Wednesday, November 22, 2006

A meeting with the Iowa State Patrol

On my long four hour trek home with my brothers, we stopped to eat at a local Taco Johns in Cherokee, Iowa. As we were eating, I looked up to see three members of the Iowa State Patrol walk into the door, followed by two other women. As the state troopers talked with the women, I couldn't help but chuckle at the flirtation that I thought was taking place. The state troopers received their food and the women followed with their food as well. To my surprise, the women were wearing state patrol uniforms as well.

My brothers and I had all made the assumption that the women were in pursuit of the "men in uniform". I couldn't help but be upset with my false conclusion. We had just talked in class about the ideologies and discourses of gender. I had immediately bought into the idea that the women that had walked in the restaurant couldn't possibly be officers, but rather women seeking a male.

I consider myself a strong, independent woman, that doesn't need a male to validate my worth. I apologize to the women that I made false assumptions about. I was too easily swayed by our cultural portrayals of what feminity and masculinity should be. I hope I learned my lesson this time around.

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