Rapunzel

I had another blog in mind when I was writing my last two, and this is the one. BTW - this is a fanart pic of Aries from FFVII as Rapunzel. It was by far the coolest thing I could get ahold of for this post.

So, I said that I was going to talk about Rapunzel, which naturally means that I'm going to talk about women's liberation. Naturally.

I am a big fan of 'girl power'. A big fan of a woman seeing that something needs to be done and girding up her lions and getting it done. I like to think that a woman can do everything, but the older I get and the more responsibilities I take on, the more I realize that this is a fairytale ... and an extremely unrealistic one at that. I have come to realize that if I were to be able to do everything, then I would have to live as a bachelorette because that's the only way I can see my way through to accomplishing everything. If I lived that way than there would be a lot less to do.

So, can I be the liberated woman who does it all? The one who has managed to balance career, kids, volunteer projects, love, money, property, cars, food (this is a bigger one that few people acknowledge as a struggle), laundry, and the literally one million other things that life demand, on my own? And manage to maintain appearances and have time for myself as well?

No way in Hell!

It's in extremely bad taste for a liberated woman to say, "I need a man." She'd get thrown out of the club. Saying something like that means that she's not liberated at all. Instead, it means that she's tied down to something (usually a man who will somehow try to dominate and control her ... at least that's what I've understood about it). Well, I don't just need a man, but I need a man with broad shoulders and a strong back, someone who's good with numbers and can think on his feet. In short, I need a partner in this endeavor called life if I'm going to live past thirty, otherwise I might be digging myself an early grave. But I personally like to think of this thing as a partnership where I take care of one half if he'll take care of the other half.

Now I want to talk about the story to Rapunzel and how she plays a part in all of this. Okay, so Rapunzel is up in her tower looking out at the landscape. She lives alone, but she's safe. There's nothing to fight for, and there's nothing meaningful to do up there in the tower. There are no men or woman there to love - there is only herself. Can you imagine how much time she probably spent grooming? Since her hair was so fantastic, she probably spent a lot of time making that part of her shiny and pretty. So, there she is when the Prince rides up on his stallion, and just for the fun of fantasy - let's picture him as hot as they come and absolutely mouthwatering (though it doesn't contribute to the point of the story one way or the other). He yells up to her "Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your golden hair!" Now, this is a big choice for our herione. She can either drop her lushious locks down and let the Prince into her life or she can yell back, "Not on your life Buddy! I just gave myself a hot oil treatment!" But, if she lets the Prince climb her hair, it's going to hurt like hell. Her beauty will be left in tatters and her scalp will probably bleed (if he doesn't break her neck).

This is a decision that all women have to make and most women these days don't want to make that decision. Would you really choose to let a man rip you to shreds? Because in reality - that is exactly what he is going to do. So, Rapunzel can either live life all safe and self-centered in the tower, or she can open herself up to pain - cause that's what's going to happen. However, I must point out that it's not the man's fault that a woman suffers (I could easily fill a page of womanly troubles that men aren't bothered with because they don't bear children, but I'll leave it to your imagination). He has to climb her hair - it's his only choice, so he can't help hurting her. He doesn't want to hurt her, but he wants to be with her. (I'm also assuming here that the man really is a Prince).

I think it's okay to admit that I can't do everything, but if I have someone with me (a prince) then I'll only have to do half, and I can do half. I believe that this is the best way for life to work. This isn't a popular concept where I come from, but even so, I feel like this is the best way to walk through life. That's why it's so sad when the Prince sometimes turns out to be a dick.