Colin wrote: "Lieve reminded me we are going off to Brussels on Saturday to
pick a bitch up from the airport there."
and Jimmy replied: "LOL Colin !!! For new listers who don't know that you
breed dogs, your sentence is kind of funny. :~) Of course we all know Lieve
is the sweetest girl in the world."
and Colin replied: " Lieve is BELGIAN which is what reminded me!!!!!"
Well I must say, when I opened Colin's first message this morning, I had a
really good giggle! I knew what he meant but could see the double meaning -
well let's hear it for Belgian bitches! I hope you will find them the best,
Colin!
And Jimmy's sweet intervention was just too nice not to repeat, so there!
In fact, this reminds me of something I've been thinking about before. Of
course it's not right, for a lot of reasons, to be called a bitch. But in
this often still sexist world, I've learnt to sometimes take pride in being
called a bitch. Like having balls, I suppose. In certain environments
(like very often the place where I work) if as a woman you're determined and
stand up for what you think is right, you're called a bitch where a man
would be called forceful or tough or professional. So a few times I have
just smiled and thought "Well if that's what it takes, then I'd rather be a
bitch than a doormat."
It also reminds me of another little anecdote. I bought a house 10 years
ago (luckily that long ago, before prices went mad). A few years later a
(gay male) couple moved in, two numbers down the road. We became best of
friends and again some time later, when they knew me well enough, one of
them confessed that they had been interested in buying my house when I was
buying it, but I got there first and the estate agent advised them not to
even try to get it, because "there was this real hard nosed bitch who wanted
to buy it"! Well I really appreciated them telling me, we had a good laugh
about it, they had come to realise it just meant I was organised and
determined and not likely to be fobbed off easily, but this was the first
image they got of me, before we had even met! I know, I could have been
angry with the guy who'd made the remark, but you know, I can't spend my
life being angry about people's stupid prejudices. There is just so much
stupidity and prejudice that you have to choose your fights wisely. That's
also what I would say about the debate that went on some days ago about
homophobia. Yes, if you look very closely, there's a lot of it. But let's
start with trying to change the mind of the people who have really anti-gay
sentiments, and regretfully there are many of them. If those wrongs could
be righted, the rest of the silly little comments would disappear too.
I don't want to have to worry about whether it was right or not for me to
mention in the text above that my couple of neighbours are gay. Maybe it's
not relevant to the story but to me it felt right.
And I'd rather be called a bitch which to me says I know what I want and I'm
standing on my own legs, than to hear comments like: "And how does your
husband feel about you doing this-or-that" or "Doesn't your husband mind if
you do so-and-so" - which just immediately gets my blood boiling!
Gosh I'd better stop, I've been going off on a tangent and most of those
things are so personal, they probably don't make much sense when posted on
the list, it's the sort of stuff I'd rather discuss person to person to
avoid misunderstandings.
Lieve.
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