroots #chakrasaligned #kundalini https://www.instagram.com/p/CDlRJ8GHXDz/?igshid=1o45pnupv9u9z

Me opening the shop after @nehi_band played @emptybottle last night. 👽 #recordstorelife #chicagomusic #feelingalien #extraterrestrial #jokes #musicallnight #lovechicago

I feel like an alien among you. I was born here. I just don't wanna be like you. #checkoutmyUFO #happilyantisocial

I am in a summer college course called Mass Media and Society, it kind of sucks but that’s not the point. During one of our first days of class, the instructor was discussing the relationship between gender roles and depictions of different genders in the mass media. At one point we watched this awesome short documentary that I will link to later, but before that the teacher touched on the stereotype that women are shopaholics. Anyway, the teacher asked the class something like, "Do any of the women in this class sometimes feel pressured to shop?" I tried to hang back because sometimes I feel like I am always opening my mouth in that class. (Honestly, it’s really boring, so I tend to raise my hand quite frequently to avoid going to sleep.) But NOBODY responded to the question. So, the teacher repeated, "Nobody feels any pressure to shop?" I am pretty sure one girl said, “no” and then the teacher dropped the subject. In my mind, I was like if advertisers were in this room they would be like, “the brainwashing is complete.” I was pretty much floored that nearly all my classmates (the class is about 80% female) just acted like they came out of the womb wanting to shop. Later the same day, I was collaborating with some women on a class project, where we were supposed to be finding examples of media that showcase stereotypes about men and women. My classmates and I decided to use clips from Sex and the City, and the cartoon, Johnny Bravo. We chose this Sex and the City clip and I specifically remember one of the women the group saying something like, "Carrie’s being really girly here, obsessing about shoes." It’s not that remarkable of a statement BUT I find it frightening, in the context of a class where all the women just indicated that they feel no pressure to shop. I mean to me saying that obsessing about shoes = a sign of femininity, indicates that you have learned somewhere that women should like shopping. So, to claim that you are not affected by the incredibly widespread messages that women are ALL ABOUT SHOPPING means you’ve been lost to the fucking advertising matrix, as you cannot even tell when the machine is at work. AHH! By no means am I saying that if you like shopping and you are a woman, you should stop because that fits a gender stereotype. Rather I am saying if you are woman (or really any person), it might be useful to examine WHY you like to shop and WHETHER there are certain ideas from media that impact your decisions. So, you know, you can feel like you are making an informed to choice to shop ‘til you drop. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a woman and I generally dislike clothes shopping (especially in malls)—> BIASED.