Sunshine, July and Daily Tangents #10 Taboo
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| Illustration by Buddy Summer* |
Hello and welcome to day 10 of Sunshine, July and Daily Tangents. If you've been following my blog posts in my little blog project you may have noticed that day 9 was uploaded hours before 11pm. To me, this was an achievement and I was on top of it. Therefore, I am writing this on the 9th of July in an attempt to stay organised. Fingers crossed this sticks!
July the 10ths word is Taboo and I, very aptly, felt quite hesitant towards this theme. I wasn't sure what I was going to discuss but, wanting to be spontaneous, I didn't plan.
In case you didn't know, the word taboo means when a topic isn't spoken about in society.
In my opinion, when a topic is taboo it's because it is difficult to discuss. For example, mental health, periods with women, death, topics in motherhood, sexuality; many many more. These subjects probably have the most attention on them but in society, they are spoken about perhaps the least. And I can completely understand that there feels like barriers in front of these things making them bigger and even more difficult to cross over. I also believe that this is why so many people push to get these things spoken about. They are very important subjects that when discussed can decrease in weight- not so much the size but how it feels within one person.
To a certain degree, traditionally taboo subjects have been decreased of their weight over the years thanks to all of the discussions. But they are still difficult to talk about.
Recently I watched an Instagram story of someone I follow explaining how they were going to get a smear test later that day. They mentioned how they find it embarrassing but wanted to share that this activity was going to happen to normalise it. I feel that normalising situations like these will eventually mean less embarrassment and anxiety when an individual has to undertake taboo situations similar.
This isn't a post saying that I find it easy to talk about everything but rather I try and now think: I want to normalise it and make it easier for myself so when there comes a time when I feel the need to discuss anything, I can.
Now to take a step out of the seriousness that surrounds Taboo, I went down the rabbit hole of this topic and found myself at Guilty Pleasures. I can see a clear link between taboo topics and subjects that are hidden. Guilty pleasures are an example under that umbrella. This is when you take pleasure in something you feel you shouldn't enjoy but most certainly do. This can be either in spite of yourself and who you think you are or in spite of what society tells you; an example being your age.
The *illustration that features on this blog post shows a woman from the 50s. I edited this vintage image to create a character: she is a mum and housewife. We find her during downtime when her baby is asleep. Society says she should be using this time to do her chores however shes doing what she loves, which happens to go against what a woman is in her time. She is inked and relishing in the music that she has brought outside with her. Her boots and choker suggest rebellion however she's demonstrating her maternal side by keeping her baby close and sheltered from the sun. This character is a caring mother in need of downtime which she's taking- still on the mummy clock. She loves being a mum but also misses who she was before motherhood.
It's Taboo for her in the 50s to want to be more than a mummy and housewife and it's her guilty pleasure to come outside and enjoy the sun with hula-hoops.
One of my favourite guilty pleasure stories comes from a family friend (I have been given permission to share this story)...
Growing up they had two younger siblings- one close in age and the other quite a bit younger. They all lived with their mum who would buy three cakes from the bakery every now and then as a treat. Three you may think, One for all three children? No no, the mum and her two oldest would get the youngest to bed before settling down to enjoy their cakes.
This story makes me smile because why wouldn't you just buy four cakes?
When the story was recounted to me I couldn't help but smile at our family friend as she explained the excitement they'd all share as they hurried to get their sibling upstairs and out of sight.
It sounds like a lovely memory for the siblings and for the mum who probably loved having this time with her children. I believe that the youngest doesn't know to this day and thanks to the anonymity they may not know still.
I searched the web to discover examples of guilty pleasures and here are a few of my favourites:
- Stealing toiletries from hotels (this reminds me of Ross from Friends)
- Eating a family size sweet treat on your own.
- Buying a packet of sweet treats that you know no one else likes so you can have it yourself.
- Binge-watching a tv series
- Following celebrity happenings
- Staying in your pyjamas all-day
- Eating straight out of the chocolate spread jar
- Telling your children that your favourite dessert is only for adults (this happened a lot as a child)
- Buying flowers for yourself (I actually really like this one and don't see the guilt in it)
I am a huge believer that you can like what you like and not feel ashamed in enjoying what you've been naturally drawn to (within reason of course). An example is High School Musical. As an adult, I love these films more than I did as a child. Now, I take pleasure in the nostalgia of watching them and the memories that erupt in my brain when I hear a certain song or watch a particular scene.
Thank you for reading day 10 of Sunshine, July and Daily Tangents. I will be back tomorrow with day 11: Paddington!Love,
Buddy Summer xx
Yesterdays Post: #9 Toothbrush
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