The naming of blogs is a difficult matter
When I first decided to begin taking up space on the web, I was presented with the problem of a name. It had to be charming, of course, and meaningful. And far from ordinary.
At first I selected “Just Another Dirty Girl,” which is why my (old) URL begins with j-a-d-g. I figured this would be pretty obscure, and I like being inscrutable. I’m a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. (Of course I am — I’m a fan of all things teen-angsty, and if you throw in some supernatural stuff, too, well, that’s just perfection. And Joss Whedon is a genius.)
In season 7, a villian named Caleb was introduced, and a nasty piece of work he was, too. In a particularly memorable episode, for me, Caleb calls Buffy “just another dirty girl.” For some reason this stuck with me and I always held on to it in a little corner of my brain.
Although I liked the darkness and f-u quality of the title, I didn’t want to perpetuate that whole paternalistic, the Church-suppressing-women, misogynistic, women-are-dirty vibe. I’m trying to cut back. Bad for the skin. Plus, I didn’t think it was quite evocative enough of “me.” Too much dirt, not enough sugar.
So then I picked “Fiddle-Dee-Dee,” in honor of Scarlett O’Hara, a long-time heroine of mine. Sh
e’s a southern belle gone wrong, and I can relate. She’s supposed to be biddable and kind and gracious and demure, but instead she’s strong and motivated and smart and independent and petty and opportunistic. If I went along with my upbringing and the expectations of my family, I’d be a little Melanie Wilkes-type. But I’m not. Hallefrickenluia.
I’m not sure why I discarded Fiddle-Dee-Dee. Looking back, it was probably a pretty good name.
Moving right along, we have the most current and longest lasting of my names, “Strange, Dark Gypsy Girl.” About a year three years ago I read Gloria by Keith Maillard. Oh, what a book. It’s about a girl from a wealthy family in the 1950s, struggling with who she is and who she’s expected to be. It’s about feeling like an imposter, and trying not to. The book is poetic and gorgeous and stylish and detailed and huge. So much of it resonated with me, especially:
“… but you’ll never fit in, not in your heart, because you’re irrevocably different from those girls. You’re a strange, dark Gypsy girl. No one knows you, and no one ever will.”
Most of the time embracing this quote doesn’t make me feel like an outcast, as perhaps it should. I try to feel like it’s a badge of honor that I don’t fit a mold, that I break borders and stick out. And I try to covet the part of myself that no one will ever know, not even those who get closest. Because that gives me a core, a pocket of strength. Or maybe a cave. I’m not sure yet.
*Updated 12/16/08
I read Gloria, too. It was really interesting. Kind of made me think about both what I didn’t want to do in my life, and what I didn’t want my (future, mythical) children to go through…
I love Buffy! That has got to be my favorite show. I die over spike every time I see him. *sigh*
Oh, man, it took me days to come up with a name for mine. I wanted to use “My Ellusive Mind” (which is a Night Ranger song), but I also wanted to get Michigan in there somewhere. Ugh. Who knows, I might end up changing it. It’s a difficult decision to say the least.
It is hard to name a blog. Hell, it’s almost as hard as naming a baby! arg.
I LOVE your blog… The writing, your template. Good shit here.
Corrina’s last blog post..Another Monday
Damn, that’s nice to hear! Thanks! — Gypsy
hello from another gypsy… (found you from “okay. fine. dammit.”)
i like your voice on here ~ very funny.
i’ll be back to read more…
xo,
gypsygrrl
I need to read that.
i also refer to myself (irl) as a (irl) gypsy. But because ver since month 1 of my life I have traveled traveled and traveled some more. It has been INSANE.
I like when other people feel they have the same soul, even if for another reason.
Mae December’s last blog post..Final Fantasy