Monday, November 29, 2004
Hampstead Heath and Hairy Legs
Two tiny thoughts I’m nailing together despite their protests. I was up around Hampstead Heath on Saturday and thought, “wow, this isn’t like London at all.” But it is. Obviously. I am comparing real life with some idea of London I hold in my head. This conceptual metropolis - made up from films romantic and gritty, the West End, the City, Clapham, Brixton, Streatham Hill, various other districts – is incomplete and misleading. Uxbridge, Neasden, Dulwich, Theydon Bois are all “London” as much as is Peckham. This phenomenon of having problems with x for not being x enough happens all the time, of course. Hairy legs on women is considered unfeminine, although it is completely natural. Men who find unshaved women attractive are considered odd, suspect, and possibly homosexual, all for desiring the female rather than the feminine. The idea of “woman” exists separate to actual women instead of coming from them. But I’m not trying to impress by being right-on here. I know it’s obvious and common-place; it just struck me as a particularly glaring example.
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Two tiny thoughts I’m nailing together despite their protests. I was up around Hampstead Heath on Saturday and thought, “wow, this isn’t like London at all.” But it is. Obviously. I am comparing real life with some idea of London I hold in my head. This conceptual metropolis - made up from films romantic and gritty, the West End, the City, Clapham, Brixton, Streatham Hill, various other districts – is incomplete and misleading. Uxbridge, Neasden, Dulwich, Theydon Bois are all “London” as much as is Peckham. This phenomenon of having problems with x for not being x enough happens all the time, of course. Hairy legs on women is considered unfeminine, although it is completely natural. Men who find unshaved women attractive are considered odd, suspect, and possibly homosexual, all for desiring the female rather than the feminine. The idea of “woman” exists separate to actual women instead of coming from them. But I’m not trying to impress by being right-on here. I know it’s obvious and common-place; it just struck me as a particularly glaring example.
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