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| BEHOLD. |
It is made of organic, recycled, fair trade jute.
It was crafted by women who had formerly been trafficked for sex work, employed by a company which offers these women decently-paid work and support to rebuild their lives.
It probably gives the world's oppressed and downtrodden a foot rub.
On the day of its delivery, I unwrapped it with glee; I admired its construction and aesthetics; I gloried in the fact that it is big enough to fit a book, my lunch, and a medium-sized knitting project, without being heavy enough to trigger my recurrent back problems. I luxuriated in the unimaginable smugness that comes from buying The Most Ethical Bag On The Planet.
But when I opened it up, my heart sank: there is no pocket for keys, fags and lipbalm; worse, no pocket for one's essential-in-this-modern-age suckable-digital-thumb, the smart phone.
At which point I was sent a link to 27 Middle Class Problems.
FUCK YOU SOMETIMES I DO HAVE DIFFICULTY RECONCILING MY LOVE OF HIP HOP WITH MY COMMITMENT TO FEMINISM.
Yep. I am living the stereotype dream. I'm off to weave my own free-range yoghurt.
I'm so bored of 'First World Problems' 'White People Problems' 'Middle Class Problems' etc etc etc, it was funny at first but it's getting so insulting. Like black working class people from the third world (which is not an Okay Term these days anyway) don't want a phone pocket on their handbags? they only care about POVERTY and HUNGER and AIDS? so fucking patronising. It is ok to whine about silly things sometimes! It's fine!
ReplyDeletesnapping 'first world problems' increasingly seeming like a way of just shutting people up... particularly women with our silly trivial concerns... or maybe I'm just being paranoid feminist as per.
Anyway, hi! I love you! A xxxxxxxx
I don't think you're being paranoid. :) Remember Rebecca Watson and 'Elevator-gate'? Dawkin's response was very similar to the first world problems meme IMO- he used the experiences of women in Middle Eastern countries to dismiss Watson's experiences and to make her look overly sensitive.
Deletealso, just keep a makeup bag within your bag (Inception!!) for all your smaller bits and bobs :) xxxx
ReplyDeleteYeah I find the firstworldproblems thing a bit annoying tho not 100% sure why - I think you might be nail-head-hitting with the shutting up silly trivial women thing. Hadn't thought of the first point, THANK YOU FOR EXPANDING MY MIND.
ReplyDelete(I know I'm sort of contributing to the FWP meme with this post but sometimes taking the piss out of oneself is just funny)
Oo, make up bag! I was thinking of sewing a couple of pockets inside, but I am so bad at sewing.
Love you! xxxxxxxxxx
TAKING THE PISS OUT OF ONESELF IS ALWAYS THE BEST! I just went off on one that was kinda off a tangent from the actual point of yr post
Deletelove love wooop! xxxxxxxxxxxx
"I'm so bored of 'First World Problems' 'White People Problems' 'Middle Class Problems' etc etc etc, it was funny at first but it's getting so insulting. Like black working class people from the third world (which is not an Okay Term these days anyway) don't want a phone pocket on their handbags? they only care about POVERTY and HUNGER and AIDS? so fucking patronising."
ReplyDeletePrecisely! Initially it was great. It quickly became just another meme for people to bludgeon privileged-but-often-less-privileged-than-the-blugeon-er, um, people. (I do not have the energy to fix that sentence. lol)
Sorry to be a creep and comment on all your posts in a row. But we don't have much work going on today (for the first time in... a year?). Your ethical bag is so cheap! That's brilliant. You can meet my ethical bag later. Except it's less ethical than yours and was expensive. But it is vegan and the lining is made of recycled plastic bottles OH YEAH. Um, it was shipped from Canada though :/ It is the tan version of this http://www.mattandnat.co.uk/product/epea-tangerine-3577/ (YES IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE DON'T JUDGE ME, I haven't ever bought a proper (not £2 tote bag) bag before so it's my foreverbag.)
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