The train of thought is leaving the station.

How loathsome is the word spunky.
Though now that I have said this I recall The Spunky Eclectic, which is a fantastic place run by a fantastic person, and anything but loathsome.  How about I amend that to 'spunky' in conjunction with 'heroine'?

I was looking at my amazon shopping cart - I have found the perfect gift for the world's most difficult recipient and because I have the self control of a wayward 6 year old, I will be sending it along to them as soon as I get my holidays bills sorted, instead of properly waiting for an appropriate gift giving occasion.  I also found the perfect gift for my dad, if he were still living, but since he is not, I shall buy it and read it myself.

Anyway - while I was gloating over these two items and their carefully selected -  even winnowed - companions in the shopping cart, awaiting my first discretionary dollars of 2008, I found a listing of recommended discussion topics (Amazon is another place apparently afflicted with discussion boards.  I have complicated feelings about discussion boards, which I will spare you), one of which was ...wait, allow me to get the correct text....

Ah, can't find it again - something like "desperately in search of spunky heroines", which immediately caused my gorge to rise.  As well as my dander.  Someone told me last week that her daughter's approaching toddler-hood filled her with dread re: the thorny subject of dolls.  Which she herself didn't play with and which she associates with the direst kind of retro-femininity.  This is despite the fact that she knows - intellectually - that there are many fierce and partisan feminists and millions of strong, kind women who played with dolls quite happily and without harm, in her gut, it feels wrong.  And though I played with dolls happily and for years, I completely understand the power of this irrational conviction:  the whole idea of a spunky heroine acts on me similarly - spunkiness, which implies a brave and energetic spirit, is certainly not a bad quality.  But it is an UNDERDOG quality, with a diminutive feel - when applied to a female protagonist it has a paternal air of head patting and a distinct whiff of glass ceiling.  Someone who is ascendant cannot be plucky.

This is the exact same feeling I get when someone talks about Hillary Clinton's neckline instead of her policies, or possible character as a world leader. 

(And how about the Iowa Caucus?  I NEVER thought Obama would take it - but the combination of wins by both Huckabee and Obama I find a little hallucinatory.  Welcome to the split personality of the American people.  What a strange country we are.)

It is a wonder I ever get out of the house, when a passing line on a website loses me an hour of annoyance, irritable mental hunting for understanding precisely the root of annoyance and then writing about it.

Comments

[Amy]

You make me laugh so much! I thought the caucus here in Iowa was quite interesting as well, though I've seen that coming for months. I was surprised that Clinton was doing so well for so long here, in fact. I'd agree with Michelle above. I think the Midwest might think a bit differently than the rest of the country sometimes. Clinton is hated by a lot of people here. I don't fully understand why, though I'm told by my parents (who swore to move to Canada if she became president) that she is very "Washington." She didn't seem entirely honest while she was here, when I heard her speak at rallies and such, and she never tended to answer any questions with a straight-forward answer...always what she thought we wanted to hear.

As for Huckabee, yes, the Christian Right is in full swing in a great deal of Iowa. Scares me to death. It greatly annoys a lot of Republicans as well. I think people here want to do the right thing for the country in general, we just see very different ways of going about doing that, which is why you saw what you saw.

[Thalia]

Ah, the spunky heroine! I concur with your assessment of the spunky in that context as paternal head-patting (she's sticking up for herself! how cute! how unusual!).

One word that a friend in college HATED (and I pretty much loathe it too) is "panties". Something about it just makes me cringe.

And yes, our nation seems to be having this bizarre schizophrenic approach to selecting leaders. I won't use your comments section as a soapbox, so I'll curtail my commentary on that. ;)

[Christine]

Juno,

I'm finally delurking to say I really enjoy your posts. Literate, pithy, thought-provoking(but never spunky or plucky!). A joy to read and contemplate. Thanks for sharing.

[juliet]

I think it is time we all allowed ourselves to admit there are certain words (or in my case phrases) that we just hate, once we speak up people will realise how dumb some of these words sound and will hopefully stop using them, if we wreck them enough that is. As for dolls, my sister once sent my daughter a couple of Barbies and her brothers got some All-Black rugby dolls (Jonah Lomu and the like) of similar size, the daughter used to take great delight in swapping Barbies head with the Rugby players (used to make me weep with laughter and the boys howl with grief) - hilarious. Until you have seen a big he-man head on a Barbie body and a grinning/gurning Barbie face on a big muscle bound male rugby player you haven't enjoyed the full joy of playing with dolls....

[Laurie]

The monikers change with political correctness, the underlying stuff is the same.

[Laurie]

Gee, you have a good definition and reason for hating spunky. I just hate spunky because spunky people annoy me. They seems unbalanced. I prefer snarky, dark and twisted. Spunky people just make me want to push them down on the ground and take their lunch money.

And I'm generally a nice person.

But don't most of us hate spunky? Isn't that what happened to Kathie Lee?

[lanea]

Oh, the condecension. How I hate it.
And, frankly, I think I need to make as many really disgusting jokes as I do to stave off the people who associate creativity and fiber arts with cuteness adn demure behavior. "Yeah, I'm working on a quilt, Buster, and I bake delicious cakes and wear dresses. I also eat freaking babies. Delicious babies in testicle sauce. Got that? Good."

Oh, and dolls are creepy. I have always hated them. I will continue to hate them.

[Michelle]

The results of the caucus are really a true representation of what Iowa is like...perhaps how the whole Midwest operates. I am not at all surprised by Obama's win. What gets me is hearing from everyone--I mean everyone--about either Clinton or Obama, "Oh, I really like that candidate and think s/he would be an excellent president...but s/he will never win." The last 7 years have completely sapped all of our optimism and faith in the rest of America. It's sad, really. Because what would happen if everyone started thinking, "Yeah, s/he could actually win?"

[donna lee]

I had three daughters grow up with Barbies and babydolls. One liked them, one made Barbie jump off tall buildings and gave her crew cuts. One just ignored them. They all had various dolls and are now confident young adult women with their own thoughts and ideas on how the world should be run. I loved my Barbie, misshapen figue and all. I think we worry too much about things that are not important in the long run. What we should worry about is the language. How we talk to our girls and how they talk about themselves. I am tired of hearing young girls call themselves whores, as in "I am a shoe-whore". They haven't learned the power of words, yet.

[Lizbon]

Right there with ya, though I had never before put my finger on what it was about the "spunky" epithet that rubbed my fur the wrong way.

And I detest being called cute. Hot, divine, glamorous, gorgeous, splendiforous, a sizzling force to be reckoned with, sure. But cute gets my fists out every time.

[Riin]

Well, I kind of like the word "spunky" though it does seem to conjure up images of squirrels to me. (Maybe I'm thinking of Slappy Squirrel as spunky. Is putting dynamite down people's pants spunky?) It also reminds me of the word "snarky," a word of which I'm inordinately fond. For that matter, I quite like "inordinately." So fun to say. Ah, words. I love them. Way cooler than dolls.

[lisa]

I had similar thoughts about the news this morning from Iowa. And agree totally about spunky/dimunitive. What about a brazen heroine? A virile heroine? A heroine with cajones? A brainy brazen brawny heroine? A healthy heroine? A heroin addicted herione? (ok, that one's bad...). My mom saved the one doll I ever played with (not that I remember mind you). A thumbelina. She said she intended to 'restore' it because it was old and therefore valuable. I asked an expert, it is worth 1.87 or so. She wanted to give hair again. I told her NOWAY, I cut its hair off for a good reason, even if I can't remember what that might be. But I suspect this... I didn't like long hair. I asked mom once how come she never let my hair grow (she wanted a girly girl, I never was) and she said 'because you were always bitching that your hair was in your eyes'. Some things never change...at 46 I still feel that way!

[Phoebe]

My friend's five-year-old daughter was desperate to see the television news last night. Hannah Montana was giving a concert in Cleveland and she just HAD to hear every update about the all commotion and excitement surrounding this event. She was indignant that the station carried other news, stating, "I DO NOT CARE about any of that or about the Iowa Caucasians!"

[lori]

Hi, Juno.
What you said about finding your daddy a present just made me cry. I usually have to think and think and think to get my daddy a present he will love. Sadly, he died a few weeks before the holidays of '07. Of course, everywhere I turned this season, there was something he would have LOVED. Your idea about buying the present for yourself was fabulous, so I just might find myself taking a ride in that NASCAR in his memory. He would have been giddy as a school girl zooming around that track.

[tina]

"perky" makes my teeth itch. And "cute" is a four-letter word.

I have a really neat 7-year-old little boy who desperately loves "Baby," his androgynous baby doll. I have a daughter who never gave a flying fack about dolls -- except to make them. (And I have one in between who used to enjoy putting on big sister's dresses and twirling. He's a total football jock [don't get me started] now.) I figure whatever gets them using their imagination -- and in this day and age, let me tell you, that's HUGE -- is aces with me.

I also hate that all the guys get referred to by last names while Ms. Rodham (I wanna refer to her as Rodham) (nevermind that that's her FATHER'S name) gets to always be Hillareeee. (Insult to injury, in this context: Her name ends with Y.)

Welcome back, and happy new year.

[Rabbitch]

Dolls? Oh, we gots Barbie, we gots Polly Pocket (with her miniature rubber-fetish clothes) and we also gots the latest from the My Little Prostitute line of dolls (most will know what line I mean).

But I also have a daughter who knows she can do absolutely anything she wants; even if it involves having Polly Pocket in the pocket of her space suit, or taking Barbie to the lab.

It's all about the freedom to choose, even if the choice is something we personally find abhorrent.

That being said, I will kick the first person who refers to me as chipper. Uh. This entire post was about me, right?

I'll just go drink cofffee now.

[Kate]

You might enjoy reading this:
www.catherynnemvalente.com/critical/FollowTheYellowBrickRoad.doc
The author discusses the female Hero's Journey, and how it differs from the classic story arc of the male. She doesn't use the term 'heroine' because in the male story, the heroine is the hero's girlfriend, the prize rather than the contestant.
I have always been very glad I have sons and don't even have to enter the Dreaded Pink Aisle in the toy shop. Barbie and her whorish counterparts the 'Bratz' are persona non grata in our house, and would be even if I had daughters.
Incidentally, here in Australia "spunky" was a word used to describe attractive teenage boys, similar to the modern usage of "hot". It was also used as a noun: "Omigawd, he's such a spunk!" This was back in the 80's, with the bubble skirt and the ever-stylish oversized t-shirt/spandex leggings combo, so I fully expect it to come back into common usage any day.

[Kim]

I was so glad I had boys - I never had to confront Barbie dolls as a mother. And as a surogate aunt, well my niece kept stealing my sons Tonka truck, so I bought her her own. :)

Cute has a similar effect on me. Buttons, boy do I have buttons.

Was going to email you anyway - now that the holidays have passed and my insanity has dropped off just a notch, we should find a date and get together. Anything good for you?

[BigAlice]

I'm with you on the spunky. You never hear "spunky hero," and applied to a man it would be an insult. Bah.

[julia fc]

yeah girl, you write a blog. That hour is the blog cost. Did you read Abby today? Go, feel amazed. And get past the spunky thing. Some people also vote Republican. everything doesn't stay fixed all at once, je regrete.

[Mary Lou]

Over the years I have had the conversation with friends re. the hypothetical question: which will America elect first for president, a woman, or a black man. Interesting that the question may no longer be hypothetical.

[Shannon B]

Too right.

[Ruth]

I have had many many "discussions" about why words ARE a big deal. A bigger deal, I've come to believe, than objects like dolls (though I won't let Barbie and her warped body image under my roof). Despite being exposed only to gender neutral toys during her toddlerhood, my daughter (now in grade 2) adores unicorns and dressing up in pink as a ballerina princess. She is, however, a supremely bossy and confident ass-kicking, tree-climbing superhero ballerina princess, rescuing small animals with her flying pink unicorn. I have given up on banishing pink tulle from the house, but I will always be listening intently for the language of limitation.

[Anne]

Another non-fave (partly because my Mom likes it so much...): Plucky. A man is never ever plucky. Also it reminds me of a chicken. And suffering with a smile.

[Kim]

Dude, Huckabee on Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhTZ_tgMUdo

Seriously? National igloo?