So it would seem, to the ignorant observer.  Actually, I understand the concept completely.  I just don’t much care about it.  But then again I have pretty much always lived with a violent distaste for things considered socially acceptable.  I also never lived my life with a fear of offending.  The former is due to the fact that I think what is considered socially acceptable is absurd and verging on completely twisted – it’s okay to watch a show like Jersey Shore, as long as you profess to people that you do it with horror and disdain, but standing up against society in defense of your principles will more often than not get you “cast out,” as it were, and called all sorts of things, rarely positive.

As far as offending people, hey, their hang-ups are exactly that – theirs.  Also there’s the kid thing.  I always thought that women talked about losing any sense of modesty when they had children because of the constant checks, everyone and anyone poking around their nether regions, other lovely details about the actual birthing experience which I’ll spare you, breastfeeding in front of people, etc.  Maybe that’s what does it for most women, but it wasn’t for me.

I played a big part in raising up two beautiful baby girls.  One of them I would take in the shower with me (before you flip, hunt me down, and sick CPS on me, her mom knew and was cool with it), both of them frequently saw me in the bathroom.  I was around for potty-training, and you can’t potty-train a child while not ever letting them see how it’s done, aside from which when you’re in charge of a little one, the door stays partially open when you have to use the powder room.  You want to be able to monitor them, and of course this means they could pop in on you at any moment (and more often than not, they do).

I changed in front of them, they saw me in various forms of dress and undress throughout the course of an average day, and I never hesitated or thought twice about it.  Maybe I would have had their parents all (two families) not been such good friends, but we’ll never know that, will we?

In any case, I’m very glad that I was completely uninhibited around them, because I truly believed it contributed to them being comfortable with and loving their bodies.  Obviously we discussed things like not running around in the front yard stark naked, but that’s another topic altogether.

Now I won’t deny that I am naturally a fairly uninhibited creature.  But those girls definitely took what was left of any hang-ups and shattered them.  Thank you, meine Lieblinge, though I know you are decidedly not reading this (and pardon any grammatical mistakes there, many years and 16 rounds of ECT later).

I have been known to pop out of a dressing room, nothing on my top half but a bra, to ask for a different size.  I’ve also shocked pretty much every Victoria’s Secret employee I’ve ever encountered.  Oftentimes, when you’re looking for a specific style of bra, they’ll ask if you’re comfortable showing them the strap (in the middle of the store).  We have the most insanely repressed population of women ever, if they have to dance around the subject like that.  They ask me that, I pull down the front of my shirt and show them the bra.

Yesterday was really loads of fun though, because I was talking tattoos with two lovely ladies at the BE boutique.  Now my tattoos happen to be covered by clothing at all times (except when in a bikini), but all save one I can easily lift clothing to show without compromising the common, dearly held concept of “modesty.”  Yesterday I was wearing a denim mini, and some barely-there undergarments.  So what did I do?  Without even checking to see if there was anyone else present – as it happened, there wasn’t – I hiked my skirt way up to display my ink.  I say it was especially fun because these beautiful women weren’t shocked or offended or in any way upset by my less-than-commonly seen body parts.  They loved the ink for the ink, and didn’t act at all perturbed by my blatant display.

Morals of the story:  Modesty is a ridiculous concept, my baby girls are wonderful, and we need many more women like those I discussed in this world (three in one – I rock).

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially in the pressure cooker.  Tell you why in my next post.  ;)

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