Burly Girls for Jesus

So, I've been thinking about gender identities lately. No telling what brought it on- could be I'm the only woman in my household, or that I have been doing lots of gardening and outside work with school, church and home- or that its Mother's Day weekend and according to common wisdom I should be picking out jewelry or that I just finished mowing the back yard. I was especially reflecting on how I am uncategorizable. I don't easily fit into a genre of "girl" or "woman" "wife" "mom" or especially "Proverbs 31 Lady."

I was also struck by how my general circles of female friends seem to fall on two ends of a spectrum. They are either the type who love God and know how to accessorize, or they distrust religion, but really get into the outdoors. It seems like the ones I know who are the most interested in the outdoor activities that I am into- they have this healthy skepticism of religion, especially the organized variety, and they are much more likely to incorporate a little buddhism or naturalist/deist type theology, or just generally don't jive with the standard Christian curriculum. Then I have friends who I connect with on the church thing- understand the setup, get into deep Bible study, can throw down on some worship, but they don't particularly do the whole "save the planet" thing and they aren't what I would call "outdoor enthusiasts". As I reflected on this, I again found myself out of category. Of course I realize these are my own creations- and they are broad (forgive the pun) brush strokes of females I know. Noone can be easily sorted if you know them well enough, but I do see trends and tendencies. So, I came up with a sort of contiuum to help me sort this out. On one end, we'll place the church-going but not so outdoorsy type- and their generic label will be "Girly girls". On the other end, let's put those who are the more crunchy granola/outdoor/non-religious type. These I title "Burly girls." Obviously most women will fall somewhere along the spectrum, but I of course, identify strongly with both ends- and I think that makes for some cognitive dissonance for me. I am thankful, though, that cultural norms and acceptance has made this much less of an issue than it was when I was younger or especially for previous generations. Noone really cares as much anymore if you show up to church in your Tevas- but there is still a vestige of "southern lady" imbedded in me to keep me in my sensible flats, and certainly out of white after Labor Day. And lastly, before I lay out my end-pole definitions, let me say that I love finding those who can straddle the poles with me and I gravitate to odd birds like myself- my Burly girls for Jesus.

I could keep going, but you get the idea. I'm not trying to slam either end, as I said before I identify with both. I can't help but make a few pokes at both ends either. And I really want to hear from those of you who know all the references on both lists- for that would make you a member of the BGFJ sisterhood. Rock on.