Not So Girly

I had to be the bearer of bad news the other day to my mom. “I’m afraid neither of us are very girly,” I told her.

“You’re a lot more girlier than me,” she said. I suppose this is true — I am more into the girlier aspects of makeup, jewelry, shoes and dresses than she is.

What brought this up was talking with a group of women who were discussing a new movie that was marketed toward women, a historic romance/drama. They were discussing the book versus the movie, and how they hoped it would turn out. The women who hadn’t seen the movie were saying how good it looked. I was sitting there wondering when the new alien movie came out. Or how I was going to afford to see all of the superheroes movies coming out this summer. When I mentioned the movie brought up with the group to my mother, her response was, “Yuck.” This was only compounded when someone else mentioned another movie marketed toward women as an uplifting picture, something one had taken their mother to see.

I took my mother to see a horror film we both wanted to see.

My mother was raised with two older brothers, and her mother was raised with two younger brothers, so my mom turned out with a healthy appreciation for sci-fi shows, action movies and other things that are stereotypically more “boyish.” And that has passed down to me.

And now I have passed them down to my girls.

We have attended comic book conventions. They both know what a “dalek” is.

When my youngest kept repeating something to waiter over and over, and I exclaimed, “He knows it’s a multipass!” we all laughed hysterically.

We all go fishing with my father during the summer. The girls might wear skirts and play baseball or soccer in the backyard, or even dig in the dirt.

I’m afraid my sci-fi-geek girlishness has passed down to another generation. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.