"Alaska Girls Kick Ass"

That's a common bumper sticker around here. Even when you see one for the first time, it already sounds like a cliche, but it's still amusing and empowering in an era in which the downfalls of female celebrities are celebrated in supermarket checkout lines.

I blogged before about what it's like to be a girl in engineering, so now I'll talk about what it's like to be a girl in Fairbanks.

1. Chivalry isn't dead. If I pull off the road for any reason, be it to read a map or to take a photo of an interesting view, it won't take long for another car to pull up behind me and ask whether the car and I are okay. I find this very reassuring.

2. I am not a piece of meat. When I was growing up in San Francisco, I got hooted and hollered at almost every time I walked more than a few blocks on any mildly busy sidewalk (not just downtown!). The most disgusting one I can remember was when I was thirteen years old. I was a young thirteen, too; I probably didn't even have sexual feelings yet, I was thin, underdeveloped, and dressed plainly. Anyway, this day I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and this grizzly old man with a gruffy voice said to me as we passed each other, "You got pretty legs." I was SO grossed out. Here, people who notice me smile and wave, nothing more, nothing less. I like it that way. The closest I ever got to feeling like a piece of meat was when a guy who works at the supermarket said to me, "You sure are pretty. It's always nice to see you." That's not so disrespectful. That's actually rather nice. I can live with that.

3. I don't wear my nice things any more. There's no point. I would probably be treated worse going about town in nicer clothes, because people here have more respect for humility than they have for sophistication. We have a symphony and an opera, and nice restaurants, too, but no one dresses up for those, either. My silk dresses and Italian shoes sit in the closet. Do I miss them? Sure I do. I won't say I'm above vanity; I may be a geek, but I'm still a human.

4. Last night as I was washing my face before going to bed, I suddenly recalled how I had used to use a product called "astringent" after washing my face. This was basically alcohol that you'd put on a cotton ball and wipe off whatever soap wouldn't clean. My mom, bless her heart, on realizing that I used this stuff, took me to the Clinique counter at Macy's and bought me something from them. So I could now use a cotton ball to wipe very expensive alcohol on my face, instead of using a cotton ball to wipe cheap alcohol on my face. I am now of the belief that whatever soap won't clean belongs there. Life is simpler now. I like it.