Tiny But Tough

"It’s anybody’s guess why these anti-archetypes are striking a chord. Perhaps Americans feel powerless in an era of gushing oil, ongoing wars and a slippery economy, and want to believe that the little people can vanquish the big bad guys. If so, it might be a good sign for the small-stature Elena Kagan, who is, after all, said to wield a mean gavel."

That quote is from the conclusion of an article in today's Fashion & Style section in the New York Times. Of course, that section is somewhat notorious for its "observations" of the physical standards by which society judges women (and occasionally men), but I guess I found this one to be particularly interesting. The article implies and argues that now is the time that the "plus-size" and the "tiny" are embracing their inherent power. At one point in the middle of the article it describes how the tiny girl who can pack a punch, a.k.a the "violent femme", is "an enduring male fantasy." I was pretty disappointed that they felt it necessary to point out how the empowerment of women can be instantaneously sexualized as opposed to being important on its own.

What struck me the most about this article though, was something far more personal - it helped drive home one of those examples of how we are socialized to believe certain things. I am lucky enough to have a very strong-willed woman for a mother. Both her brothers and her parents were born in Macedonia, but she was born here. English was not her first language and by any account she was raised in a very Macedonian culture which became hybridized with U.S. culture in her teenage years. One of my favorite benefits that I have experienced from her background has been the funny bits of "Old Country" advice which was imparted to her, and which she occasionally imparts to me. One example of this is my mom's continual adage that "short women are the most powerful", now, I will admit that I never believed that... and kind of thought that she clung to that one because she is under 5'2". She was always very careful to give me a balanced perception of reality (like "tall women can be very powerful too") - but somehow despite the balance I managed to rarely embrace any of this "Old Country advice.

Despite my not-embracing it, I realized while reading the article above that my mom's "tiny but tough" was an idea that had in some way seeped into my being. I was, at least on some level, socialized to believe that "Tiny But Tough" was a common archetype -- not an "anti-archetype". It was one of those rare moments where reality and my personal ideas did not add up - thus revealing the importance and impact that upbringing and socialization, and variations therein, can have on our perceptions.

I guess it is moments like this where you can realize that perhaps the best chance we have for impacting cultural perceptions and changing the way "archetypes" are formed is if we can deconstruct our own beliefs and learn how to thoughtfully deconstruct the thoughts and beliefs of others in a way that would be beneficial to everyone.