The Outrageous Act as Gender Busting Wanda M.

My outrages act was to attend lunch on Saturday afternoon with my girlfriends, dressed in a manner that is not typical of me. I will not be caught dead in publc with my friends without makeup and underdressed. I guess as a hispanic woman I have been thought to dress my best and dress to impress. Dressing up to be the contrary of who I am was outrages not only to my friends but to myself as well. I was challenging the stereotype that in social situations females are supposed to always be presentable and dressed beautiful. The setting of my act is the Cheesecake Factory and the audience was 3 of my girlsfrinds from childhood. As I got ready or therefore "lack of getting ready", I was expecting my friends to be shocked and confused about my appearance. I learned that I am very femine and very concerned about what people think when it comes to my appearance. This act of being "bummy" out in public brought out very intense feelings such as my lack of self esteem. A lot of old feelings surfaced, these feelings dealt with insecurities about my outward appearance. My friends looked confused when they saw me. They of course were dressed nice and had makeup on. They kept on asking me why I was looking so "casual". I know they were trying to be nice. In a nice way they were trying to say that I looked like a bum. I learned about myself and my friends. I learned that my outer appearance does affect my mood and self worth. I carry myself differently when I feel "pretty". I am more confident and secure when I look my best. As a feminist I know that my self worth is not based on how I look or what im wearing but its also hard to deny the influence our society and culture has on our persona. My friends were shocked to say the least. Although they were shocked I learned that they still love me and enjoy my company regardless of that im wearing. Most importantly I learned that gender stereo types are hard to ignore. As much as I know who I am and can finally say that I am proud of the woman Ive become, gender stereo types are still part of out lives. I am a feminist and still struggle with gender stereo types. One might say, "you're affected by gender stereotypes because your not a true feminist". That is not the case at all. I am just a feminist who lives in a world and society that needs to change. That is what I learned, there is nothing wrong with me or my feminist views on gender, its just the society we live in that needs to change.