On Study Abroad Problems

Oh my lovely, lovely readers.  I have encountered a number of #studyabroadproblems (kind of like firstworldproblems, in that they're soaked in privilege and kind of ridiculous, but specific to experiences of culture shock or differences spurred by being in another country) since I've been here, some of which I've told you about, and some of which I haven't.

The first is the fact that the Danes swear almost entirely in English.  In between the words I don't understand, the j's that sound like "y," and the d's that are definitely actually the letter L, you'll here good old American f-bombs.  Or my European Politics professor who likes to start class by yelling "Shut up, you assholes!"  According to my Danish professor, it comes down to the fact that, kind of like "Merde!" sounds less harsh to an English speaker than its English equivalent, cursing in English to the Danes is almost not like cursing at all -- god forbid someone actually use a Danish curse word or she would be horribly offended.  It's just really hard to get used to not understanding entire conversations except when an English swear is snuck in.

The other is just that junk food and junk drinks (like soda, which you all know is an addiction of mine) are super expensive here and also the closest place to get them is like a fifteen minute walk and yes I am so lazy that that is too much effort.

To make up for my whining, here are some pictures from Denmark!

 

Still-not-Danishly Yours,
Rachel Leigh

On The C-Bomb

I guess because I was in The Vagina Monologues last week, and one of my friends' monologues really got to me, I've been thinking about something recently.  I'm not the first person to rant about it, but it still bothers me a lot.

The C-word.  The C-bomb.  The worst word you can say to a woman.  The word that people speculate was the real meaning of "witch" in  How I Met Your Mother.

Why is it that the "worst" word in the English language is a term for a vagina?  Serious question.  It casts being a woman in such a terrible light when the worst thing you can say to someone is a term for the body part that IS quintessentially feminine.  If this weren't evidence of a double-standard that treats being female as something bad, the worst thing you could call a guy would be a dick.  But it's not.  Rather, it's far more insulting to call a man a pussy or a douche, two words that once again demonize being female.

This hierarchy of offensive words points not only to rigid gender roles, but to roles that make being female one of the worst things you can be...and that's kind of sick.

Yours (with a uterus),
Rachel Leigh