Girls in Green talk Feminism

Ever since I had my first contract with the civil services, I became a keen listener of the Irish radio station RTÉ 2fm.
Having quickly adapted to the comfort of a dull office job, I started to get my daily ups out of listening to Tubs and Colm Hayes and sending in the odd e-mail to feed my new addiction. Last year, I even got to talk to Colm about the matter of German Bratwurst, Döner Kebabs and sausages on the go!

Lately, there have a number of feminism-related issues been discussed on the radio, such as the current state of abortion in Ireland, whether women should have armpit hair, if there are any funny females out there, and last but not least Colm was asking on yesterday's show, whether feminism itself is still existent or not.

I have always been a silent yet passionate supporter of feminism, once I wasn't busy cooking, cleaning or changing nappies of course, and felt that I could make a valuable contribution to his show. So, I sent in a mail, which I am proud to say received loads of credit through Colm :-). I was also asked if I'd like to talk about it on air, but as you know I was supposed to be working and am admittedly being too much of a coward to stand up for my believes in public, just like so many other women. On that note it is no surprise that Colm hasn't heard much about feminism for a long time.

A podcast of the show can be found here (keyword "feminism"):  http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_colmhayesshow.xml 

And if you can't be bothered to listen to it online, this was my mail to Colm: (even though you're going to miss out on some great praise ;)

Hi Colm,

There are so many reasons to be a supporter of feminism that I can't list them in my short mail.

I just want to make you aware of the way women are brought up to be watching their every step to comply with society. Anti-feminism is a deeply social problem that has always been there and because it is going a long way back, we are not even aware of it!

From the moment a baby girl is born, other than a baby boy, she is going to be raised to please the people around her and from the moment she reaches adolescence her every move will be watched and she will always be judged by her looks (Does she shave her armpit hair?) and by her ability to be a good mother(it is unnatural for a mother not to be constantly around her kids) and wife (Is she being faithful?).

To make it more vivid, just think of a hairy lad who loves his family, but doesn't want to be around them the whole time amd instead spend time in a pub to watch matches. He also loves his wife, but after a few years of marriage physical interaction has become rare and he starts an affair with another woman. Sounds normal enough to be socially accepted, doesn't it? For a man that is!

How come the biggest enemies of feminism are found amongst women? Lack of equality perhaps?

If you are interested in feminism, particularly the way womankind is portrayed in the media, I would love to recommend this beautiful and professionally done blog: http://vagendamag.blogspot.com/ , which was created by a number of young modern age feminists who don't feed the stereotype of bra-burning, angry lesbians, that many of us have in mind when thinking of (the early and very important days of) feminism. 

Here come the Girls!

Due to popular demand (and because I'm writing an awful lot about Irish men), I would like to dedicate today's article to the Irish female. Careful now! The following post contains strong prejudice and therefore isn't for the easily offended ;-).

Brenda Fricker in "The Field" Vs. ...

Having first arrived in Ireland, one of the most peculiar things that struck me was that the expression "girl" virtually applies to every female between the ages of zero and way beyond ninety here.
Some of you might understand my confusion over people talking about so-called "girls", when in fact they've been referring to a group of pensioners that they've just met. I guess it is sweet in a way, but also confusing to someone straight talking like me. Even back home in Germany I always find it strange and slightly patronizing when I see someone adressing an elderly lady as "junge Frau".

Whereas all Irish women may pass as girls regardless their age and looks, the following stereotypes however, portray two completely different breeds of females.

Remember Oscar-winning Brenda Fricker in "My Left Foot" playing Christie Brown's mother and ever since getting typecast as the "proud Irish mother" (despite not having children of her own)? The "proud Irish mother" is typically described as the backbone of a country family, which she usually dedicates and sacrifices her whole life to. The Irish mother is a down to earth woman with seemingly little needs, who is superior to her usually bullish husband in a quiet and knowing way.

And now take the likes of Rosanna Davison or Georgia Salpa as the "Glamour Girls" counterpart to our "proud Irish mothers".
You usually meet them at big social gatherings, such as horse races and, well, horse races, and unlike our plain Irish mothers, they are hard to miss in a crowd of people. I will never forget when I first went to the traditional Stephen's Day (Boxing Day in the UK) race at Leopardstown. Despite temperatures barely above freezing point, I have never again seen as many women wearing high heels without tights and dresses so short, they barely covered their vital organs. Not to mention thick layers of make-up and fake tan obviously.

...The "Tallafornia"-Girls

Where do you think does it all start? And are our fame-hungry glamour girls really a different breed to our Irish mothers? Or is it a process of transformation and every glamour girl will eventually turn into a proud Irish mother?

(You can't fool) The children of globalisation

According to some famous T-Rex lyrics, you can't fool the children of the revolution. If you couldn't do it back in 1972, you certainly can't do it to our furure generation who are growing to be culturally diverse adults - the children of globalisation. Or can you?

I don't know how it only came to my attention recently, but there are a hell of a lot of multi-national children out here in Ireland!
Amongst Aviva's extended family and playground friends are the most interesting co-productions of at least two nationalities you can think of. Due to Celtic Tiger years, the most seen mix of genes would be Irish-Polish. However, thinking of all the parents and children I've met so far, I can list you any combination from Irish-Italian to South-African-Austrian-Irish.

Now, how come there are so many mixed race children in Ireland?
And do you think their future life will be easier, due to superior language skills, or only more complicated, through cultural clashes that their parents may never have experienced when they grew up?

One explanation for multiculural Ireland might just be a general misinterpretation of mine. As you all know it's a very small country with a population of just 4.6 million, most of which live in the general Dublin area (apparently where most of the jobs are...). As we live in this melting pot too, it's hard for me to judge what's going on "down the country" and it may just seem as if there are so many different cultures coming together in Ireland, when in fact there are still many purely Irish families in Offaly with six or more kids.

But isn't it also an accepted truth that since the Great Famine the Irish spread out (their seed) all over the world and continue to do so? Expressions like "Irish Twins" wouldn't have found their way into Idiomatic dictionaries if it wasn't for the US-Americans who mocked Irish-Catholic immigrant families for their fertility in the 1800s. And how come there are Irish pubs in every country of the world? It has also become a tradition amongst young Irish people to go travelling for a year after their Leaving Cert and in many cases to bring back more than only a souvenir from a foreign country (I'm talking about a girl or boyfriend obviously).

So, what will the future bring for our multicultural children? Experts predict that in a few thousand years there won't be such a thing as racial differences anymore, as we are all going to "melt" into one big race so to speak. On the positive side, this would eventually mean an end to racism. On the negative side, due to increasing globalisation there will be a flood of apparent possibilities that even our current generation is struggling to cope with. Being a binational family certainly has many positives, such as bringing up a child bilingually without much of an effort. But what is a young family to do in a recession-ridden country, where only one of them has work here and the other one is offered some somewhere else..?

On a totally unrelated matter I would like to mention here that Robert Sheehan was on the Late Late last Friday. For all the unfortunate ones amongst you who missed it (just like myself), you can watch a repeat on the link provided. Thankfully, he is even the first guest on the show. Just listen carefully to the tune he walks on to and remember my post on sharp dressed Irish men. Do you think we're kindred spirits perhaps ;-)? http://www.rte.ie/tv/latelate/index.html

Sharp Dressed Irish Men - a Celtic Legend?

I am surprised none of the blogs that I'm following at the moment has picked up on this topic yet. So therefore I am more than pleased to write about something that really matters and that I know a lot about: Irish men and their looks!

In the past Ireland has proven me wrong in many respects. Whether it be the amount of annual rainfall or the density of it's ginger-haired population. (It actually doesn't rain as much as a German would think it does and you do not constantly run into redheads.) 

However, what about the Irish male? Why do they all dress so badly and is there such thing as a sharp dressed Irish man?

The stereotypical Irishman has a reputation of being a down to earth bloke, who's mad about sports and loves to slip into something way more casual after a hard day's work at the office than a tie and a shirt - the famous tracksuit bottoms! 
You literally see them everywhere in Ireland and not without reason the Irish are often named alongside the British when it comes to the worst dressed European Nation.
Even my own partner prefers to wear his dad's old tramp jacket accompanied by trackies over a brand new decent looking coat that his Mum got him for Christmas! As you can see, the stubbornness of the Irish doesn't make this search any easier!

And it's not just me who's looking for them - sharp dressed Irish men. In his one part documentary, John McGuire tries to explore "the psychology of Irish men and their attitude to fashion and overall appearance". By the time McGuire appears on screen in his pinstriped suit you start wondering though whether he should have chosen a sharper outfit himself to present the show. However, everyone who saw the program last December will probably agree that it was entertaining to see how he transformed an unemployed man by peeling him out of his tracksuit, flying over to Paris, getting a custom-made suit and shirt and even creating his own fragrance. Well, what do you think? Did that fellow get the job he applied for? Of course he did!

And now on to some other Irish blokes that got a job (probably) due to their good looks. Just below that post I put up a few photos that show four of my favourite Irish male celebs. I would be delighted if you all got involved and take a guess who is who. You can win a FREE subscription to this blog and the chance to become a co-author of Girls in Green ;-).

Everywan should have a Gok!

Yesterday evening I happened to watch the Late Late Show again for the first time in ages. I bet you wonder why - and I can't blame you. But here it is:

As I flicked from Take Me Out to RTÈ 1 during the break, I saw the old Tubs announcing GOK WAN to be on the show and an unusually excited audience was cheering in the background. There was no way I could have missed out on that - even if it meant that I had to spend the first hour and a half watching the Late Late.
If you are a female between the ages of 15 and 65 (roughly speaking) you will certainly understand the hype. Especially, if one of your main concerns is how to look good naked (or with your clothes on), camp fashion stylist Gok Wan is your man! The whole idea of his television program is to make women and men feel comfortable in their own skin by giving them a makeover and telling them they're beautiful no matter what size and body shape they are. At the end of the show they'd usually be confident enough to appear naked in front of the camera. I really don't get why there's no new season of How to look good naked out yet! Well, I guess it was replaced by Gok's Fashion Road Show that touches more than only one topic.

But now back to Gok's appearance on the Late Late Show.
Tubridy correctly introduced him as the man women would leave their husbands for, and he obviously wasn't talking about the way they would dump their blokes for a stud.
With half-Chinese, half-British Gok being on stage, the show almost seemed less old-fashioned and Ireland almost cosmopolitan. Our stiff Tubs even dared to joke about the downstairs department, which he obviously regretted instantly by flushing like a little schoolgirl. 

Talking about his one-part documentary Made in China, where Gok tries to trace back his roots, Tubridy finally asks him to pick the best dressed woman and man in the audience to win a shopping voucher.
I have absolutely no idea what hit Gok when he went for a ninety-year-old man wearing a grey suit with pink tie, and even the poor old fellow was visibly confused when he wouldn't let go of Gok's hand and kept calling him beautiful.

Anyway, it was great fun altogether! I can't wait to see another illustrious guest on the Late Late, whenever that might be...

Co-authors wanted!

Hi folks :-D!

If you are a fan of my blog and always wanted to contribute something, but just didn't know what, here it is:

I have basically tested every non-commercial toddler group in my local area (Sandycove and Glasthule) and written down my impressions in that blog. (If you know of any other groups that I haven't been to yet, please let me know.)

Now I am looking for Co-bloggers 
who would fancy to rate toddler groups in their area 
(and obviously spread the word about this blog ;-). 

It doesn't matter whereabout in Dublin you live, as long as you want to share your thoughts and give new Moms an idea as of where to go (and of where not to go).

Wouldn't it be great if this blog became the Michelin Guide of the Dublin toddler group world ;-)???

P.S. I will obviously still try and keep you up to date on, well, anything that comes into my mind.

# 5 Squeals on Wheels, toddler group at Dun Laoghaire Evangelical Church

Location:     Dun Laoghaire Evangelical Church, 
                  Lower Glenageary Road
Times:        Tuesdays from 10.30 to 12
Website:     http://www.dec.ie/ministries/family-children 
Prices:       € 2 per session (voluntary contribution)
PROs:        caring staff and volunteers, supervised play
CONs:        Can't think of anything negative really...
Overall:     ****

On Tuesday we went to check out Squeals on Wheels at Dun Laoghaire Evangelical Church, a toddler group that unlike the ones we've been to before, is run by the church itself (and of course a number of volunteers).

The church is based at Lower Glenageary Road, not far from the People's Park and the centre of Dun Laoghaire. 
To my relief, they finally have taken off that terrible banner claiming that "There is hope...Dun Laoghaire Evangelical Church". 
I guess, in a country full of Catholics it can easily be taken the wrong way (or perhaps the right one?!?). Anyway, thankfully it's gone now!

As I arrived (too early again), I received a warm welcome by Sally, the lady that runs the group, and her two volunteers Myrtle and 90-year-old (!) June who's in charge of tea and biscuits.  

On that note I should mention that if you are planning to go there, you better give them a ring prior to your visit. Apparently, they don't always have enough space for everyone. Taken, that they put a lot of effort into getting to know everyone and supervising the children, it certainly sounds plausible. I also prefer small groups to completely crammed ones. My feeling, however, was that this can't be the only reason and perhaps they want to inspect their new arrivals before they decide, whether you can come regularly or not. I can be completely wrong though! And saying that, I don't want to put anyone off either. 

Both of us were really comfortable and well looked after. On my previous visits to toddler groups, I sometimes felt that as a new girl it was quite hard to get talking to other parents. But this time, I didn't get that feeling at all and I don't think it was only due to the fact that I got talking to another newcomer.

The fact that this group is a religiously motivated one can seem strange at first when you aren't used to that sort of thing (i.e. the children's sing-along that mentions God). Thanks to their Christian motivation though, no one had to feel left out and I would definitely recommend Squeals on Wheels to you.

Aviva and I have definitely found the two toddler groups we feel most comfortable with :-).