So! I got a wolf whistle the other morning.
I know, I should be angry. Offended. But honestly, wolf whistles are so outdated, and also so much Things That Happen To Other People, that I was just stunned, more than anything, and I spent the rest of the day analyzing the event from a sociological standpoint. Here’s the theory I came up with: 1) I have bras now that lift and separate, rather than smoosh and flatten. 2) I was wearing a tank top. 3) I was on my bike, and when I’m riding, the strap of my messenger bag falls right in between the ladies, accentuating…. things.
I would probably have been upset if I wasn’t on my bike. On foot, such a thing has a slim chance of leading to a dangerous situation. On my bike, though, I get all “TRY AND CATCH ME, LOSEWADS” and zoooom away.
At any rate, it was kind of eye-opening for me. The shirt in question is form fitting but not tight, or low cut. I wasn’t trying to show anything off, you see. But I wasn’t actively trying to hide anything, and that was enough to get a whistle.
But back to our story. How ridiculous is it that I spent so many summers wearing 3/4 sleeves, because I thought my arms were too fat? Body dysmorphia is a strange thing. I have been kind of trying unravel exactly what used to bother me so much, and it’s not simply that I thought I was fat. It’s that I thought my body was so disgusting that it actively offended everyone who saw it. I thought I had to hide my arms – and wear long sleeves on 90 degree days – as a PUBLIC fricking SERVICE, you guys. When, not only do most people not give a damn if I’m wearing sleeves or not, but some people (impolite strangers, anyway) are so not-disgusted by me in a tank top as to whistle at me. Lesson learned.
Other things on the agenda:
I’m gonna make those League of Courteous Cyclists shirts!! I’m taking preorders now (for a discount!) and they will ship in the first week of August.
Also, I’m on Google +, because why not. Feel free to add me to circles, I like circles.
URG when I was in college and lived in the city my friends and I got that kind of stuff all the freaking time…it was awful. I remember one time specifically because it was the middle of winter and I had this HUGE puffy coat on and some guy tried to start a conversation with me as I rode by! Even worse when they obviously thought I was a highschooler and they were old enough to be my father (EW) City guys (or maybe it’s just Ohio guys) are a special breed I think who see anything female and have to make noise at it ><
Enough of college memories…I'm glad you're more comfortable with yourself now and can wear comfy tank tops. I imagine they make biking in the summer quite a lot more pleasant.
Oooh! will there be ladies’ cut t-shirts??
Jennifer: No, unfortunately… just unisex for now. Getting more printed on ladies’ shirts (or tank tops, or jerseys) wouldn’t be cost effective unless I could get a whole lot of orders for them. I’m not ruling out a run of ladies’ sizes in the future though! :)
@Kat: http://www.octopuspie.com/2011-01-06/428-white-winter-catcall/
“Curse only when necessary” That cracks me up for some reason. I think my friend would love that shirt, and I think I’d be a much more courteous cyclist just knowing I’d spent money on one.
I totally get you, sis. As I live in Rio de Janeiro, summers are too hot to even care (the only thing in your mind, really, is to get to the end of the day and not melt in to a puddle), but I used to be really uncomfortable about wearing sleeveless things too. And I kept taking pictures with my arms not touching my body so they wouldnt look even more fat – and it ended up looking like I was always ready to take flight. LOL :)
Can you help me with your “banana Ice cream”?
Do i have to put the peel in the freezer and in the blender?
Another thing, when i put the banana, the blender could not beat them.
@Paula: No, peel and slice the banana before you freeze it, and discard the peel. If your slices have been frozen for an hour or two, they should start breaking down into crumbs in the blender.
Any chance of the design as a sticker?
@Riv: I’d really like to do a vinyl sticker, that would last on a bike or a messenger bag… But the minimum quantity is 500, and I’m not confident in my ability to move that many… twist my arm and I could be convinced to do a run of stickers, though! What’d be a good price for a 4″ round vinyl sticker?
$2? No doubt you’d burn through a few hundred at cons. The very coolest thing would be if you could get it made into a patch! I would definitely stitch one onto my messenger bag, but I can’t imagine what that would cost or the minimum order would be. I’m pretty sure I’d put a sticker on a Nalgene bottle or my helmet, though.
Oh, and the friend I mentioned above was CRAZY for the shirt and pre-ordered one as soon as I showed her the link!
@Strubisatoaster: Thanks for the link, made my day XD
Ooh ooh OOH! Love the shirt! What are the chances of getting a run with that design on Coolmax shirts or some other cycling-friendly fabric? I almost never wear regular t-shirts on my rides any more :-)
@Tim: unfortunately, no! I wanted to do girls sizes and tank tops too, and bike jerseys… but the minimum print run for these is so big, that I can’t do a run of jerseys (or tanks, or women’s sizes) unless I know I can sell at least a few dozen or so.
I have that same mindset, I will NOT wear a tank just because I think everyone will stare and point at my arms…when in reality they are not that big! It is just me thinking that they are huge. Ugh
…this may make me a Bad Feminist…
but I *like* most wolf whistles.
They make me feel like a bad-ass, honestly.
There are a few, here and there,
that piss me off,
but most of the time,
I dig it.
(I’m also a bit of an exhibitionist, so there’s that)
Um. Yeah.
Welcome back to the tank tops!