Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Note From The Girl Behind The Curtain..

Dearest Readers,

Yesterday, I received feedback from a ConstantlyAlice follower indicating that they had taken offense to my review of The Notorious Bettie Page (not the review itself, but the appropriateness of the subject matter.)

My initial reaction was to feel mortified.  It is certainly never my intention to offend any of you.  I consider the ConstantlyAlice blog to be about a PG-13 rating and did not think that my review violated any of those boundaries.  I have posted in the past about Bettie, and various other pin ups, without rebuke, so I thought nothing of it.

I will be honest...I obsessed a bit.  I worried about what specific part was offensive, and if any of the rest of you were offended as well.  I obsessed to the Man..I obsessed to my family..I obsessed to my friends.  One theme that came up consistently as a possible reason for this reaction was that the ConstantlyAlice image is a typically innocent and sweet one and Bettie could have, for that reason, appeared jarring and out of place with my content.

While I can understand this, ConstantlyAlice is not a fabricated personality.  It is not a corporation, or a faceless entity.  It does not market to the masses in a homogenized way aimed at making as many people "like" it as possible.  ConstantlyAlice is me.

Yup...That's me.

Yes.  I am faintly reminiscent of a fairytale character..I like fairytales.  I also like pin ups.  I am whimsical, and sometimes down right naive, but I'm also a little impatient and have a knack for sarcasm that I try to keep in check.  I have nerd-like tendencies.  I love to read and my bookshelves run the gamut from Jane Austen to Anais Nin.  I find it almost impossible to repress my humor..unless someone is grieving..in which case, pass me the tissues (I would have made an excellent "mourner-for-hire" in victorian times..)  I don't like vulgarity, but, as I've discovered, vulgarity is subjective.  I keep an open mind, trust that the people I know have the best of intentions and sometimes suffer from debilitating panic attacks brought on by my anxiety disorder and my need for perfection (only in myself..I <3 the flaws of others.)

Any or all of these things may come across from time to time here in my blog.  I consider you all friends and fellow enthusiasts.  I hope you will feel free to share with me in an open and constructive way if anything here makes you uncomfortable.  I am happy to chat with you about my choices.

I leave you with this..in the spirit of ConstantlyAlice..  I gotta be me ;)



Hugs and Smooches,
D

13 comments:

  1. Oh D!! You are one of the sweetest people I know and if anyone were to ever take offense to you, your creative genius, or the things you choose to share, they should just wander off somewhere else. The internet is a great big place. They can go find what pleases them somewhere else. I'm amazed at how people will actually spend their time composing an angry comment about being offended, yet they probably never before took the time to tell you what joy you brought to their life, how creative you are, or how genuinely sweet your blog is. Well, consider this MY post to tell you just that. Love you, honey! - Jeri

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  2. Some people will find fault with any type of deviation from the norm. My little sister thinks that both my mom and I are "weird" because we like to make our own clothes or accessories. My mom thinks I'm odd because I plan to hang pin ups above my bed. Nude and partially nude pinups. But she respects my tastes even if she doesn't agree with them. I wouldn't worry about it. You're an honest person and if someone has a problem with it they can just get over themselves.
    Please don't change the content of your post because of one person.

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  3. In the simplest terms possible: you ROCK. So rock on, D :)

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  4. I went back and checked the post to see if it was inappropriate or strongly deviated from your normal post. I found nothing to suggest anything lewd or offensive. "Bettie" is very well covered in all of the photographs you selected.

    Many bloggers who have been through the same type of criticism would say welcome to the show as you've become very popular when you start to have "haters".

    Your blog should have whatever content you want. Those that don't like it don't have to read it.

    HRF

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    Replies
    1. Thank you <3 I suppose it does come with the territory. I just need thicker skin ;) xo

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  5. Your posts are always well informed, well intentioned and best of all reflect all the facets of who you are. That is what makes them all so wonderful to read!! I am an avid fan and will always continue to be so!!

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  6. The pictures might be what offended your delicate reader. I guess she doesn't watch tv, read magazines or go outside much; Betty is pretty tame compared to what's out there these days.

    Don't ever feel like you have to apologize or explain the things you love; they are part of who you are. Criticism is tough and some times it's actually helpful but most of the time it says more about the person complaining than it does about you.

    Maybe it's my advanced age talking (I recently turned 49, again), but I'm through apologizing for being weird. My new mantra is "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam" (spoken, of course, in a proper Popeye voice!)

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  7. I am so angry that people made you feel this way. Betty was a beautiful woman inside and out, she felt there was nothing wrong with what she did and found it harmless fun for adults. Maybe change your page to 18 & up so you can express yourself freely without critsisum. Please keep doing what you are doing and being yourself. Not all people are going to like what you do it is sad that some feel that they need to tell you they don't like what you are doing. I feel if you don't like what you are putting out on the interwebs then look the other way there are plenty of other places out there to find what you want. I infact love your page for the fact that you are a lot of nice and a bit of naught. To much today we see the other way around. Keep being yourself. I love you just the way you are.

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Thank you for your comment! I read every one of them and they make my day :) Please do not post as anonymous (sadly, I have had issues with spammers lately :( Have a beautiful day!

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