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Why "The Ditzy Character" Is Problematic/ Don't Let anyone question your intelligence.

So... I mentioned last week that I don't think we need a dumb female character on TV or in movies and it just doesn't really add anything to the story if there's just a dumb character... of either gender really. It's a cheap gag for laughs... and girls should know that it's not just funny to be dumb... and that people won't like you any better if you act dumb... it's okay to be smart.

I'm smart... I don't think I'm the smartest person in the world... I'm sure if I said that many people reading this would disagree... lol. But in school I usually got good grades... maybe not in Science or Math or any of those types of subjects... but English, history. Those are my friends. And as far as English classes go... I was the best student in several of my classes and I'm proud of myself for that...

The thing is... I feel like a lot of people won't believe me about that because at some point in my life... I've acted "dumb" because it's funny. I don't really think I intended to act differently... but it is sort of like "Ohhh Karen from Mean Girls is funny... everyone likes Karen. I should be Karen." And I am not like Karen...but I think that sort of character made me want to do sillier things and say sillier things when I knew that wasn't who I was... that was just who I liked to watch on tv.

And I'm sure I'm not alone in this... I can't be some sort of super rare person who is the only one to have acted differently because of something funny in tv or on a movie... I'm sure a lot of young girls are very impressionable and do kind of mimic the personalities of TV characters that maybe aren't the brightest tool in the drawer... Kidding! I thought it was funny to mix around that phrase since there are so many ways to say it!... but see that's more my type of thing. I'll say something ironic like that. And sometimes people might think that that's stupid... but that's just what I think is funny. There are so many expressions for "Not the sharpest tool in the shed" and it's a fun thing to mix it up. Idk if that really makes me sound stupid or if people think I'm stupid because of that... that isn't really how I think I was acting to make myself more like the dunce characters... but that's a good transition to my next point.

Don't let people undervalue your intelligence. I've often had times where friends or even relatives have given me the sort of "Ohhh you're really dumb" type of look or something like that... and that hurts. Even a lot of people that were my closest friends have said things like that to me. One time one of my friends even said something about me wearing flip flops to a concert and said "I didn't think you were dumb enough to wear flip flops to a concert." And maybe I'm misremembering this... maybe she didn't use those exact words... I'm sure if I talked to this friend about it she would say she said something different... and it is probably because she meant something different and stuff like that happens... so this isn't something that should offend me today... but no one is stupid for wearing flip flops to a concert! 1) it was hot 2) The concert was outside 3) I don't often wear sneakers 4) I had flip flops that I wanted to wear. Sure there are sometimes dangerous things on the ground... sometimes there are mosh pits and people can step on your feet and shoes would be more practical than flip flops...so that can sound dumb... but seriously? That is what makes me dumb? The fact that I can read Chaucer in the original Middle English doesn't contribute to my intelligence? The fact that I could point out all references to chiaroscuro in Shakespeare's Richard ii and Henry IV parts 1 and 2 and would kind of love to write a paper on that right now... that doesn't contribute to my intelligence... NO CAUSE I WORE FLIP FLOPS TO A CONCERT THAT ONE TIME!

So yeah... don't let people get to you. A lot of times you can sort of think of the little things that people find stupid about you aren't anything important at all... and are just sort of one time overlooked situations that do not define your intelligence or lack thereof. This sounds like a silly to have to remind yourself that you're human, everyone makes mistakes and that those little things shouldn't make you feel terrible for years and years and years... but for some reason that did make me feel terrible for years and years and years... and I think maybe other women have these insecurities because it is very easy for women to make other women feel stupid and inferior so that that person will feel better about themselves. And this isn't going to stop if people just don't talk about it. So... hopefully this helps? Somewhat? Be nice to people maybe? Maybe don't call anyone stupid... unless they're in office. Lol.

I'm going to stop talking now. Byeee!
-Shannon

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