Plain Jane meets Average Joe

so this is interesting
im trying to find as much research on the internet on "Plain Janes" and what it takes to be her, and how she behaves in todays very critical society. i then saw the male equivalent - Average Joe - a term i have often heard but for some reason it doesnt connote such negative and unfortunate meanings as i would give to Plain Jane. so here are some definitions of an average joe, the ideal male counterpart to Jane:
"an ordinary person, especially a man." - www.thefreedictionary.com. seems pretty basic.
"An average joe is an ordinary person without anything exceptional about them" - www.usingenglish.com
etc etc. so he's just an ordinary man. why is plain jane an UNNATTRACTIVE, unmemorable, undesirable girl?? why isnt joe at least boring, unnattractive to the opposite sex or bland?
so you google Plain Jane images and you get this >>>


then you google images our friend Joe and you get this >>>

okay so his face really irritates me and its a bit cheesy, but at least he doesnt look like he could cry at any minute like our Jane.

Day Two / Ten

tuesday 20 march 2012
i had an early start this morning, as my first lecture was at 8.30. it was economics so was in a low mood as it was. i had other commitments out of Vega today, one being that a good friend of mine was organising her leaving party for later in the week and needed my help today. so i acted as a chauffeur for the day and didnt really get a chance to socialise or be out too much.
unfortunately...i diddd break some commandments tonight. her party was held in claremont and it was her last night to get dressed up and drink and have a "good night out" and i couldn't fight the urge to join her in that. so pretty much all my commandments went out the window today :( i knew this party was coming up over the weekend, but as tuesday came (and possibly with the influence of a lousy monday) i thought i better go back to my normal self.
it probably ALSO doesn't help that my boyfriend is the manager of the place where the party was being held and he's one person whom im having reservations about showing my Plain Jane identity to....
so i had a great night. bit disappointed i couldn't go out without the accessorized appearance. my friends (who know that im doing this intervention) just shook their heads and said "i knew you wouldnt be able to do it".
i'll pick it up tomorrow...... with the now lack of support of my friends...:)

Jane's Ten Commandments

so basically i am changing from a somewhat outgoing, cheerful, social girl to one which is drab, unmemorable, quiet, reserved and unengaging in social situations (ah.) In order to do this i need to stick to a 10-commandment guideline to make sure i do Jane justice!

1. NO MAKEUP. no eyeliner. no foundation. bare face. tired expression. everyone will see how small my eyes actually are. i will be sad.
2. NO JEWLRY. kind of. i always wear earrings, whether they are small ones for the day or big, outrageous gold ones in the evenings. those must go. i always wear my good luck evil-eye charm bracelet on my left wrist. gone. i have one exception - i will be keeping my nose ring in. for the simple fact that i have ripped it out before and forced it back in and that was no fun.
3. BLAND HAIR. this may seem a silly one, but i like to wear my hair up or style it somehow if i wear it loose. so now im sticking to the ordinary low ponytail.
   
4. NO COLOUR. clothes and shoes should be a shade of black/grey/white/beige. anything subtle. and monochrome patterns are out too :(
   
5. NO REVEALING HEM/NECKLINES. no skirts, v-neck tops. tight tops/leotards. another excpetion - i will be wearing leggings as all my jeans have holes in awkward places.
6. KEEP QUIET. try to become unnoticable in the classroom and around vega. sit at the back of the class. dont comment or ask too many questions.
7. DONT SOCIALISE. this pertains to Vega mostly...this will be easy in the classroom as i can sit by myself. but going to fetch lunch or go for a cigarette will mean i will have to try and stand by myself, or again keep quiet and try not to linger.
   
8. STICK TO DEADLINES AND DO WHAT IS ACADEMICALLY EXPECTED OF ME. i will be so chuffed with myself if i can stick to this! but alas, i will try to do my work, prescribed reading for each lecture and hand assignments in on time. seems like a pretty obvious commandment for any student..
9. LITTLE/NO SOCIALISING IN THE EVENINGS. socialising after college and on weekends is a huuuge hobby of mine. it will be interesting to place Vega and my studies in the forefront of my priortites and allocate most time to this. luckily i dont go clubbing, but its more the fact of sitting down with a drink and a cigarette that needs to be eliminated for ten days that will affect my comfort zone hugely.
10. ENJOY BEING IN THE BACKROUND. i hope to gain some things from this experiment, and one of them being comfortable with taking it easy and not always pushing myself to be entertaining, happy and eager to please at all times. it will be nice to relax, and not panic too much about what others think of me mostly. i like to think im not a materialistic girl who relies on appearance for attention - but even so it will be nice to not focus on that so much. this is a sink or swim intervention - either people will take no notice of me due to my physical blandness, or everything will remain unchanged, showing that i cannn relax with my appearance at times.

Overall im very much looking forward to this intervention. i hope you enjoy my journey with me :)

why i chose to start up this blog

i realised that i havent really discussed whyyy i am doing this intervention.
being a branding student, my studies often involve searching topics on "the self" and "the body". Now we have started our second year at Vega, and we are really looking into the ins-and-outs of these topics. Im finding this to be a very interesting course, as most issues of body image and representation in society is set in our subconcious - at least i feel it is for me. getting ready in the mornings becomes a ritual and it is interesting to step back and analyse whyyy i put make up on, or whyy i only wear bracelets on my right wrist and so on. its interesting to see how these little adornments and they way we portray ourselves to others actually carries a much larger meaning than we may think. anyways, this is the assignment i was given so that you can understand what this blog needs to accomplish :)
You live in two spheres of beauty. The first sphere is your physical reality, your own body. The other is less tangible. This second sphere lives only in your aspirations: your own concept of ideal beauty that you would like to attain. Realistically, these two poles will never meet. The distance between them might arguably vary from those of the person sitting next to you in class. How attainable these ideals prove to be for you personally, and how important attainment of it is on a personal level, will dictate how these two poles are situated in your life.

By emotionally stepping back from your own situation, you need to unpack your aspirations and your own level of discomfort with non-conformism, in order to do this you will be required to execute a body intervention, make a body blog and finally write an academic essay.

Day One / Ten.

monday 19 march 2012.
today was my introduction to jane's world. after having a very lazy day yesterday, it was quite simple to find my outfit. i stuck to my tracksuit pants from last night and took note to choose a top that was not too revealing. my whole getting ready process was unsurprisingly quick so i found i had some extra minutes to plan my day ahead and what lectures i should prepare myself for.
surprisingly, arriving at vega was not a problem. a friend asked me "why do you look so different today...why dont you have any make up on?" and after telling them about my new identity i was told "wow, its actually so strange how different you look". i knew that my appearance would bring the most responses today, so that response was definitely expected.
after a few lectures, my new persona started to affect my mindset. i found myself feeling more isolated, self concious, quiet and most of all tired. i felt that i had a very low energy and was not so engaged in my classes, choosing not to answer questions or offer any comments.
i was relieved to get home.
i had a strange desire to do some work when i got home which was a good surprise.
although, it is monday. i cant blame my low energy and eagerness to work on this intervention just yet. i start every monday like that..generally by tuesday im bored of the week so we'll see how tomorrow goes :)

Who is Jane?

For this assignment researching our "phobias" i toyed around with many ideas. In general, I think i am a pretty relaxed girl - i enjoy going out with my friends, spending time at home and generally spending time and doing things that make me feel comfortable. Obviously. Thats generally what most young people do. When it came to sitting down with my process book and listing what are my "hot potatoes" i discovered that i have many more than i thought. and maybe im not to relaxed as i thought.
through this process work i have decided to become a PLAIN JANE. in my eyes (and through my friends' impressions of me) i like to stand out in some way. i generally like to look nice, i am someone who doesn't like to leave the house with no make-up and i have discovered that i do take a lot of time deciding how to present myself each day. even in the college environment, or any social space for that matter i like to seem involved and i like to engage with people. i note that as a strong personality trait of mine.
so here are some definitions of what it takes to be a plain jane....
"a drab, unattractive, and generally uninteresting girl or woman" - www.dictionary.com
"not fancy or glamorous : ORDINARY" - www.merriam-webster.com
"Plain Jane describes a girl that is plain, ordinary, and not specially memorable or special" - www.yourdictionary.com
Sounds thrilling. A little disgusted there is actually a category or a group in our society called that...so let's see how the next ten days work out...!