Religion has become an increasingly more important part of life since I met my husband. At the time that we met, we both were looking to rejoin a church that had very much been a part of our childhoods. Still, both of us had been disenfranchised. However, as I saw my son growing up, I knew that faith needed to be a part of his life. As he started asking questions and as we started having conversations, I knew that I wanted to take him to church and allow him to have the same relationship with God that I had. This has led my family on a journey I wouldn't have foreseen ten years ago.
Doug and I started going back to church about six months into our relationship. Part of this was motivated by my insane thought that we were going to get married soon and we'd need to be a part of a church. The rest of it was motivated by Doug and I searching for connection. We started back to St. Sabina church in Florissant. This is where Austin started PSR, where I healed my relationship with the Church, and where I remembered why it was I loved being Catholic.
Fast forward to now and I am an active parishioner at St. Joseph's of Cottleville. I count money every third Sunday with Doug and I am an extraordinary minister of communion. I love my Church. Some people will interpret this love as blind devotion, but what I think makes my faith stronger is that I a) don't need to prove to people that I am right and b) I've "re-discovered" my faith only to become stronger in it--in other words, I saw the flaws and still went back. It's like true love in a sense.
Now, though, what I love the most about it, is that I am getting to see my son discover it. He attends PSR as his dad did when he was a child as opposed to Catholic school as I did. I was afraid this would be received as it was for Doug: punishment and extra school. Instead, Austin, with little prompting from us, heavily embraces his faith. He loves going to PSR and he loves learning more about his faith. He never whines or tries to get out of church and it's exciting to see him really happy about it all. I hope this continues because in the end, church is something important for me that has gotten me through a lot and I want him to have the same touchstone.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
B is for Bravo
Today's post is brought to you by Bravo. Okay, well, I guess that's illegal for me to say as Bravo is not really sponsoring this post...
What can I say about Bravo? Why would I post about it? Oh so much. Bravo is home to some of the biggest fashion shows on cable. I first became hooked on Bravo when I ran across the show "Project Runway" hosted by Heidi Klum. My son and I jokingly call it "Project Oneway" because host Heidi has a bit of lisp when she pronounces the title.
The thing I like about Bravo is that it seems to embrace the ideal of mindless television. Even as I scan the channels and select shows to DVR, I am stricken by the fact that Bravo really offers nothing of substance and yet I crave watching it. In fact, one might start to wonder at the future of our country when shows like "Project Runway" and "Make Me a Supermodel" (a new addition) make such high ratings on Bravo that they are shown marathon style on a weekly basis. And yet, I feed this craze.
I vacilate between being disgusted with myself and being intrigued by the phenomenon. Oh, well.
The only other thing I wanted to note about Bravo, though, is the stereotypes it might be proliferating. Though I enjoy Tim Gunn's antics and sashaying from episode to episode, it is more than somewhat disturbing that he embodies the gay stereotype so completely, that some people may begin to believe in it.
This, is what I'm beginning to see as a real problem. I've even heard some people refer to Bravo as the "gay" channel. Is this true? Is this a stereotype? I started to investigate and was disturbed by what I saw. The first evidence or inkling I got of Bravo's label was with a simple Levi's commercial. Here I am, sitting on my couch, frustrated with waiting for Heidi to tell us, "who will be out" when the Levi's commercial with the building being pulled up with a phone booth by a man putting on his pants came on. Suddenly, instead of seeing the woman in the phone booth and the guy making her return so they can walk off into the sunset together, I see a man in the phone booth. I was taken aback. I want to be clear here, I was not upset, I was just tremendously surprised. I mentioned this surprise to a colleague and their response was, "well, it IS Bravo." Suddenly, I became awakened to Bravo's repuation and I wondered at it.
Now in the weeks that have passed, I've noticed an alarming trend, the Bravo shows have gone from embracing their gay audience, to completely stereotyping it. Think about it: on any given Wednesday or Thursday the only shows you get to see are fashion and modeling shows. Is this to suggest that the only shows a gay audience will like are those in fashion or modeling? Furthermore, on the shows themselves, though one might celebrate Bravo for their diversity, one could also gasp at their propensity for finding the "gayest" characters they could. Indeed, it almost feels like we are stuck back in the 1920s watching performers do routines "black-faced." I'm starting to find it a little insulting. Sure, I still love the shows, but are they doing more harm than good? How many people watch the shows and unintentionally form a view of the gay community that is completely based in stereotype? But what is one to do about this fact? Do we let it go and shrug, "well, that's just Bravo." Or must something be done? Is one straight woman's opinion an overeaction or a true glipse at something terrible happening? Am I culpable simply because I continue to watch and love the drama of the shows?
I'm not sure about the answer to any of these questions, but I do know that I may have to start considering giving up my favorite shows if I really want to put my opinion where my mouth is.
What can I say about Bravo? Why would I post about it? Oh so much. Bravo is home to some of the biggest fashion shows on cable. I first became hooked on Bravo when I ran across the show "Project Runway" hosted by Heidi Klum. My son and I jokingly call it "Project Oneway" because host Heidi has a bit of lisp when she pronounces the title.
The thing I like about Bravo is that it seems to embrace the ideal of mindless television. Even as I scan the channels and select shows to DVR, I am stricken by the fact that Bravo really offers nothing of substance and yet I crave watching it. In fact, one might start to wonder at the future of our country when shows like "Project Runway" and "Make Me a Supermodel" (a new addition) make such high ratings on Bravo that they are shown marathon style on a weekly basis. And yet, I feed this craze.
I vacilate between being disgusted with myself and being intrigued by the phenomenon. Oh, well.
The only other thing I wanted to note about Bravo, though, is the stereotypes it might be proliferating. Though I enjoy Tim Gunn's antics and sashaying from episode to episode, it is more than somewhat disturbing that he embodies the gay stereotype so completely, that some people may begin to believe in it.
This, is what I'm beginning to see as a real problem. I've even heard some people refer to Bravo as the "gay" channel. Is this true? Is this a stereotype? I started to investigate and was disturbed by what I saw. The first evidence or inkling I got of Bravo's label was with a simple Levi's commercial. Here I am, sitting on my couch, frustrated with waiting for Heidi to tell us, "who will be out" when the Levi's commercial with the building being pulled up with a phone booth by a man putting on his pants came on. Suddenly, instead of seeing the woman in the phone booth and the guy making her return so they can walk off into the sunset together, I see a man in the phone booth. I was taken aback. I want to be clear here, I was not upset, I was just tremendously surprised. I mentioned this surprise to a colleague and their response was, "well, it IS Bravo." Suddenly, I became awakened to Bravo's repuation and I wondered at it.
Now in the weeks that have passed, I've noticed an alarming trend, the Bravo shows have gone from embracing their gay audience, to completely stereotyping it. Think about it: on any given Wednesday or Thursday the only shows you get to see are fashion and modeling shows. Is this to suggest that the only shows a gay audience will like are those in fashion or modeling? Furthermore, on the shows themselves, though one might celebrate Bravo for their diversity, one could also gasp at their propensity for finding the "gayest" characters they could. Indeed, it almost feels like we are stuck back in the 1920s watching performers do routines "black-faced." I'm starting to find it a little insulting. Sure, I still love the shows, but are they doing more harm than good? How many people watch the shows and unintentionally form a view of the gay community that is completely based in stereotype? But what is one to do about this fact? Do we let it go and shrug, "well, that's just Bravo." Or must something be done? Is one straight woman's opinion an overeaction or a true glipse at something terrible happening? Am I culpable simply because I continue to watch and love the drama of the shows?
I'm not sure about the answer to any of these questions, but I do know that I may have to start considering giving up my favorite shows if I really want to put my opinion where my mouth is.
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