Where do you go after Skinnies and other pressing questions

Apologies in advance for the extreme randomness that’s about to follow…

I’m kind of in the market for a new pair of jeans. I qualified that statement because, with 4 or 5 pairs of jeans already in my closet, I don’t need another pair, but it would be nice to have a fresh pair in a dark wash and a different cut. Something maybe even not skinny, since my youngest son has told me that skinnies are officially over. This casual search has left me feeling a bit lost and not really certain about what I’m looking for – which makes it hard to find what I want to add to my wardrobe.

When it comes to jeans, where do you go after skinnies? I’m not really a bell bottom, or even boot cut, girl. With a wide waist and narrow hips and thighs, boyfriend jeans tend to suit my body, but they fall short in the style department. What cuts and brands are you currently feeling? Where are you shopping these days?

For Halloween, I did a lesson with my 6th grade students which included an introduction to an online biographical database, Edgar Allan Poe and “The Raven,” Vincent Price, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. It was fun and the kids were pretty into the presentation. I was struck, however, by something I heard numerous students say in response to learning that Poe married his 13 year-old cousin, Virginia.

Did they live in Alabama?

Weird. Where did they pick that up? Aren’t stereotypes wild?

Speaking of stereotypes, or more specifically about false assumptions about people, it seems that the origin of DelSo has once again been questioned. In case you’re wondering how the word came to be, allow me to clarify and clear up any confusion or falsehoods. I made up the word about 12 years ago to describe my neighborhood – off the south end of Delaware Avenue. I thought the combination of Delaware and South had a good sound and I used the word as the name of my blog.

Period.

The name DelSo found its way onto Google Maps and the city of Albany also began using the term, but I had no direct connection to either of those actions. I’ve never dictated the geographic boundaries of DelSo, nor have I ever demanded that people use the term when referencing where I live. Creating the contraction was whimsical and nothing more. If you’ve heard, or are under the impression, that DelSo was invented to be exclusionary or to draw a line between my white self and my neighbors, you’ve been misled.

You’re welcome to believe whatever you like, of course. We all make choices.

As election day draws near, our options are less than impressive when it comes to the governor’s race. Kathy Hochul has made some pretty poor decisions and I’ve been frustrated by her repeated claims of being uninformed or ignorant about some of the people and organizations with which she is associated. That nonsense about the huge donation from the Covid test maker who charged an inflated price per test to New York State was absolutely ridiculous. Hochul should have immediately returned the $300,000 campaign donation, in my opinion. The fact that she didn’t, leaves me less than enthusiastic about our unelected incumbent governor. however, since the choice is between her and an insurrection supporting candidate who has vowed to deny funding to Planned Parenthood, I’ll be blackening the bubble by her name on my ballot.

Why can’t we get big money out of politics? How come the choice on Election Day is so often the lesser of two evils?

This next headscratcher came to me courtesy of the internet and it is a rather delicate topic…camel toe, hereafter referred to as “ct,” because I just can’t repeatedly type out that term.

While ct was something I was aware of, this week I was taken aback to learn about an item that can hide a women’s ct, the ct concealer or ctc. How is this a thing? Why is it that women are expected to hide or be ashamed of their bodies when visible crotch bulges in men are admired? Are there products designed and sold to diminish or hide what’s between a man’s legs?

(Quick check on Google confirms my assumption – no, with the exception being if you’re looking to “tuck” your male parts to hide them completely. Think drag queens)

So, women who literally push living humans out of their nether regions should be ashamed enough of their appearance to attempt to hide them, but men are encouraged to actually exaggerate their own obvious sexual organs? Uhhhh, that doesn’t seem right – and don’t even get me started on the euphemisms in our language used to refer to both of these areas. Hint: the ones used for females all sound vulgar and gross while the dude words often reference yummy foods.

That’s some serious patriarchal bs right there, friends.

And I’m still looking for a new pair of jeans.