A Palimpsest of Soul and Skin

Lately I have taken more of an investigative interest in The Beauty Myth - both the book by Naomi Wolfe (which Warren purchased for me earlier this week - the darling!) as well as the idea itself. As shown in the Wiki entry (which, yeah, is always good for a drive-by), a portion from the Introduction: The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us...During the past decade, women breached the power structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing specialty...pornography became the main media category, ahead of legitimate films and records combined, and thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal... More women have more money and power and scope and legal recognition than we have ever had before; but in terms of how we feel about ...

Today, I went and did it, something I have been afraid of: Giving blood. There was a blood drive in my office building again today, and without thinking about it too much, I made an appointment and went in. The volunteers and staff were incredibly affirming and welcoming, and I got a shiny new donor pin! Aw, look at it there, all shiny on my lapel! Warren, who was working at Chapters a few blocks away, came over to meet me. Because he is The Man he held my hand while they drained me of my lifeblood, and he was extravagantly attentive and supportive throughout. We had lunch after and each went our separate ways for the rest of the afternoon. I'm really looking forward to being home with him in a few hours.I feel only the slightest bit woozy, and just a little bit proud of myself. And I feel very smug about my precious blood type - being O negative and all. ;-) Special Renée is Special - in more ways than one. It was also nice to know that my iron levels and blood pressure are...