Rubbish

This is probably the one response that really took me aback. The woman who said this comment, did so with such a sweet voice and a smile, that it took me a few moments to compute actually what the word was that had come out of her mouth. My approach in this project has been to try to detach myself from passing judgement on people’s thoughts, I avoided putting any overt political spin on soliciting answers, and in my responses, I’ve tried to reflect on where the truth of these stereotypes can be found on me and in my own life or experiences. So, I turn my thoughts to Rubbish, and I can’t help but feeling a bit angry. And defensive. How am I like something to be disposed of? How am I like waste product?

I’ll turn my attention to two of the body’s waste products: my hair and nails. Although both hair and nails have very valuable functions, they are essentially one way the body gets rid of waste. If you think about that, it becomes comical to think of how much time and money people spend on beautifying their natural waste. Now, we can question if spending energy on transforming something that is essentially rubbish is necessary, because it is fundamentally repulsive, or, if taking an alternative look at waste can actually transform it into something with great value. So I guess we can say that one woman’s rubbish is another person’s pride and joy.