Sunday 1 March 2009

I was left feeling relieved that Tuesday's lecture wasn't another philosophy themed lesson, instead I found the overview of British history interesting enough that it subdued my fatigue; as it filled in gaps of knowledge that my education had left unfilled; the other things mentioned was just a pleasant reminder. Now I know we are supposed to blog about the lecture and start a debate, but I'm not going to do that. I will instead talk about something that I have read and was recommended to write about it in another less than motivating comment left on my blog. However I will say that if you would like to know more about British history I recommend that you look at some of the works of Greek and Roman historians in particular Tacitus's Agricola; which comments on the military invasion of Britain by the Romans and Britain itself and its inhabitants at the time. "The Britons were formerly governed by kings, [54] but at present they are divided in factions and parties among their chiefs; and this want of union for concerting some general plan is the most favorable circumstance to us,in our designs against so powerful a people. It is seldom that two or three communities concur in repelling the common danger; and thus, while they engage singly, they are all subdued". This extract from Tacitus is also very useful because it gives a Roman perspective.

As I said previously I will now talk briefly on a subject which doesn't interest me at all, but a subject which I was recommended to talk about. I was shocked to read that the comedian Billy Connolly stated in an article that he had over a hundred pairs of shoes. I was truly puzzled because it is common for women to have an obsession with either bags or shoes, but a man, is that normal? Is this obsession or vanity? This line of questioning reminded me of a particular topic I have been studying in English regarding feminism and specifically gender. Feminists argue that gender is an illusion and a product of society; which tells us that we should behave a certain way because of our sex, for example girls should like dolls and boys football. Is this prejudice I feel a product of society programmed into me? As I am ashamed to admit I personally feel that if a man has too many shoes that I would perceive him as more feminine than other men. However it may just be to do with vanity, as it is all about what you wear most places. If any guys have a similar obsession please let me know; as it would be great to hear a males perspective.

3 comments:

Test Blog said...

good if somehow slightly grumpy blogging. Good that you blog what you read in the paper - MAN ADDICTED TO OWN SHOES is a god tabloid story.

Test Blog said...

its got even grumpier!

Test Blog said...

In what way is gender 'an illusion' - surely sexual difference is just an empirical fact - chromosomes, etc. Surely men and women must display different types of behaviour and have a different outlook because of underlying biological differences. Maybe the issue is the degree of importance social convention attributes to these objective differences.