20th Feb 2007
googly eyes!
I came in to work this morning to find that someone had put those little plastic stick-on googly eyes on my faculty ID. I laughed so hard that I screwed up Felicia, the department secretary, who was trying to handle a student phone call. She got to laughing too and had to put the person on hold. Just another reason why I *love* working here.
So this morning I want to think and write about conceptions of male and female — specifically here in New Jersey, where to be a Jersey Girl means something in particular (I am still finding out what that is, btw). In moving around the country from the mountain West to the sweet sunny South and now the intense and stylish Northeast, I’ve seen many different variations of what it means to be a girl. Whereas less feminine and more low maintenance still rules in Colorado, especially in mountain towns, femininity is key in the Southeast. Here in Jersey, it’s an interesting mix of manicured nails and Ugg boots worn with sweatpants, carefully applied makeup and haphazard pony tails. My students wear rhinestone studded t-shirts with apparent ease and I always know the latest bag Coach has on offer as it makes its way around campus on the arms of many a girl. To be a Jersey girl is to be strong but also pretty, tough in some ways and soft in others. It’s a neat contradiction that my female students use to walk the line of tomboys with flair, hiding all the while behind sunglass lenses the size of my car windshield.
The googly eyes sounded great. I sometimes leave little notes in people’s mailboxes at work– stuff like that brightens the day, especially in the middle of winter and 30 degree weather.
The Jersey Girl is indeed the embodiment of a walking contradiction. I don’t know if I “fit the bill,” in terms of the typical description, but I know when you travel to other spots in the U.S. there seems to be a fascination with girls from NJ. People either think Jersey girls are spoiled snobs (like Antonella on American Idol) or girls still stuck in the 80s… I guess if you combine both, with a little more bit of carefree attitude, then you might have a Jersey Girl.
True Jersey Girl-ism can be seen during tailgating time at PNC summer concerts. Dr. D–if you’ve never been, you HAVE to go see Poison or Motley Crue or some other 80s band at PNC. Excellent people watching experience!!! [and an excuse to proudly wear neon colored accessories!]
What is PNC? This sounds like an excellent adventure… and I am a fan of 80s fashion and plastic jelly shoes and bracelets.