I’m sure we all remember that talk, you know, the one about the purse.
I decided that I’d offer up the contents of my purse for evaluation.
Contents of Starfoxy’s Purse:
- Shopping list and coupon
- Lotion
- Sunglasses
- Pen
- Fan
- Phone
- Wallet
- 3 Granola bars
- Pack of gun
- Breath mints
- Watch
- Nail file
- Hand sanitizer
- Glasses & case
- Tissues
- Tooth brush
- Case for braces
- Hair clip
- Hair elastic
- 2 types of lotion
- 4 types of lip balm
- Bandaids
- Feminine hygiene products*
- 2 paperclips
- Rabies tag for my cat
- dental floss
- Pill case with tums and asprin
The only thing in there that isn’t quite intuitive is the feminine hygiene products. Those are actually for my son who still inexplicably pees his pants all the time. Missing are the five toy cars that I removed from the purse two days ago, and the random bits of trash and used tissues that seem to collect in there (I figured you didn’t want to see those).
The only information I think you can glean about me from the contents of my purse is that I am ready for the zombie apocalypse. Add a bottle of water and one could manage rather comfortably for at least a day or so.
You’re way more prepared then I ever am! 🙂 You’re the person everyone loves because whatever someone needs you happen to have.
The only thing I have in my purse is my wallet, a coupon carrier and since I’m nursing the worst summer cold on record, a wad of Kleenex. I think at 47 (and seeing as how I’ve single handily kept the Kleenex corp afloat) years of age, Kleenex corporation, should just go ahead and give me honorary stock.
Just saying
Let’s see…
I have a wallet (with, very unusually, actual cash for once), my passport, phone and my iPad.
A few years ago it would have been an emergency book instead of iPad; now I carry them all with me (you never know when you might have to wait somewhere – best be prepared)!
So, I keep a condom in my purse. You just never know when the moment will strike!
I have a (quite) large, folding pocket knife.
I often carry books in my purse, and more often than not it is a book about serial killers- motives, etc-, or sexual homicide, as I intended to make such subjects the emphasis of my master’s degree.
I have eye drops, a planner, my phone, gum, and my badge I wear at work.
When I get my permit, I may carry one of my guns.
What if Elder Cook had found my purse? What if he had began pokin I don’t think they make conference talks about purses like mine.
Am I bad person because the contents of my purse do not reflect the stereotype of homely young Mormon women or busy, always-prepared Mormon mothers?
Homely?? Nice stereotyping
…the stereotype he proposed with his story….
…the stereotyping he proposed…
OOps- I posted before my editing was done…
“What if he began pokin’ through my purse? Would he have been disheartened, or confused?”
I hated the fact that the people digging through this woman’s purse crowed about the fact that a cake recipe and a note saying to make it for a friend meant she was a HOMEMAKER (!!!!). As if a woman who works would not/could not do something so nice. As if being one is the one thing a woman should be most proud of. If I was a rocket scientist, I think I would be prouder of achieving that level of education than if I stayed home.
I think you can be a rocket scientist and still be a homemaker. And I think both are valuable. I don’t think the elitism for either being a stay-at-home mom, or having a career is necessary.
I don’t feel like the term Homemaker was being equated with stay at home mom, at least in this instance. We’re talking about a teenage girl, right?
True, so the skills of a home-maker then?
Yes, that’s how I took it. And I agree with you that being a homemaker is valuable! So is being a stay at home mom, and so is working. We can all add incredible value in whatever sphere of life we happen to be in!
That was a little more (!) than I meant it. 🙂
Here’s the quote at issue:
“They felt like little children on Christmas morning. What they pulled out next surprised them even more: a recipe for Black Forest chocolate cake and a note to make the cake for a friend’s birthday. They almost screamed, ‘She’s a HOMEMAKER! Thoughtful and service minded.’ Then, yes, finally some identification. The youth leaders said they felt greatly blessed ‘to observe the quiet example of a young lady living the gospel.'”
So yes. They’re talking about a teenager, which means she’s not a stay-at-home mother. Nor is she really a homemaker, at least not in the sense of being the one primarily responsible for cultivating and maintaining a home. and, of course, there’s nothing at all about the desire/ability to cook a cake or to do something nice for a friend that necessarily implies “homemaker.” But this story attempts to make that leap precisely because the church is invested in prescribing a certain role to women and a certain way of fulfilling that role. Specifically it’s invested in prescribing the role of mother and the mode of being a stay-home, traditionally nurturing mother.
so yeah. They’re not talking about an actual homemaker here. Nor are they talking about an actual stay-home mother. But I think given the larger context of the talk it’s pretty clear that the point being made is how admirable it is that this girl was properly preparing to become a stay-home mother. And I do think that the implication here is how great it is to be a “homemaker,” with all that implies in Mormon culture (including being a full time stay home mother). So I think Naomi is perfectly correct to point out the problematic elitism surrounding a particular way of enacting motherhood/homemaking. And I agree with her that there’s nothing about working that means you can’t be a homemaker or concerned for others’ welfare or interested in baking, though I do think that’s being at the very least implied here.
True it’s problematic to value working over homemaking, too. But I really don’t see the church regularly running that risk. Nor do I see Mormon feminists regularly doing this.
Mine: moleskin notebook, bic pens, Burts Bees chapstick, Claudia Bushman’s book “Mormon Sisters,” water bottle, almonds, phone, wallet, NYC metro card, various European train tickets, feminine products, bobby pins, and hair ties.
I don’t own a purse. I sometimes carry a bag of stuff for the kids (snacks, diapers, etc), but if I’m ever out by myself, it’s just my wallet and keys. And maybe my knitting. I’m too boring to be mentioned in General Conference.
Feminine hygiene products can also be used to staunch a bloody head wound, so clearly you’re an emergency preparedness specialist.
Am I the only one who thinks the purse story is a fake?
Christi,
You know, I’ve often wondered that, about ALL the stories. Are they just telling stories to teach through allegory, a la Jesus, or did stuff really occur. I’m LESS suspecting of the stories that say, “this happened to me” then the “I received a letter” stories.
I bet your “pack of gun” will be very helpful in surviving the zombie apocalypse.
I think this is funny and I feel bad for the Presidency who lives in Philadelphia, Why? Because the Department of Health has just launched a new campaign aimed at 11 to 19 year old girls to carry condoms in an effort to combat the high rate of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
So, if a member (male ) of the church goes through a women’s purse in the Philly area are they going to call her in for a talk with the Bishop?
I totally disliked the story from the get go. If the purpose of going through the purse was to find out the owner. All the person had to do was to look for a wallet. They didn’t need to go through the contents of the purse, that’s snooping.
Diane, I agree. It was snooping. Simply not ok.
I actually liked the purse story when I heard it because it made me think fondly of my little sister S. who is much like the purse-owner described in the story. The only thing that made me sad is that I realized church leaders are much less likely to tell a purse story that would represent S.’s twin, A. who sculpts amazingly intricate dragons, horses, busts, etc. out of clay and whatever else she can find, practices sketching the human figure in photoshop, creates kinetic sculptures that replicate the way waves move under a boat, and helps me draw amazingly intricate henna-style designs on my arm with a highlighter so that I’ll be the coolest hula-hooper at the black-light Zumba party.
God help them if they ever found my purse. What would they think of a bag that contains a Swiss Army knife, a magnesium firestarter, a pint-sized teddy bear, a cross-stitch kit, a Kindle (without the scriptures!) an iPod full of science videos, a collapsible bowl, mug and a titanium spork, not to mention a hip flask full of gin?
I just pulled out about 20 of those numbered tickets you pull at the cut table at JoAnne Fabrics.
This might be an addiction.