Breedermama Brings It

Today marks my first true encounter with “blogging” in the real blog world. Interesting to say the least. After meticulously searching through many bizarre and strange gender blogs (i.e. Sarah Palin-the Playboy Electorate or Eater-Weird Fish Spinoff), I came across The Breeder Files- a lusciously personal blog straight from the lips of Breedermama. Delving deep into Breedermama’s personal life while reading her posts about her daily activities with her children, who she refers to as J Pants and E Bean, and her husband, Daddy Pants (which I’m assuming refers to who wears the pants in their relationship) made me feel uncomfortable and intrusive into a random life; however, as I began reading her most recent blog post “Pink, it’s a loaded color...” I realized that I had a lot in common with this strange blogger.
Breedermama has “always prided herself with being an open-minded person, especially in regards to gender issues”(Breedermama 1). Always imagining that she would be the mother of little girls, her expectations of motherhood drastically changed when she had two sons. Breedermama’s “visions of going shopping with my mini-me and purchasing her a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves” (Breedermama 2) were shattered- “It had never occurred to me that members of the opposite sex are forced into their own cookie cutter mold, until I looked at my tiny son and thought of all the things people project onto his gender” (Breedermama 5). Disregarding these societal projections, Breedermama became determined not to impose any gender bias on her sons. J Pants and E Bean only received white baby accessories and could only play with toys or anything with colors that were not directly linked to the male or female race. Sans Tonka Trucks and Barbie dolls, Breedermama blogged about her children’s normal development without have been imposed with the societal expectations of boys or girls. Was the source of Breedermama’s rejection of gender-based colors, toys, and expectations coming from her disappointment in not having a girl? Possibly…

To say I am going to provide my baby with a “gender-free” lifestyle like Breedermama is ludicrous; however I strongly agree with the basic philosophy’s that Breedermama holds herself to regarding societal expectations. People are always “caught up in the tiny box that [people] have been forced into over the decades” (4). Until the birth of her second child, “it had never occurred to [Breedermama] that members of the opposite sex are forced into their own cookie cutter mold” because “of all the things people project onto one’s gender” (4). My personal philosophical beliefs are comprised of ignoring societies expectations and disregarding what other people think of me. Don’t get me wrong here because this is not a negative attribute. Whether its buying baby toys of a certain color, shopping for make up, or gossiping over useless information, people spend an excessive time worrying about expectations. For Breedermama it was the gender expectations of males (i.e. playing with tonka trunks, wearing blue, or being tough) but her philosophies can apply to everyone. We should all learn from Breedermama and act naturally and do things that we personally want to do- not what society wants us to do.

My First Blog Post

We live by rules that strictly bound our lives everyday. Society develops guidelines and rules of etiquette that people religiously abide by in fear of breaking free from society's expectations. As seen in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, people easily conform to the pressures of society. Diverse societies and varying cultures experience different pressures and expectations. Many parts of my blog will incorporate research and analysis of unique cultures and societies that are colorful and interesting. Our class recently read "The Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid-a short poem that discussed a mother's rules for a daughter. I wrote a poem called "The Gang" in the same format as "The Girl"; my poem proposed rules for someone who is in a gang.

"The Gang"

Take the leopard suit out of your closet; top hat laying straight across your clean shaven head; two sprays of cologne on each forearm; Timberlands laced high up; doo rag tied tight around your forehead; strap yourself with your Colt 45; step with your left foot and lean with your right; open the front door to success; step out onto the streets of Inglewood; take a walk to the fish market and repeat like me “Good Morning Ladies”; Pops this ain’t going to be this easy right?; walk with a swagger or else you’ll look weak; have no weakness for lack of confidence exposes prey; eyes straight ahead; make eye contact with the wrong animal and you will get the beast; run the streets like you own them; meet Naheem at the corner of 4th and Main; right hand out, left shoulder leaning; snap your fingers and do a step because you can do it all by yourself; let me see you do it; Come on Pops, you know who I be, you don’t know anything until your out there running the streets; pick up a pound of yayo outside of Crystal’s strip club; load your Colt 45 and prepare to get noticed; Because for me it’s the life of the party a little bit of juice a little bit of the gin; eyes wide open for gang members run the streets from Crystal’s; Latin King’s-back left corner; Black Guerrillas- back right corner; girls riding all over your hips; keep them on a leash because when a man steals your lady- he steals your pride; make your presence felt when you walk through the club; two pounds of bud waiting for you with Naheem; give him the cash you owe him for the yayo; get out of Crystal’s because when the sun rises the true me who run the streets walk in; call Jahari to pick you up in the Escalade; cruisin’ down the street in my 6-4, jockin’ a ____ smackin’ a ___; no rest for the weary-keep running the streets all day-n-nite.