(no subject)

[balmofgilead]

I've realized something pretty amusing over the past few weeks: when I was young(er), I confused the concept of being "crunchy" (as in crunchy-granola) (I didn't know that term yet, and I'm not even sure it existed at the time) with the idea of having a bunch of kids. Like upwards of 5-6. I'm sure anyone reading this who's truly crunchy is laughing at me right now...

I think there are some common threads (like the sort of down-home sensibility) between the life lead by your average mother of 6,7,8, or more kids and the life of a crunchy person, but they're definitely not the same, and they're not even based in the same beliefs.

Perhaps next I'll venture into how I mistook the tomboy/slightly butch aesthetic (which I see as rooted largely in practicality) (which can lead people to avoid makeup and tight/short skirts) for modesty (I think "tzniut" conveys my thought a little better here.) That one's pretty funny too.

In other words, I am totally not a modest woman who wants to have 9 kids, but I can sorta kinda see why I used to think I was.

Comments

[calypso72]

There's an odd confluence at the edges of the ultra-left and the ultra-right. For example, both are more likely to homeschool or unschool their kids. I know extremely religious and extremely crunchy people who do this. Ditto with homebirthing/unassisted birthing, extended breastfeeding, etc. I know quite a few crunchy people who are very into having/raising kids, but are stopped from having more than one or two by either concern for the environment or lack of money.

[ginamariewade.livejournal.com]

I've met "crunchy" women with a bunch of kids. Usually, they're "crunchy conservative," which means careful about organic this and that, careful about environmental stuff, but not particularly liberal in their social politics.