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I made a crack about collecting unicorns, causing a 'hey!' from a friend who has some unicorns in her collection, though hers are black and powerful and not the typical My Li'l Pony ones.
I think it's a passivity thing. I was noticing how a couple here at work had on fantasy creature t-shirts; his had a dragon, hers a unicorn (maybe it was a pegasus, I forget) and I thought 'typical.' Upon examining why I thought that, it's because they sort of fit with the gender roles. Unicorns are often depicted as sweetness and rainbows and light, and are based on horses (herbivores)- harmless. They're even white, for cripes sake. The horn is more for decoration, or a vehicle for some sort of benign power like healing. The you have your dragon, carnivorous, aggressive, strong. I'm over-simplifying (there are kick-ass unicorns and those treacly Pocket Dragons) but it was an interesting observation. I think it's a wee bit jarring to read a story (or see a depiction) of a unicorn goring someone with it's horn. I've also run across dragons that are peaceful wisdom-dispensers, and all the ones I can immediately think of were written/depicted by women.
The funny thing is that I went through a fluffy unicorn phase when I was young; as I recall, it was during my middle school years when I was trying my hardest to fit in. Then when I got to high school it was dragons, and I felt more comfortable with myself (I don't think there were enough kick-ass unicorns that I found to latch on to). Mielikki is even associated with unicorns, at least in the D&D set if not in actual Finnish mythology, but it fit because her name comes from a word that translates as 'pleasing'. This is part of why I changed it later, I was feeling like it was a little too passive for me. Before middle school it was cats and cheetahs, after high school it was wolves. Phoenixes (phoenices?) made it in there in the last couple of years, though I don't identify them with myself so much as my spiritual work. The black cats is almost a coincidence; I just happen to like the color black and cats and am amused by the witchy connection, but I don't identify with them much otherwise.
Not sure where I'm going here, just thinking aloud.
I think it's a passivity thing. I was noticing how a couple here at work had on fantasy creature t-shirts; his had a dragon, hers a unicorn (maybe it was a pegasus, I forget) and I thought 'typical.' Upon examining why I thought that, it's because they sort of fit with the gender roles. Unicorns are often depicted as sweetness and rainbows and light, and are based on horses (herbivores)- harmless. They're even white, for cripes sake. The horn is more for decoration, or a vehicle for some sort of benign power like healing. The you have your dragon, carnivorous, aggressive, strong. I'm over-simplifying (there are kick-ass unicorns and those treacly Pocket Dragons) but it was an interesting observation. I think it's a wee bit jarring to read a story (or see a depiction) of a unicorn goring someone with it's horn. I've also run across dragons that are peaceful wisdom-dispensers, and all the ones I can immediately think of were written/depicted by women.
The funny thing is that I went through a fluffy unicorn phase when I was young; as I recall, it was during my middle school years when I was trying my hardest to fit in. Then when I got to high school it was dragons, and I felt more comfortable with myself (I don't think there were enough kick-ass unicorns that I found to latch on to). Mielikki is even associated with unicorns, at least in the D&D set if not in actual Finnish mythology, but it fit because her name comes from a word that translates as 'pleasing'. This is part of why I changed it later, I was feeling like it was a little too passive for me. Before middle school it was cats and cheetahs, after high school it was wolves. Phoenixes (phoenices?) made it in there in the last couple of years, though I don't identify them with myself so much as my spiritual work. The black cats is almost a coincidence; I just happen to like the color black and cats and am amused by the witchy connection, but I don't identify with them much otherwise.
Not sure where I'm going here, just thinking aloud.
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Date: Nov. 9th, 2004 08:21 am (UTC)From:Yeah, well, a little Terry Pratchett will disabuse anyone of that notion!
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Date: Nov. 9th, 2004 08:27 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Nov. 9th, 2004 08:33 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Nov. 9th, 2004 08:36 am (UTC)From:For boys, dragons have fire. Fire!
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Date: Nov. 9th, 2004 03:27 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: Nov. 9th, 2004 10:33 pm (UTC)From:it would be an irony type shirt .
cause i'm kinda butch.
but i know what you mean and who you mean and i ain't one of em.
lvoe~