Blume-ing in Winter

Happy birthday Judy Blume! Your memory and legacy are certainly a blessing to me. 

Growing up as an American in another country, these and other books were how I imagined what life in the States would be like*. Her books gave me a place to have all the internal self-conscious identity development conversations that came with puberty. 

We didn’t have this language growing up, but I think about my formative years, which were clearly rooted in heteronormativity – I was a ‘tomboy’ not a ‘girly girl’. In Judy Blume-speak, I connected more with Then Again, Maybe I Won’t than with Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret.  I think about that every once in a while, because in the last 10 years, and especially now that I’m in the bloom of menopause, it seems I’m more open to personal expressions of femininity: namely how I dress. Younger me (I’m talking 30, not 13) would laugh (gasp?) at how I now embrace dresses, skirts, prints, and colors. And most of all, that I like PINK!

So, here’s me in a layered, all-secondhand WFH outfit reflecting that unfortunate childhood binary**: blue & pink. 

Be all the colors you want to be, Beloveds!

*We moved to Florida from the Philippines when I was 12, and I can attest that the Sweet Valley High books lied to me. 

**We are certainly more than that binary, and should take the time to celebrate all of us. If you’re in NYC the last weekend of this month, consider attending, or at any time before February 28th, donating to support the 5th annual Black Future Tings event: Beyond Borders: Empowering Black LGBTQ+ Immigrants.

#fuckice #putpeoplefirst #knowledgeispower