Before I start my rambling for the day I want to thank my sisters at The Secret Is In The Sauce for featuring my blog this week.
Now on to my rambling.........
I have been reading a couple of threads in the Pinching Your Pennies forums about being Stay-At-Home-Moms, Finding Day-Care, and then another one that really has me thinking!! The subject is "Not the Typical Utah (you fill in the blank)". Words commonly used to fill in the blank --- Mom, Wife, Neighbor, Neighborhood, Mormon, Religion...... Phrases like this bug me! Do people use the phrase when they want to clarify that they are not at all like the group they're referring to. Of course that implies that there is something wrong with the group they're referring to? Or do they think that there is something wrong with themselves because they fell that they are not "typical"?
In Utah I think that there is a lot of pressure on women especially to try to be "typical" but what works for one my not work for another. Is this part of the reason that there is a higher percentage of Utah women using anti-depressants than any other state? Is it why there is such a high percentage of Utah women/mothers using Meth?
Here is a quote I borrowed from Karin at PYP.. "I also dislike when it is used to put down a group as a whole. Example: Not your typical Utah neighborhood. The speaker is referring to a neighborhood that she feels is filled with people who mind their own business vs. others where she feels everyone is into everyone's business. Pretty judgemental in my opinion. The context it is used in plays a big part in how it is taken by others. The same sentence could be looked at completely differently in another conversation. Example: Not your typical Utah neighborhood. The speaker is referring to a neighborhood that is bullet filled every night and overflowing with gang problems. In my opinion, not a problem. The phrase "not your typical" is not inherently bad. It is just how it is used and how it is received. A lot of that depends on the point of view of the speaker and the listeners."
Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves?? Just be who you are. Don't try to fit a cookie-cutter mold. Don't put people down because they are not what you perceive as typical.
I wonder if people that live in other states has the same issues? Is it really a Utah thing?
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Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the launch of "Frugal Tip Friday"!!
9 comments:
Thanks for stopping by my blog! It's fun to be on the Saucy list this week eh??
I gotta think of a 'not your typical' for me... hmmmmm....
Not your typical bitch???
hehehehe....
It isn't a UTAH thing! Thats for sure! Thank you for popping by my blog! Looking forward to reading more of yours!
Hey Sherri, I'm wih you. One time
I was watching my sisters kids so she and her hubby could go out with his parents. Well when they came to pick up the kids, I heard his mom making fun of how I had decorated my porch, saying I'm such a typical Utah mom in how I decorate. How gutsy, here I had just watched their grandkids so they could all go out to eat. Their from Canada by the way.
Thanks for coming by my blog. I have to confess that I say something akin to those things. I am a transplanted Southener, but I feel more at home here than I ever did back "home" in RI. Now I find myself saying I am not a typical southern belle. I dont mean anything by it though, I just mean that I have an edge - probably the yankee in me - but at the same time I am truly the epitome of southern hospitality. Now I feel a little guilty for saying it (good job sherri-hehe).
You really need to get you one of these lists. They are kinda cool and exciting in that "I-been- married-a-looooong-time-way".
Oh BTW. Love your music choices here on the blog - AWESOME!!!!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. THis post is intriguing. After the last general conference I wondered if there was a drug abuse problem with moms in Utah. Apparently so. I guess that's one way to step outside the cookie cutter. j/k. I think there is a whole "mommy culture" in Utah that is different from other areas. Some good, some bad. But it is what it is. Please stop by anytime.
Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog. And I really like your post today. Yes, we in Georgia get the "not your typical" a lot. Unfortunately, the media portrays "typical" Georgians when they only interview the one old man with one tooth sitting in front of his old trailer after being hit by yet another old tornado. Believe it or not, we are all typical Georgians in our own very unique ways. And I'm pretty proud of that! Have a great day!
In response to Teri's comment --- don't you just love the way the media portrays states? People outside of Utah might think we are all polygamists.... Thankfully my husband only has one wife!!
I loved this post and I love your blog. I'm so happy that SITS featured you. YOU ROCK on Sister Girl.
Hugs,
Kat
I found you from Saucy-I too live in Utah-heck, we are so close, we could go to lunch:)
Anyway-I want to say that I agree with you. It is so frustrating to me that we "mormon women" and our families are characterized as "that" neighborhood" oh, you know the type. it is really frustrating, cause I am not like the people that they are referring too. They just think that I am like that. This post was a great eye opener how we can get trapped into judjing others and not even pay attention that we are even doing it. So-thanks for the heads up. I too wonder, Is this only a utah thing? Or maybe it's a mormon thing?
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