Here are my Hip Tranquil Tomboy Principles:
I love myself as I am. (Why? I accept I am only 5'1 and small boobed)
I have muscles and I love them, too. (Why? They have stopped me getting cellulite and needing surgery)
I am in control of my finances. I have enough to meet my needs.
I am educated but my learning never ceases and comes from every experience in my life.
I am strong and confident but not overbearing. There is power in silence, too.
I rarely watch TV. It's amazing how much free time I have gained from giving up TV!
I refuse to be a self-centred drama queen.
I don't buy women's magazines. They are toxic. (And you can read them for free at the supermarket checkout!)
Impulse buying doesn't bring happiness. It just clutters your life.
If I get a bit dirty, break a fingernail, forget to shave my legs... so what? Life is fun, messy and unpredictable.
I don't care what the latest fashion of the moment is - in a moment it will be gone.
I create my own style that empowers me in the life that I lead.
I listen to my gut feelings. They are always right.
Nature heals. Shopping doesn't.
I have a few good friends ... not a hoarde of acquaintances.
My partner is my best friend & confident
So there you go. My Tomboy Manifesto ... I guess I'm interested in finding out if there's any other tomboys out there who don't own a single lipgloss, wouldn't be seen dead in a pair of 4 inch heels and absolutely know that jeans are the sexiest piece of clothing a girl can ever own.
thank you, amanda. we love your hip and tranquil tomboy ways! xo
10 comments:
I've always considered myself a tomboy but heels and lip-gloss are a necessity in my world. I work amongst tall Dutch guys in the MidWest and would literally be overlooked without them. However, be sure that I kick them off the minute I'm home and definately prefer my jeans to any chic little black dress. I love the point about ignoring fashion and creating an empowering signature style. I feel like that expresses exactly what I'm trying to do.
I think some contemplationon the idea of my on maifesto may be in order.
I've kinda grown outta the tomboy phase-sorta-but I also would consider myself a girlie-girl either. This was a great manifesto and got me thinking I should make my own since I'm caught somewhere in between being an baseball fan, engineering, and wearing dresses and flats :)
I agree totally about women's magazines (the ones that focus on "fitness" and "fashion" and "beauty") being toxic, even though I'm interested in fashion/beauty/fitness, those magazines are filled with negative messages about the "need" to "fix" our bodies. But jeez, enough already with the tv-bashing. Good grief, I read tons and tons and journal and practice yoga and have creative outlets and enjoy cooking and art and theater and dance and politics and spirituality and psychology and literature and self-reflection and a million other things AND I LOVE TV. LOVE LOVE LOVE it, nothing irritates me more than posturing about how superior a person is for not watching tv. Give me a break.
Thank you, anonymous poster! I am a film student and one thing many of my peers (as well as myself) can agree on is that, these days, TV is often better than film! Television isn't what it used to be: smart, well written shows aren't so hard to find and are often worth your while. Some people feel superior because they don't watch TV. When thinking of them, I fell superior because I do! Of course I also read, write, watch films, study, work, etc... But I don't feel ashamed to add TV watching to that list.
If you lived in Alice Springs ( outback Australia) and saw what we get on our TVs, you wouldn't watch TV, either. You'd rather watch your hair go grey!
That said, the manifesto was never intended to be about making anyone else feel 'inferior' or me feel 'superior', it's just the vision statement for my life only -my values, not anyone else's.
I'm not so presumptuous or vain to even contemplate the notion that anyone else would want to take my manifesto on board - I sent it to Kimberly because I thought it might be a bit of inspirational fun for others to read.
I guess my lesson from this (I've just finished reading Robert Sutton's excellent book: 'The No *sshole Rule) is to remember when you write anything on blogs or in comments, imagine that the person you're responding to is a real person with feelings and a life just like your own.
Imagine how you would feel receiving the comment or response you are about to give... On the other end of your comment is a real person.
This is a great manifesto! I had the assignment in a composition class to write one once and I think I wasn't too sure who I was, so it didn't really come out very strong.
I especially like the points about shopping not being therapeutic and the problems with women's magazines. I gave them up a few years ago and started to feel much better about myself. Also, it just helped me curb a lot of neediness/consumerism from seeing all the ads.
Great contribution, Amanda!
A word about those of us who don't watch (much) television: I don't think there's anything that makes it a better lifestyle to be television free. I don't watch a lot of television simply because I tend to find that I'm just not interested in many of the programs, and that I use my time better when I'm not wondering about next week's episodes. On the other hand, I do buy the few television shows I like on DVD - and I should add that I love movies of all kinds because they give you the opportunity to delve quite deeply into an interesting narrative.
I think there's a balance to be struck, and that most of those people that so proudly say "I don't watch television!" are just proud of themselves for breaking a time consuming habit, but haven't yet figured out what one or two programmes they can watch without getting sucked back into a couch potato lifestyle. I've certainly said in conversation that I don't watch television, but I've never meant it to be condescending.
To amanda - I live in west Oz and yes totally agree with you about TV!
I love hiop tranquil chick blog cos its always evolving wiht lots of good karma and relaxing ideas. I love it this space - hugs f orm an ol aussie chick!
aaaah a kindred spirit, thanks for your fantastic list, Amanda, I am down under too, htc of the Antipodes, unite !
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